title: Words and actions: a study in nurse wastage.
abstract: This paper examines whether a group of nurses' stated intentions to leave were subsequently transformed into actual leaving actions. We argue that establishing the truth of relationships between words and actions is of fundamental importance in social science research. Nurses broadly did what they said they would do. Hence, definite intentions to leave were generally acted upon while less strong leaving intentions were not acted upon to any practically significant degree. We further investigate the link between the nurses' words and actions by reporting on a small interview study where nurses were asked why they did or did not do as they stated. The importance of these findings in terms of health authorities planning their labour force is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Social Science, Lancaster University, U.K.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soothill
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barry
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002055:Burnout, Professional / Q000523:psychology; D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010563:Personnel Turnover / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires