Abstract
BackgroundNurses constitute the majority of the health workforce in South Africa and they play a major role in providing primary health care (PHC) services. Job satisfaction influences nurse retention and successful implementation of health system reforms. This study was conducted in light of renewed government commitment to reforms at the PHC level, and to contribute to the development of solutions to the challenges faced by the South African nursing workforce. The objective of the study was to determine overall job satisfaction of PHC clinic nursing managers and the predictors of their job satisfaction in two South African provinces.MethodsDuring 2012, a cross-sectional study was conducted in two South African provinces. Stratified random sampling was used to survey a total of 111 nursing managers working in PHC clinics. These managers completed a pre-tested Measure of Job Satisfaction questionnaire with subscales on personal satisfaction, workload, professional support, training, pay, career prospects and standards of care. Mean scores were used to measure overall job satisfaction and various subscales. Predictors of job satisfaction were determined through multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsA total of 108 nursing managers completed the survey representing a 97% response rate. The mean age of respondents was 49 years (SD = 7.9) and the majority of them (92%) were female. Seventy-six percent had a PHC clinical training qualification. Overall mean job satisfaction scores were 142.80 (SD = 24.3) and 143.41 (SD = 25.6) for Gauteng and Free State provinces respectively out of a maximum possible score of 215. Predictors of job satisfaction were: working in a clinic of choice (RRR = 3.10 (95% CI: 1.11 to 8.62, P = 0.030)), being tired at work (RRR = 0.19 (95% CI: 0.08 to 0.50, P = 0.001)) and experience of verbal abuse (RRR = 0.18 (95% CI: 0.06 to 0.55, P = 0.001).ConclusionAllowing nurses greater choice of clinic to work in, the prevention of violence and addressing workloads could improve the practice environment and job satisfaction of PHC clinic nursing managers.
Highlights
Nurses constitute the majority of the health workforce in South Africa and they play a major role in providing primary health care (PHC) services
Study sites and setting This was a cross-sectional study conducted among professional nurses working as managers in PHC clinics situated in two South African provinces, namely Gauteng (GP) and Free State (FS), during 2012
Our study is one of the first African studies that uses the Measure of Job Satisfaction (MJS) tool to examine the job satisfaction of nursing managers at the PHC clinic level, but that combined it with socio-demographic variables and that explored the role of workplace violence in job satisfaction
Summary
Nurses constitute the majority of the health workforce in South Africa and they play a major role in providing primary health care (PHC) services. Job satisfaction influences nurse retention and successful implementation of health system reforms. This study was conducted in light of renewed government commitment to reforms at the PHC level, and to contribute to the development of solutions to the challenges faced by the South African nursing workforce. In many countries there is a health workforce shortage, characterized by inadequate production, suboptimal recruitment, and poor retention and staff management [3,4,5]. Job satisfaction influences health worker motivation, staff retention and performance, which in turn impact on the successful implementation of health system reforms [8]. The global emphasis on universal health coverage has put the spotlight on the revitalization of primary health care (PHC), in resource constrained settings
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