Health Policy Manag.  2024 Mar;34(1):94-102. 10.4332/KJHPA.2024.34.1.94.

Factors Affecting the Distribution of Practicing Nurses

• Park E
• Kim J

• KMID: 2562567
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4332/KJHPA.2024.34.1.94

Abstract

Background
There is controversy surrounding the claim that current nursing workforce policies exacerbate the geographic imbalance of nurses in Korea, but very few studies have confirmed this assertion. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors influencing the distribution of nurses at the regional level, including variables related to nursing workforce policies.
Methods
This study analyzed the distribution of 225,462 practicing nurses across 250 regions in Korea as of 2020. National statistics were collected for these 250 regions, and regression analysis was conducted.
Results
Factors influencing the distribution of practicing nurses included the number of annual inpatient days, integrated nursing care service beds, public healthcare institutions, tertiary hospitals, and general hospitals. Additionally, the number of nursing graduates and healthcare institutions with nurse staffing grade 1 and 2 had an impact on nurse distribution in non-capital regions.
Conclusion
To prevent exacerbating the geographic imbalance of nurses, careful decisions should be made regarding the expansion of integrated nursing care service beds. Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the number of nursing students in non-capital regions and prioritize the improvement of wages and working conditions for nurses in those areas.

Keyword

Practicing nurses; Distribution of nurses; Regional disparities; Nursing workforce policy