Perceptions of working conditions amongst health workers in state-owned facilities in northeastern Nigeria

The health care sector depends to a large extent on human labor. Poor worker motivation can greatly affect health outcomes and patient safety. There is little information on the health workers' perceptions of working conditions in resource-poor settings. Three state-owned facilities in each sta...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of African medicine 2009-10, Vol.8 (4), p.243-249
Main Authors: Chirdan, Oluwabunmi O, Akosu, Joeseph T, Ejembi, Clara L, Bassi, Amos P, Zoakah, Ayuba I
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Cross-Sectional Studies
Employee motivation
Female
Health facilities
Health Personnel - psychology
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Job Satisfaction
Male
Medical personnel
Methods
Motivation
Nigeria
Perceptions
Practice
Psychological aspects
Salaries and Fringe Benefits
Surveys
Surveys and Questionnaires
Working conditions
Workplace - organization & administration
Workplace - psychology
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Summary:The health care sector depends to a large extent on human labor. Poor worker motivation can greatly affect health outcomes and patient safety. There is little information on the health workers' perceptions of working conditions in resource-poor settings. Three state-owned facilities in each state were selected by simple random sampling technique. The selected facilities were visited on weekdays between 9 and 10 a.m. A self-administered structured questionnaire was given to all health care workers on duty in the facility at the time of visit. A total of 299 questionnaires were returned. The response rate was 85.43%. Two hundred four (68.2%) workers experienced general satisfaction with their current jobs. The relationships between general job satisfaction and presence of conflict at work (P = 0.001), freedom of expression (P > 0.001), managerial support for staff welfare (P > 0.001), managerial support for staff career development (P > 0.001), availability of tools and consumables in the workplace (P > 0.001) and progress towards personal professional goals (P = 0.001) were statistically significant. The level of general job satisfaction was high. Though salaries were important, presence of conflict at work, freedom of expression, managerial support for staff welfare, managerial support for staff career development, availability of tools and consumables in the workplace and progress towards personal professional goals appear to play a role in worker motivation.
ISSN:1596-3519
0975-5764
DOI:10.4103/1596-3519.59579