Nurses' perceptions of quality of work life in private hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria: A qualitative study

AIMS Public Health

article

Daniel Ogbuabor¹  Nwanneka Ghasi³  Raymonda Eneh² 

[1] Department of Health Administration and Management, Faculty of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus;Department of Health Systems and Policy;Department of Management, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Nigeria Enugu Campus

关键词: quality of work life;    nurses;    nursing;    work-family life balance;    work design;    work context;    work relevance;    work world;   

DOI  :  10.3934/publichealth.2022050

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: AIMS Press

【 摘 要 】

Despite being essential for retaining nurses, not much is known about nurses' quality of work life (QWL) in private hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria. We explored nurses' perceptions of QWL, factors influencing it, how it affects motivation, and strategies for its improvement. The study was conducted in seven private hospitals in Enugu, Nigeria. The design was qualitative, using focus group discussion (n = 7) with registered nurses (n = 66) purposively selected using maximum variation sampling and the inclusion criteria. Data were analyzed using verbatim transcription and thematic analysis. The nurses understood QWL from work-family life, work design, work context and work world perspectives. Opportunities for skill acquisition, resource availability, helpfulness from colleagues, and a hygienic work environment improved the QWL and motivation of nurses. Work-family life factors including caring obligations, night shifts, long hours, burnout, and inappropriate leave policies; work design factors including declining autonomy, inadequate staffing, and a high workload; work context factors consisting of a lack of participatory decision-making, blaming nurses for gaps, restrictive training policy, limited training opportunity, and insecurity; and work world factors related to poor remuneration, poor community view of nursing and ease of job termination undermined QWL and demotivated nurses. Strategies identified by the nurses to improve QWL included improving staffing, vacation, care coordination, supportive supervision, teamwork, promotion, participatory decision-making, training opportunities, timely hand-over of shifts, job recognition, and compensation. The quality of nursing work life in private hospitals in Enugu needs improvement. Quality improvement programs addressing the barriers to nurses' QWL are warranted.

【 授权许可】

CC BY