King's College London

The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce at King's has published a new report: The factors supporting the retention of registered nurses in adult social care.

Lead-authored by Research Fellow at the Unit, Nicole Steils, the work builds on an earlier Unit literature review on the topic (Cornes and Manthorpe, 2022).

The report begins with information about the background to the project and the approach to the study. This is followed by a chapter on the participants providing information on their demographics, career pathways, and employers; this section also includes four vignettes on nurse pathways into and experiences within adult social care. The two following chapters explore reasons for joining (but also leaving) the adult social care sector and experiences when transitioning into the sector.

This is followed by information about work experiences and comparison of work environments. Further comparison and experiences of working terms and conditions, including pay, and progression and career opportunities are also explored.We also consider the role and potential for adult social care involvement in future preregistration nurse training.

This is followed by a chapter providing information on training and opportunities for continuing professional development for those already working in adult social care and retaining nurse registration.

The report then explores participants’ views on the status of nursing in adult social care and the sector in general. Chapters on the identity and self-identification of registered nurses in adult social care and how nurses describe their employers are followed by a section on leadership. The report concludes with suggestions for improvements from participants.

This publication

Steils, N., Samsi, K., & Moriarty, J. (2024) The factors supporting the retention of registered nurses in adult social care. NIHR Policy Research Unit in Health and Social Care Workforce, The Policy Institute, King's College London. https://doi.org/10.18742/pub01-184