Job Characteristics, Work Environment, and Patient-Centered Care: A Focus on Community Health Nurses in a Rural and Peri-Urban Municipality in Ghana

Employee job characteristics and work environment have been considered crucial factors that can influence the practice of patient-centered care behaviour among health workers. The government of Ghana has been implementing interventions to strengthen the healthcare system in rural and peri-urban communities. However, the majority of Community health nurses prefer to work in urban areas than in deprived communities. This has resulted in a dearth of essential primary health care services for most rural and peri-urban residents. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between job characteristics, working environment, and patient-centered care behavior of Community Health Nurses in selected rural and peri-urban areas in the Bekwai Municipality, Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted among 80 Community Health Nurses (CHNs) in health facilities within Bekwai-Municipality. A semi-structured questionnaire and interview guide were used for the data collection conducted between May-June 2021. The data collection instrument measured and analysed one dependent variable, patient-centered behavior, and two independent variables, job characteristics, and working environment. Results: The respondents acknowledged the role played by job characteristics on patient-centered care (PCC). However, there were varied views on the extent to which the components of monotony, autonomy, performance feedback, and task identity influence healthcare delivery in the rural setting. Moreover, the findings indicate that community health nurses in rural areas were partly satisfied with their work environment as represented by physical characteristics, source of information on work requirements, compensation methods, and social relationships with co-workers and supervisors. The findings demonstrate a perceived positive relationship between employee job characteristics and patient-centered behavior in the ideal spatial context. Conclusion: It was concluded that to improve patient-centered care through job characteristics and work environment, hospital management should strengthen the aspect of autonomy in the work of CHNs as well as provide good compensation to motivate workers (CHNs) in rural facilities. Health facility regulatory bodies seeking to improve patient-centered should enhance job and work characteristics and introduce effective workplace social support and compensation systems. Keywords: Job characteristics, working environment, patient-centered care behavior, Community Health Nurses, Ghana. Title: Job Characteristics, Work Environment, and Patient-Centered Care: A Focus on Community Health Nurses in a Rural and Peri-Urban Municipality in Ghana Author: Richard Boateng, Jake Aboagye International Journal of Healthcare Sciences ISSN 2348-5728 (Online) Vol. 10, Issue 1, April 2022 - September 2022 Page No: 50-61 Research Publish Journals Website: www.researchpublish.com Published Date: 09-June-2022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6627466 Paper Download Link (Source) https://www.researchpublish.com/papers/job-characteristics-work-environment-and-patient-centered-care-a-focus-on-community-health-nurses-in-a-rural-and-peri-urban-municipality-in-ghana
International Journal of Healthcare Sciences, ISSN 2348-5728 (Online), Research Publish Journals (Publisher), Website: www.researchpublish.com
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