Perceptions and Motivation Experiences of Health Workers in a Major Public Tertiary Hospital in Enugu State, Nigeria

Introduction: Work motivation can be described as a psychological process aimed at achieving both person and organizational goals, developed amongst workers due to combination of their personal needs and desires, the organizational context within which they work and the community they are part of poor motivation of health care workers (HCWs) has been known to have a devastating effect on health care services. More so, it leads to loss of health workers which can compromise health system capacity to deliver adequate care as the more experienced workers migrate leading to increased workloads and stress level, further demotivating the remaining staff. Aim: This study was aimed at the assessment of motivation in HCWs in a tertiary hospital in Enugu state, Nigeria with hopes to help inform decision making in the area of strategic planning with regards to staff motivation in the country. Methods: The study was a descriptive cross sectional study carried out among 365 HCWs from a major government tertiary hospital in Enugu state, Nigeria. Participants were selected via simple random sampling method. Data analysis was carried out using summary measures and displayed in frequencies, proportions and percentages. Results: In HCWs perception about the concept of motivation, most of the respondents 330(92.7%) felt that motivation of an individual was a degree of willingness to exert a goal, while 347(97.4%) believed that motivation was important in healthcare delivery service. Unfortunately, very few 26(7.3%) felt motivation of workers was being taken seriously by the hospital management. Most felt that various forms of intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation were lacking at their workplace and the main effect of motivation was an intention to migrate. The best strategy agreed by most respondents 313(87.9%) to improve motivation of HCWs was appropriate remunerations. Conclusion: The information in the study leads to the understanding that both intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation are lacking in the motivation of HCWs. Therefore, employers need to explore these factors and implement then in the health sector. The results of this study could be useful in enhancing policy strategies to strengthen the Human resources for health, especially in developing countries like Nigeria where health care human resource challenges continue to impede the provision of quality health care services and lead to migration of healthcare workers.