Effect of Individual Attributes on Job Satisfaction of Health Care Workers in Murang’a County Referral Hospital - Kenya

Abstract

Job satisfaction among the health care workers has been shown to influence the quality of health care services they provide to patients at health facilities. Kenya is among countries in the sub Saharan Africa with underlying challenges in human resources for health within the public sector. This is characterized by frequent strikes that signal low levels of satisfaction which in turn affect the quality of service delivery. The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of individual attributes among health care workers on their job satisfaction in one of the largest public hospitals in Central Kenya – Murang’a County Referral Hospital. The study was limited to six individual attributes namely gender, their age, their highest level of education, length of service, marital status, and religion. A target population of 301 health care workers working at the hospital was considered out of which a sample size of 172 was selected. Chi square test was used to examine the association of individual attributes and job satisfaction. Results showed a significant association between age and length of service with job satisfaction while no significant association to job satisfaction was observed on gender, highest level of education, marital status and religion. In conclusion, the study showed that though individual attributes have an overall effect on job satisfaction among health care workers, some attributes are more significant than others.