Why do workers leave geriatric care, and do they come back? A timing of events study.

Background: In many industrialized countries, demographic change is accompanied by increasing demand for geriatric care workers, which in turn intensifies the need to retain them or to attract them back after leaving. Although much is known about the intention of workers to leave, little is known about how many of them actually do leave and return to geriatric care at a later stage in a comprehensive framework.

Objective: To examine and explain how many workers withdraw from geriatric care, take up other occupations, and return to geriatric care at a later stage in their careers, and the reasons behind this.