title: Differences in preferences for rural job postings between nursing students and practicing nurses: evidence from a discrete choice experiment in Lao People's Democratic Republic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A discrete choice experiment was conducted to investigate preferences for job characteristics among nursing students and practicing nurses to determine how these groups vary in their respective preferences and to understand whether differing policies may be appropriate for each group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participating students and workers were administered a discrete choice experiment that elicited preferences for attributes of potential job postings. Job attributes included salary, duration of service until promotion to permanent staff, duration of service until qualified for further study and scholarship, housing provision, transportation provision, and performance-based financial rewards. Mixed logit models were fit to the data to estimate stated preferences and willingness to pay for attributes. Finally, an interaction model was fit to formally investigate differences in preferences between nursing students and practicing nurses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data were collected from 256 nursing students and 249 practicing nurses. For both groups, choice of job posting was strongly influenced by salary and direct promotion to permanent staff. As compared to nursing students, practicing nurses had significantly lower preference for housing allowance and housing provision as well as lower preference for provision of transportation for work and personal use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the Lao People's Democratic Republic, nursing students and practicing nurses demonstrated important differences in their respective preferences for rural job posting attributes. This finding suggests that it may be important to differentiate between recruitment and retention policies when addressing human resources for health challenges in developing countries, such as Laos.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA. prockers@hsph.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Rockers
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Jaskiewicz
authors.forename: Margaret E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Kruk
authors.forename: Outavong
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Phathammavong
authors.forename: Phouthone
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vangkonevilay
authors.forename: Chanthakhath
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paphassarang
authors.forename: Inpong Thong
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Phachanh
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wurts
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tulenko