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Human Resources for Health
Published in: Human Resources for Health 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research

Nurses who work in rural and remote communities in Canada: a national survey

Authors: Martha L. P. MacLeod, Norma J. Stewart, Judith C. Kulig, Penny Anguish, Mary Ellen Andrews, Davina Banner, Leana Garraway, Neil Hanlon, Chandima Karunanayake, Kelley Kilpatrick, Irene Koren, Julie Kosteniuk, Ruth Martin-Misener, Nadine Mix, Pertice Moffitt, Janna Olynick, Kelly Penz, Larine Sluggett, Linda Van Pelt, Erin Wilson, Lela Zimmer

Published in: Human Resources for Health | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

In Canada, as in other parts of the world, there is geographic maldistribution of the nursing workforce, and insufficient attention is paid to the strengths and needs of those providing care in rural and remote settings. In order to inform workforce planning, a national study, Nursing Practice in Rural and Remote Canada II, was conducted with the rural and remote regulated nursing workforce (registered nurses, nurse practitioners, licensed or registered practical nurses, and registered psychiatric nurses) with the intent of informing policy and planning about improving nursing services and access to care. In this article, the study methods are described along with an examination of the characteristics of the rural and remote nursing workforce with a focus on important variations among nurse types and regions.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey used a mailed questionnaire with persistent follow-up to achieve a stratified systematic sample of 3822 regulated nurses from all provinces and territories, living outside of the commuting zones of large urban centers and in the north of Canada.

Results

Rural workforce characteristics reported here suggest the persistence of key characteristics noted in a previous Canada-wide survey of rural registered nurses (2001-2002), namely the aging of the rural nursing workforce, the growth in baccalaureate education for registered nurses, and increasing casualization. Two thirds of the nurses grew up in a community of under 10 000 people. While nurses’ levels of satisfaction with their nursing practice and community are generally high, significant variations were noted by nurse type. Nurses reported coming to rural communities to work for reasons of location, interest in the practice setting, and income, and staying for similar reasons. Important variations were noted by nurse type and region.

Conclusions

The proportion of the rural nursing workforce in Canada is continuing to decline in relation to the proportion of the Canadian population in rural and remote settings. Survey results about the characteristics and practice of the various types of nurses can support workforce planning to improve nursing services and access to care.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
The questionnaire is available from the authors;
 
2
To maintain confidentiality of the participants, data is reported in tables when there is a minimum cell size of five. When this condition is not met, cells are suppressed;
 
3
Nurse types were grouped—NPs and RNs; LPNs and RPNs—in order to achieve substantial enough sample sizes to conduct significance tests and post hoc comparisons.
 
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Metadata
Title
Nurses who work in rural and remote communities in Canada: a national survey
Authors
Martha L. P. MacLeod
Norma J. Stewart
Judith C. Kulig
Penny Anguish
Mary Ellen Andrews
Davina Banner
Leana Garraway
Neil Hanlon
Chandima Karunanayake
Kelley Kilpatrick
Irene Koren
Julie Kosteniuk
Ruth Martin-Misener
Nadine Mix
Pertice Moffitt
Janna Olynick
Kelly Penz
Larine Sluggett
Linda Van Pelt
Erin Wilson
Lela Zimmer
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Human Resources for Health / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1478-4491
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0209-0

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