Mash Robert, Williams Beverley, Stapar Dusica, Hendricks Gavin, Steyn Herma, Schoevers Johann, Wagner Leigh, Abbas Mumtaz, Kapp Paul, Perold Stefanie, Swartz Steve, Viljoen Werner, Bello Muideen
Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Family Medicine and Primary Care, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
BJGP Open. 2022 Dec 20;6(4). doi: 10.3399/BJGPO.2022.0047. Print 2022 Dec.
The health workforce is critical to strengthening district health services (DHS). In the public sector of South Africa, medical officers (MOs) are essential to delivering services in primary health care (PHC) and district hospitals. Family physicians, responsible for clinical governance, identified their retention as a key issue.
To evaluate factors that influence retention of MOs in public sector DHS.
DESIGN & SETTING: A descriptive survey of MOs working in DHS, Western Cape, South Africa.
All 125 MOs working in facilities associated with the Stellenbosch University Family Physician Research Network (SUFPREN) were included in the survey. A questionnaire measured the prevalence of key factors that might be associated with retention (staying >4 years) and included the Satisfaction of Employees in Health Care (SEHC) tool and Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS). Data were collected in Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) and analysed in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).
Ninety-five MOs completed the survey. The overall rating of the facility ( = 0.001), age ( = 0.004), seniority ( = 0.015), career plans (<0.001), and intention to stay in the public sector (<0.001) were associated with retention. More personal factors such as social support ( = 0.007), educational opportunities for children ( = 0.002), and staying with one's partner ( = 0.036) were also associated with retention. Sex, rural versus urban location, district hospital versus primary care facility, overtime, remuneration, and additional rural allowance were not associated with retention.
The overall rating of the facility was important and subsequent qualitative work has explored the underlying issues. These findings can guide strategies in the Western Cape and similar settings to retain MOs in the DHS.
卫生人力对于加强地区卫生服务至关重要。在南非公共部门，医务人员对于提供初级卫生保健和地区医院的服务至关重要。负责临床管理的家庭医生认为留住他们是一个关键问题。
评估影响公共部门地区卫生服务中医务人员留任意愿的因素。
对南非西开普地区卫生服务部门工作的医务人员进行描述性调查。
参与斯泰伦博斯大学家庭医生研究网络（SUFPREN）相关机构工作的所有125名医务人员都被纳入调查。一份问卷测量了可能与留任意愿（工作超过4年）相关的关键因素的普遍性，并包括医疗保健员工满意度（SEHC）工具和沃里克 - 爱丁堡心理健康量表简表（SWEMWBS）。数据在研究电子数据采集（REDCap）中收集，并在社会科学统计软件包（SPSS）中进行分析。
95名医务人员完成了调查。机构的总体评级（P = 0.001）、年龄（P = 0.004）、资历（P = 0.015）、职业规划（P<0.001）以及留在公共部门的意愿（P<0.001）与留任意愿相关。更多个人因素，如社会支持（P = 0.007）、子女教育机会（P = 0.002）以及与伴侣在一起（P = 0.036）也与留任意愿相关。性别、城乡地点、地区医院与初级保健机构、加班、薪酬以及额外的农村津贴与留任意愿无关。
机构的总体评级很重要，随后的定性研究探讨了潜在问题。这些发现可为西开普及类似地区留住地区卫生服务中医务人员的策略提供指导。
