|
| ||||||
MEDIA CENTER Low Morale Found Among South African Maternity Nurses NEW YORK (23 December 2005) — A high percentage of maternity nursing staff working in public facilities in South Africa are discouraged, burnt out, and considering leaving the facility where they work, according to a recent Population Council study. The emigration of trained professionals poses an ongoing challenge in South Africa. Among nurses, this phenomenon—and the pressure it places on nurses who remain—may be contributing to a high rate of maternal mortality in that country. The Population Council’s Frontiers in Reproductive Health program, in collaboration with the University of Witwatersrand, conducted a study to learn more about the workloads, morale, and career plans of maternity nurses in South Africa. The study was carried out in the Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga provinces in South Africa. Overall, hospitals and clinics had vacancy rates of 23 percent and 27 percent, respectively, with clinics in Mpumalanga having the highest percentage of positions that had been vacated. Turnover for skilled midwives was also high. Eighty-three percent of hospitals but only 11 percent of clinics had nurses specially trained in midwifery, and 42 percent of facilities reported that they had lost a midwife during the last year. Sixty percent of professional nurses agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “These days I don’t feel motivated to work as hard as I could,” and 43 percent agreed with the statement, “When I get up in the morning, I dread having to face another day at work.” A range of factors was associated with nurses considering going overseas. Pay levels, poor opportunities for promotion, feeling unsupported by management, and having bad relationships at work were all associated with a lack of desire to stay in one’s job. Nurses in the middle age group of 30–49 years and those with children under the age of 18 were more likely to be considering going overseas than were younger or older nurses. Wanting a better future for their children and needing money to pay for school fees were mentioned as being key motivations for nurses going overseas. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was found to have a role, but not to be directly responsible for problems with nursing morale in maternity units. Only 15 percent of nurses said that the risk of catching HIV has made them think about leaving their jobs. The study found that both financial and nonfinancial factors influenced nurses’ decisions on where to work. Good management and a well-equipped hospital were as influential in nurses’ choices as a 15-percent pay increase. The researchers note that interventions are badly needed to improve this situation, even though the low morale may be an obstacle to successfully implementing such efforts. Policymakers need to pay more attention to the implementation and impact of policies, particularly on the relationships they affect among nurses and between nurses and managers. The researchers recommend that improving facility management should be a priority of South Africa’s National Department of Health. But they acknowledge that the task that may be challenging, since many facility managers themselves are demoralized. The January 2006 issue of Population Briefs is now available online. Articles include:
Population Briefs highlights the Population Council’s research in biomedicine, public health, and social science as well as its international collaborations. The free newsletter is available in print and electronically. To receive e-mail when a new issue of Population Briefs is available online, register on the sign up page: www.popcouncil.org/signup. The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve the well-being and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. Established in 1952, the Council is governed by an international board of trustees. Its New York headquarters supports a global network of offices. # # # Media contact:
|
