Abstract
Strengthening health systems in developing countries such as Kenya is required to achieve the third United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal of health for all, at all ages. However, Kenya is experiencing a “brain drain” and a critical shortage of healthcare professionals. There is a need to identify the factors that motivate healthcare workers to work in the health sector in rural and marginalized areas. This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the factors associated with the level and types of motivation among healthcare professionals in public and mission hospitals in Meru county, Kenya. Data were collected from 24 public and mission hospitals using a self-administered structured questionnaire. A total of 553 healthcare professionals participated in this study; 78.48% from public hospitals and 21.52% from mission hospitals. Hospital ownership was statistically nonsignificant in healthcare professionals’ overall motivation (p > 0.05). The results showed that sociodemographic and work-environment factors explained 29.95% of the variation in overall motivation scores among participants. Findings indicate there are more similarities than disparities among healthcare professionals’ motivation factors, regardless of hospital ownership; therefore, motivation strategies should be developed and applied in both public and private not-for-profit hospitals to ensure an effective healthcare workforce and strengthen healthcare systems in Kenya.
Highlights
Strengthening healthcare systems in developing countries is required to achieve the third UnitedNations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG3)
In Kenya, there are more skilled healthcare professionals in urban areas than rural areas [10], and more studies have been done in public hospitals than in private ones; this study aims to contribute to filling the knowledge gap in both public and mission hospitals
In the Kenyan context, this is the first study to investigate motivation among healthcare professionals guided by self-determination theory (SDT)
Summary
Strengthening healthcare systems in developing countries is required to achieve the third United. The SDG3 aims to “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at all ages” [1] Target 3C underscores the necessity for countries to develop, train, recruit, and retain a healthcare workforce to increase healthcare-worker density and improve their distribution to promote equitable healthcare [2]. Healthcare-workforce strengthening is paramount to ensure stronger healthcare systems. 3C, the 64th World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution on “Health Workforce Strengthening”. (WHA 64.6) in 2011 [3]. The resolution recognizes the healthcare workforce as a significant component of healthcare systems and underscores the importance of enhancing their well-being to strengthen national healthcare systems and improve healthcare outcomes [3].
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