Objectives: This study was conducted to provide an overall picture and shed some light on measures to improve motivation among health workers in Phu My district health center – Binh Dinh province in 2017.
Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional design applying a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. First, quantitative data was collected via self-administered questionnaire among the entire 295 health workers. Work motivation were measured by a seven-component scale with 23 items. Then, qualitative data were collected from 10 in-depth interviews and 5 focus group discussions among managers, representatives from departments, teams and commune health stations.
Results: Percentage of health workers with work motivation was low (57.5%); this percentage at district level was lower than that at commune level (54.9% and 60.2%, respectively); clinical and subclinical departments had lower percentage than that in preventive care and administrative ones (47.7% and 61.4%). Motivation among management staff (60.8%) was higher than that among health professional staffs (54.2%). Several solutions to improve work motivation such as assigning tasks suitable to workload and capacity; acknowledging and encouraging contributions of health workers at both district and commune levels; offering higher salary and bonus especially to clinical and subclinical workers at district level; improving working environment and facilities; developing a clear career path and human resource policies to attract and retain talents for district level.
Conclusion: Health workers’ motivation at both district and commune levels was low. Therefore, priority should be given to solutions to improve work motivation, especially for health workers at district level.