Health worker motivation and health sector reform.

This health primer provides a conceptual framework to help policymakers anticipate and plan for the effects of health sector reform on health worker motivation and sets out a number of basic rules which policymakers should take into account when developing and implementing reform policies so as to promote worker motivation.

Abstract

Although low levels of work motivation plague public health systems in many countries and at all income levels very little attention has been paid to this topic. While a few studies have explored particular aspects of the motivation question such a staff retention or satisfaction there are virtually no developing country studies examining health worker motivation in a comprehensive manner. Pulling together the most-up-to-date information on health worker motivation this health primer provides a conceptual framework to help policymakers anticipate and plan for the effects of health sector reform on health worker motivation. It also summarizes selected country experiences of the impact of health sector reform on health worker motivation; and sets out a number of basic rules which policymakers should take into account when developing and implementing reform policies so as to promote worker motivation. Topics include determinants of health worker motivation individual determinants of work motivation organizational factors broader cultural and client influences the effects of health sector reform country experiences with reform and health worker motivation implications for policymakers and policy oriented research.