Job satisfaction of nurses in Jimma University Specialized Teaching Hospital, Ethiopia

Job satisfaction among Ethiopian nurses: a systematic review

Objective

Job satisfaction is a positive emotional feeling in the working environment, and it is an essential tool with which to improve patient safety, nurses’ efficiency and performance, quality of care, retention and turnover of nurses, and commitment to the organization and the profession. There are few studies on job satisfaction of nurses in the country. Therefore, this review aims to estimate the pooled prevalence of job satisfaction among Ethiopian nurses using the available studies.

Methods

This systematic review used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence and associated factors of nurses’ job satisfaction. Databases used for searching the included articles from PubMed, Embase, CINHAL, Google Scholar, HINARI, and ScienceDirect. All papers selected for inclusion were subjected to a rigorous appraisal using a standardized critical appraisal checklist (JBI checklist). STATA software (version 11) was used for the analysis, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The Cochrane Q test statistics and I2 tests were used to assess the heterogeneity prevailing between the studies. Finally, a random effect model was computed to estimate the pooled prevalence of nurses’ job satisfaction in the country.

Results

In this review, the data of 1,151 nurses were obtained from six studies. The pooled prevalence of nurses’ job satisfaction was found to be 39.53% (24.52, 54.53). The prevalence of job satisfaction in the Central part of Ethiopia was low: 31.12% (95% CI 5.25, 56.99) compared to the South-Eastern part of Ethiopia’s 48.01% (95% CI 36.51, 59.52). The most common predictors identified were salary (P < 0.05), the leadership of the organization (P < 0.05), and training opportunities (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The pooled prevalence of job satisfaction among nurses was found to be low in comparison with global data. The significant predictors for nurses’ job satisfaction are based on the review findings, salary, leadership of organization, and training opportunities.

The Emory-Addis Ababa PhD in Nursing Program: A sustainable model for strengthening nursing research capacity in Ethiopia

In 2015, Ethiopia's first PhD in nursing program was established in collaboration between the Addis Ababa University (AAU) and Emory University Schools of Nursing. Eleven students have entered the program since its inception, six have successfully defended their proposals, one has graduated, and two have received Fogarty Global Health Fellowships. This paper describes the evolution of this international partnership and the innovative processes and mechanisms involved in program implementation; the authors address the description of the program, central implementation challenges, notable outcomes, and student achievements. One key implementation challenge has been that, although nursing is one of the largest healthcare workforces in Ethiopia, nurses remain underutilized and undervalued in the workplace. This treatment is due, in part, to limited professional regulations, leading some of the PhD students to apply their leadership skills to advocate for national practice reform. According to students, the PhD program has been a means not only to improve nursing research capacity and education in Ethiopia, but also to generate the regulations necessary for graduates to practice according to their degree. While the opportunity to generate knowledge is vitally important, students also value the chance to transform the profession of nursing.

Beyond patient care: the impact of healthcare reform on job satisfaction in the Ethiopian public healthcare sector

BACKGROUND

While healthcare reform has been a central attention for local governments, its impact on job satisfaction is poorly understood. This study aimed to determine the impact of healthcare reform on job satisfaction in the public healthcare sector in Ethiopia.

METHODS

The study was designed as a facility-based cross-sectional survey of healthcare professionals and carried out in all public hospitals in central Ethiopia which have been implementing healthcare reform (n = 5). All healthcare professionals in the hospitals who were involved in the reform from the inception (n = 476) were purposively sourced to complete a self-administered questionnaire adapted from a framework proposed for measuring job satisfaction of health professionals in sub-Saharan Africa. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's tests were conducted to measure sampling adequacy and sphericity for factor analysis. Likert's transformation formula was used to numerically analyse the satisfaction level of the respondents and to determine the cut-off value of satisfaction levels. Non-parametric and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted to determine predictors of job satisfaction.

RESULTS

A total of 410 healthcare professionals completed the survey, representing an 88% response rate. The median and mean job satisfaction scores were 50 and 49, respectively, on a scale 1-100, which was equivalent to 'Job dissatisfied' on the Likert scale. Only 25% of respondents perceived job satisfaction due to implementation of the reform. Moral satisfaction (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 177.65; 95% confidence interval (CI), 59.54-530.08), management style (aOR, 4.02; 95% CI, 1.49-10.83), workload (aOR, 2.42; 95% CI, 0.93-6.34), and task (aOR, 5.49; 95% CI, 2.31-13.07) were the most significant predictors. Job satisfaction results were significantly different among the study hospitals (χ ² = 30.56, p < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

The healthcare reform significantly and negatively influences public healthcare professionals' job satisfaction and its overall impact on job satisfaction was poor, which would hinder the 'Health Sector Transformation' movement of Ethiopia. Healthcare reform efforts are contingent on job satisfaction of healthcare professionals, and such efforts should balance the demand and supply of both patients and providers for improved healthcare outcomes.