Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.

<h4>Introduction</h4>The lack of trained mental health workers is a primary contributor to the mental health treatment gap worldwide. Despite the great need to recruit and retain mental health workers in low-income countries, little is known about how these workers perceive their jobs an...

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Autores principales: Helen Jack, Maureen Canavan, Angela Ofori-Atta, Lauren Taylor, Elizabeth Bradley
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Publicado: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:5273d898585544ff986fa97e498789682021-11-18T07:55:20ZRecruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0057940https://doaj.org/article/5273d898585544ff986fa97e498789682013-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/23469111/pdf/?tool=EBIhttps://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Introduction</h4>The lack of trained mental health workers is a primary contributor to the mental health treatment gap worldwide. Despite the great need to recruit and retain mental health workers in low-income countries, little is known about how these workers perceive their jobs and what drives them to work in mental health care. Using qualitative interviews, we aimed to explore factors motivating mental health workers in order to inform interventions to increase recruitment and retention.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted 28 in-depth, open-ended interviews with staff in Ghana's three public psychiatric hospitals. We used the snowballing method to recruit participants and the constant comparative method for qualitative data analysis, with multiple members of the research team participating in data coding to enhance the validity and reliability of the analysis. The use of qualitative methods allowed us to understand the range and depth of motivating and demotivating factors.<h4>Results</h4>Respondents described many factors that influenced their choice to enter and remain in mental health care. Motivating factors included 1) desire to help patients who are vulnerable and in need, 2) positive day-to-day interactions with patients, 3) intellectual or academic interest in psychiatry or behavior, and 4) good relationships with colleagues. Demotivating factors included 1) lack of resources at the hospital, 2) a rigid supervisory hierarchy, 3) lack of positive or negative feedback on work performance, and 4) few opportunities for career advancement within mental health.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Because many of the factors are related to relationships, these findings suggest that strengthening the interpersonal and team dynamics may be a critical and relatively low cost way to increase worker motivation. The data also allowed us to highlight key areas for resource allocation to improve both recruitment and retention, including risk pay, adequate tools for patient care, improved hospital work environment, and stigma reduction efforts.Helen JackMaureen CanavanAngela Ofori-AttaLauren TaylorElizabeth BradleyPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 8, Iss 2, p e57940 (2013)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Medicine
R
Science
Q
spellingShingle Medicine
R
Science
Q
Helen Jack
Maureen Canavan
Angela Ofori-Atta
Lauren Taylor
Elizabeth Bradley
Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
description <h4>Introduction</h4>The lack of trained mental health workers is a primary contributor to the mental health treatment gap worldwide. Despite the great need to recruit and retain mental health workers in low-income countries, little is known about how these workers perceive their jobs and what drives them to work in mental health care. Using qualitative interviews, we aimed to explore factors motivating mental health workers in order to inform interventions to increase recruitment and retention.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted 28 in-depth, open-ended interviews with staff in Ghana's three public psychiatric hospitals. We used the snowballing method to recruit participants and the constant comparative method for qualitative data analysis, with multiple members of the research team participating in data coding to enhance the validity and reliability of the analysis. The use of qualitative methods allowed us to understand the range and depth of motivating and demotivating factors.<h4>Results</h4>Respondents described many factors that influenced their choice to enter and remain in mental health care. Motivating factors included 1) desire to help patients who are vulnerable and in need, 2) positive day-to-day interactions with patients, 3) intellectual or academic interest in psychiatry or behavior, and 4) good relationships with colleagues. Demotivating factors included 1) lack of resources at the hospital, 2) a rigid supervisory hierarchy, 3) lack of positive or negative feedback on work performance, and 4) few opportunities for career advancement within mental health.<h4>Conclusions</h4>Because many of the factors are related to relationships, these findings suggest that strengthening the interpersonal and team dynamics may be a critical and relatively low cost way to increase worker motivation. The data also allowed us to highlight key areas for resource allocation to improve both recruitment and retention, including risk pay, adequate tools for patient care, improved hospital work environment, and stigma reduction efforts.
format article
author Helen Jack
Maureen Canavan
Angela Ofori-Atta
Lauren Taylor
Elizabeth Bradley
author_facet Helen Jack
Maureen Canavan
Angela Ofori-Atta
Lauren Taylor
Elizabeth Bradley
author_sort Helen Jack
title Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
title_short Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
title_full Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
title_fullStr Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
title_full_unstemmed Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.
title_sort recruitment and retention of mental health workers in ghana.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate 2013
url https://doaj.org/article/5273d898585544ff986fa97e49878968
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AT angelaoforiatta recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana
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AT elizabethbradley recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana
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