| Literature DB >> 26284617 |
Oathokwa Nkomazana1, Robert Mash2, Sheila Shaibu3, Nthabiseng Phaladze3.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An adequate health workforce force is central to universal health coverage and positive public health outcomes. However many African countries have critical shortages of healthcare workers, which are worse in primary healthcare. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of healthcare workers, policy makers and the community on the shortage of healthcare workers in Botswana.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2015 PMID: 26284617 PMCID: PMC4540466 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135846
Source DB: PubMed Journal: PLoS One ISSN: 1932-6203 Impact factor: 3.240
Fig 1Sampling Strategy.
Membership of the policy makers and healthcare workers’ focus groups.
| Cadre | Policy makers N = 27 (3 females) | Healthcare workers N = 46 (36 females) | Community members N = 60 (50 females) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctor | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Nurse/midwife | 4 | 21 | 0 |
| Administrator | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Other health worker | 2 | 15 | 1 |
| Community/political leaders | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Civil society organisations | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Home-based carers | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Traditional healers | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Other community members | 0 | 0 | 49 |
Frequency of coding for a perceived shortage of healthcare workers.
| Themes | Community members | Healthcare workers | Policy makers |
|---|---|---|---|
| No shortage of HCW | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Shortage in rural and remote areas | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Shortage of Tswana speaking doctors | 11 | 3 | 1 |
| Shortage of doctors | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Shortage of health-care workers | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| Shortage of nurses | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Shortage of midwives and specialist nurses | 15 | 10 | 11 |
| Shortage of pharmacy technicians | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Shortages of other healthcare workers | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Frequency of coding related to the causes for a shortage of healthcare workers.
| Category | Community Members | Health Care Workers | Policy Makers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Increased service need | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Inequitable distribution | 9 | 14 | 4 |
| Migration from public sector | 23 | 28 | 10 |
| Training of health workers | 35 | 40 | 37 |
Frequency of coding for the reasons underlying the migration of healthcare workers.
| Category | Community members | Healthcare workers | Policy makers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poor healthcare management | 98 | 85 | 60 |
| Poor human resources management | 63 | 104 | 83 |
| Lack of incentives for primary care | 12 | 29 | 30 |
| Personal and family factors | 7 | 18 | 12 |
| Socioeconomic and contextual issues | 37 | 32 | 39 |
| Poor working conditions | 23 | 31 | 9 |