A study on job satisfaction of health technicians at township hospitals in ERG theory

Abstract

Objective To understand the job satisfaction of health technicians at township health centers and explore the strategies of improvement. Methods Based on the theory of existence, relatedness and growth needs, both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the study. The quantitative investigation was carried out with the multi-stage cluster sampling method. The questionnaire for township health center personnel was compiled by the research group as a measuring tool for a survey of 803 health technicians from 45 township health centers regarding their existence, relatedness and growth needs in terms of existence, relatedness and growth needs. The data acquired were subject to descriptive analysis and variance analysis. The qualitative investigation was made by means of convenient sampling in personal in-depth interviews. The thematic framework method was used to analyze the contents of the interviews. Results The satisfaction of existence needs of health technicians at township health centers scored the lowest(2.59), followed by that of growth needs(2.91), and the highest scoring was relatedness needs(3.56). There exist significant differences in the scoring of existence, relatedness and growth needs, among different personnel category, gender, age, staffing quota, administrative posts, and academic titles. Conclusions The authorities should emphasize the existence, relatedness and growth needs of health technicians at township health centers, and improve their job satisfaction by perfecting the salary distribution system and perfecting the personnel training system. Key words: Rural health services; Health manpower; ERG theory; Job satisfaction; Incentive mechanism