Experiences from the Philippine grassroots : impact of strengthening primary care systems on health worker satisfaction and intention to stay

© 2023. The Author(s)..

BACKGROUND: Inequities in health access and outcomes persist in low- and middle-income countries. While strengthening primary care is integral in improving patient outcomes, primary care networks remain undervalued, underfunded, and underdeveloped in many LMICs such as the Philippines. This paper underscores the value of strengthening primary care system interventions in LMICs by examining their impact on job satisfaction and intention to stay among healthcare workers in the Philippines.

METHODS: This study was conducted in urban, rural, and remote settings in the Philippines. A total of 36 urban, 54 rural, and 117 remote healthcare workers participated in the study. Respondents comprised all family physicians, nurses, midwives, community health workers, and staff involved in the delivery of primary care services from the sites. A questionnaire examining job satisfaction (motivators) and dissatisfaction (hygiene) factors was distributed to healthcare workers before and after system interventions were introduced across sites. Interventions included the introduction of performance-based incentives, the adoption of electronic health records, and the enhancement of diagnostic and pharmaceutical capabilities over a 1-year period. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test and a McNemar's chi-square test were then conducted to compare pre- and post-intervention experiences for each setting.

RESULTS: Among the factors examined, results revealed a significant improvement in perceived compensation fairness among urban (p = 0.001) and rural (p = 0.016) providers. The rural workforce also reported a significant improvement in medicine access (p = 0.012) post-intervention. Job motivation and turnover intention were sustained in urban and rural settings between periods. Despite the interventions introduced, a decline in perceptions towards supply accessibility, job security, and most items classified as job motivators was reported among remote providers. Paralleling this decline, remote primary care providers with the intent to stay dropped from 93% at baseline to 75% at endline (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: The impact of strengthening primary care on health workforce satisfaction and turnover intention varied across urban, rural, and remote settings. While select interventions such as improving compensation were promising for better-supported settings, the immediate impact of these interventions was inadequate in offsetting the infrastructural and staffing gaps experienced in disadvantaged areas. Unless these problems are comprehensively addressed, satisfaction will remain low, workforce attrition will persist as a problem, and marginalized communities will be underserved.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2023

Erschienen:

2023

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:23

Enthalten in:

BMC health services research - 23(2023), 1 vom: 04. Feb., Seite 117

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

De Mesa, Regine Ynez H [VerfasserIn]
Marfori, Jose Rafael A [VerfasserIn]
Fabian, Noleen Marie C [VerfasserIn]
Camiling-Alfonso, Romelei [VerfasserIn]
Javelosa, Mark Anthony U [VerfasserIn]
Bernal-Sundiang, Nannette [VerfasserIn]
Dans, Leonila F [VerfasserIn]
Calderon, Ysabela T [VerfasserIn]
Celeste, Jayson A [VerfasserIn]
Sanchez, Josephine T [VerfasserIn]
Rey, Mia P [VerfasserIn]
Galingana, Cara Lois T [VerfasserIn]
Paterno, Ramon Pedro P [VerfasserIn]
Catabui, Jesusa T [VerfasserIn]
Lopez, Johanna Faye E [VerfasserIn]
Aquino, Maria Rhodora N [VerfasserIn]
Dans, Antonio Miguel L [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Health workforce
Healthcare disparities
Intervention study
Job satisfaction
Journal Article
Primary health care

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 12.02.2023

Date Revised 12.02.2023

published: Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1186/s12913-022-08799-1

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM352494026