Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction among Health Workers in Tanzania: A Case of Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre Referral Hospital

Abstract

A well-functioning health system is composed of six building blocks. Health workers are one among the six blocks. Human resource for health is vital for effective and efficient delivery of health care. However, there has been existing problem of inadequate staffing in the health care which weaken the health service delivery. It’s of paramount importance to ensure that the available health workers are satisfied with their job for quality delivery of care. The purpose of this study was to ascertain factors which influence job satisfaction among human resource for health in Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Tanzania. The objectives were to assess the influence of demographic characteristics, institutional governance, the working environment and professional related factors on job satisfaction among health care workers. This was an institution-based cross-sectional study and the target population was all health workers in KCMC. Sampling procedure was stratified probability sampling and a total of 257 respondents were included in the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Logistic regression model was run to determine association between factor scores in the independent variables and the dependent variable at 95%CI whereas P<0.05 was regarded statistically significant. Results showed that job satisfaction rate of health workforce at KCMC was 49%. Nurses is the cadre with the highest job dissatisfaction rate of 60.2% followed by doctors at 51.6%. The highest job satisfaction rate was revealed among the carder of allied health professional at the rate of 66.7%. Factors found to have significant association to job satisfaction were marital status (P=0.006), decision making process (P=0.002), supervisory support (P=0.014), relationship with co-workers (P=0.001), pay (P=0.0001), nature of work (P=0.009) and career advancement (P=0.0001). On measuring the satisfaction levels, it was promotion and income that had the lowest satisfaction rates of 14.1% and 14.7% respectively. The hospital management needs to improve on the factors which were identified as major contributors to job satisfaction for the purpose of enhancing job satisfaction among health workers. Therefore, major decisions must be participatory, supervisory support must be enhanced, salary increases or promotion should be regularly considered and career advancement opportunities must be provided for the employees to acquire more skills and competencies for quality health care delivery