Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine public health nurses for their morale, test the effect of each factor on the morale, determine the variables affecting the morale, and thereby, provide for some basic data useful to the development of personnel affair administration for nurses. The survey on the nurses for public health centers was conducted for 10 days from April 23 to May 2, 2001; 96 nurses from Pusan, 101 from Kyonggi-do and 108 from Kangwon-do. The results of the study are as follows; 1. For the demographic variables, those aged between 31 and 39 accounted for the majority $(50.2\%)$ of the sample. $90.8\%$ was married, and $67.9\%$ of the sample graduated from junior colleges. $29.6\%$ of them had worked for 10-14 years and $62.5\%$ was of the seventh rank. $62.3\%$ of the nurses was recruited, and $59.4\%$ had chosen the public job for its guaranteed status. Half the nurses were working for the county population of which was more than 260 thousands, and $53\%$ of the nurses was serving the public health centers with 11-15 members. $47.3\%$ of them perceived that their living standard is middle or lower. 2. The degree of the moral was found as mean score. 2.65, which is interpreted as low. It has 11 factors. The rank of mean score of the factors is job satisfaction (3.36), sense of belonging (3.36), sense of recognition (3.30), stress due to supervision (3.13), degree of participation (3.05) and self-achievement (3.04), while those scoring lower points were assurance of status (2.58), pay level (2.53), working conditions (2.35) and promotion opportunity (2.31). 3. The degree of moral depending on the demographic variables was significantly affected by such variables as age. academic background, career, rank, employment method, motive for the job, size of the population served and living standards. 4. The result of the Stepwise multiple regression analysis for the morale factors, it was found that self-achievement accounted for $61\%$ of the total variance of the degree of morale, followed by stable status $(18\%)$, working conditions $(8\%)$, job requirements $(4\%)$ and promotion opportunities $(2\%)$; these five factors explained about $94.6\%$ of total variance of the degree of nurses' morale. On the other hand. age $(8\%)$ and academic background $(2\%)$ accounted for $10\%$ of the total variance of the degree of morale. 5. The factors affecting nurses' job life was economic need $(26.7\%)$, personnel management $(17.5\%)$, sense of recognition $(13.2\%)$, human relationship $(11.0\%)$, stable status and personal development in rank. On the other hand, the factors influencing on their possible resignation were children's bringing-up $(27.8\%)$, poor personnel management and promotion $(13.3\%)$, workload $(11.1\%)$ and little personal development $(8.9\%)$, Since such morale factors as promotion opportunity, working condition. pay level and stable status scored lower, it is required to reconsider those factors to improve nurses' morale.