1. Comparing the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa
- Author
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Duane Blaauw, Aziza Mwisongo, Charles Normand, Posy Bidwell, Prudence Ditlopo, Fresier Maseko, Steve Thomas, Maureen Chirwa, and Irish Aid
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,health worker ,Malawi ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Nurse Midwives ,Cross-sectional study ,Health Personnel ,Building New Knowledge Supplement ,Allied Health Personnel ,Nurses ,Personnel Turnover ,Tanzania ,intention to leave ,South Africa ,Individual health ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Environmental health ,parasitic diseases ,Humans ,Medicine ,Health worker ,job satisfaction ,Surveillance, monitoring & evaluation ,biology ,business.industry ,lcsh:Public aspects of medicine ,Health Policy ,R727-727.5 ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,lcsh:RA1-1270 ,biology.organism_classification ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Scale (social sciences) ,Family medicine ,Health worker, job satisfaction, intention to leave, Tanzania, Malawi, South Africa ,Female ,Cluster sampling ,Job satisfaction ,Public Health ,business ,Healthcare system - Abstract
Background: Job satisfaction is an important determinant of health worker motivation, retention, and performance, all of which are critical to improving the functioning of health systems in low- and middleincome countries. A number of small-scale surveys have measured the job satisfaction and intention to leave of individual health worker cadres in different settings, but there are few multi-country and multi-cadre comparative studies.Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional survey of a stratified cluster sample of 2,220 health workers, 564 from Tanzania, 939 from Malawi, and 717 from South Africa. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographic information, a 10-item job satisfaction scale, and one question on intention to leave. Multiple regression was used to identify significant predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave. Results: There were statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and intention to leave between the three countries. Approximately 52.1% of health workers in South Africa were satisfied with their jobs compared to 71% from Malawi and 82.6% from Tanzania (x2 =140.3, p
- Published
- 2013