In:
PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science (PLoS), Vol. 16, No. 12 ( 2021-12-16), p. e0245569-
Abstract:
Most countries face challenges attracting and retaining health staff in remote areas but this is especially acute in fragile and shock-prone contexts, like Guinea, where imbalances in staffing are high and financial and governance arrangements to address rural shortfalls are weak. The objective of this study was to understand how health staff could be better motivated to work and remain in rural, under-served areas in Guinea. In order to inform the policy dialogue on strengthening human resources for health, we conducted three nationally representative cross-sectional surveys, adapted from tools used in other fragile contexts. This article focuses on the health worker survey. We found that the locational job preferences of health workers in Guinea are particularly influenced by opportunities for training, working conditions, and housing. Most staff are satisfied with their work and with supervision, however, financial aspects and working conditions are considered least satisfactory, and worrying findings include the high proportion of staff favouring emigration, their high tolerance of informal user payments, as well as their limited exposure to rural areas during training. Based on our findings, we highlight measures which could improve rural recruitment and retention in Guinea and similar settings. These include offering upgrading and specialization in return for rural service; providing greater exposure to rural areas during training; increasing recruitment from rural areas; experimenting with fixed term contracts in rural areas; and improving working conditions in rural posts. The development of incentive packages should be accompanied by action to tackle wider issues, such as reforms to training and staff management.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1932-6203
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g007
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.g008
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.t006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.s006
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r001
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r002
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r003
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r004
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r005
DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0245569.r006
Language:
English
Publisher:
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2267670-3
Permalink