Job Satisfaction and Intention of Primary Healthcare Workers to Leave: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Local Government Area in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The increased intention of healthcare workers to leave the health sector is one of the many negative impacts of job dissatisfaction and poor working conditions among healthcare workers in Nigeria. This study assessed the level of job satisfaction and the intention of leaving the country or medical practice among primary healthcare workers in Lagos, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive cross-sectional among 235 respondents, selected using a multistage sampling method. An adapted self-administered questionnaire from the Minnesota questionnaire short form and the Job Description Index (JDI) was used for data collection. Data were analyzed with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. Descriptive statistics were performed while Chi-square was used to determine the association between categorical variables and the level of significance was set at p <0.05.  About half (50.6%) of the healthcare workers were satisfied with their jobs. Highest score 37.00 (32-40) for job satisfaction was found in the domain of management process; while the lowest score 16.00 (13-20) was found in the salary domain. The majority of the healthcare workers 201(85.5%) had the intention of leaving Nigeria for a better opportunity abroad. Healthcare workers were satisfied with the management process but dissatisfied with pay. Targeted interventions to improve the morale of healthcare workers at the primary healthcare level is recommended.