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
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/5273d898585544ff986fa97e49878968
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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
work_keys_str_mv	AT helenjack recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana AT maureencanavan recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana AT angelaoforiatta recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana AT laurentaylor recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana AT elizabethbradley recruitmentandretentionofmentalhealthworkersinghana
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Recruitment and retention of mental health workers in Ghana.

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