Factors Influencing the Availability of Health Workers on Health Service Delivery in Tanzania District Hospitals A Case of Kaliua District Council

Abstract

This study aims to assess factors influencing the availability of health workers in health service delivery in the Kaliua District Council. Data were collected from a sample size of 133 respondents, by administering a questionnaire to 128 randomly selected health workers and conducting in-depth interviews with 5 purposively selected key informants in the study area. SPSS software was used to analyze quantitative data while thematic analysis was applied for qualitative data. Results show a critical availability of 650 (72.5%) health labour force in the district. Factors influencing the availability of health workers in Kaliua District Council were found to be insufficient salaries, poor working environment, expansion of health facilities, improper allocation of health workers, poor retention strategies, migration of skilled health workers and inadequate medical and nursing training institutions. Further, the effect of the availability of health workers on health service delivery in Kaliua District Council includes increased workload, low working morale, poor provision of health services and limited access to healthcare. The major strategies for addressing the availability of health workers in Kaliua District Council include improving the remuneration package, improving working conditions, proper allocation of health workers, getting the right skill mix of health workers, retention strategies, training on health workers, new recruitment in each financial year and replacement of health workers. This study concludes that the staffing need in Kaliua District Council is inadequate, particularly for Nurses and Midwives. The researcher recommends for adoption and implementation of the WISN+POA system; the development of a skilled and equitably distributed healthcare workforce; and the promotion of rural and remote postings.