Assessing the job satisfaction of health workers in primary health centers in Anaocha, Anambra State in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Determining the effectiveness of a health system is the presence of an adequate and well-distributed workforce of skilled health professionals, particularly within the Primary Health Care sector. These healthcare personnel constitute a significant portion of public health expenditure and with their jobs form the cornerstone of numerous policies and management approaches aimed at augmenting productivity and efficacy.

Objective: This study sought to assess the level of job satisfaction among healthcare workers in Primary Health Centres in Anaocha LGA, Anambra State, Nigeria.

Methods: After obtaining approval from the ethics and research committees in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, a cross-sectional study of 70 consenting Primary healthcare workers who met the eligibility criteria was conducted. They were selected by simple random sampling from 1^st February to 1^st March 2021 at the Primary Healthcare Centres in Anaocha Local Government Area (L.G.A) of Anambra State. Data collection was by the use of a self-administered, semi-structured questionnaire and analyzed using the statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. The level of significance for this study was set at P < 0.05 for all analyses.

Results: The study showed a high level of overall job satisfaction, as 81.43% of the respondents were satisfied with their jobs. The workers' salary (p = 0.021), their physical working environment (p = 0.043), the distance of the workplace from their place of residence (p = 0.041), and payment of allowances (p = 0.012) were significantly associated with job satisfaction.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated a notably elevated level of job satisfaction. Special allowance schemes should be instituted for primary healthcare workers to encourage their stay in rural areas.