The Quality of Work Life of Nurses in Hospitals of Buikwe District.

Abstract

CHEPTOYEK VICTOR (2012-M121-10006) The Quality of Work Life of Nurses in Hospitals of Buikwe District This study looked into the Quality of Work Life (QWL) of nurses in all the hospitals of Buikwe district. Nurses as the largest human resource in the health sector have always been faced with a number of challenges that have resulted into dissatisfaction with the work they do, this, therefore, brings the need to explore more on their QWL so as to find out factors that influence it. Study area: the four hospitals of Nkokonjeru, Buikwe, Kawolo and Nyenga located in the central region of Uganda were all included in the study. Methods: the study was a descriptive study that employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis. Brooks‟ (2005) quality of nursing model was used where she considered four dimensions of nursing work life among which are: work life/home life dimension, work design, work context and work world. Responses from the nurses in the four hospitals of Nkokonjeru, Buikwe, Kawolo and Nyenga were obtained using a validated, self-administered questionnaire, and an interview guide. Results: the results from the study showed that nurses from Buikwe district were satisfied with their QWL with a mean score of 88.73 which is above the possible range as suggested by Beth Brooks (84). However, from the different subscales of work life/home life dimension, respondents were satisfied with majority of the items scoring a mean of 15.58, 21.82 for work design, 45.86 for work context and work world scoring 8.07. Though QWL was high nurses were also dissatisfied with some factors like heavy workload due to shortage of nurses in the hospitals, low remuneration and low supply of equipment to the pharmacy. Conclusion: Basing on the results of the study, nurses were generally satisfied with balancing work with family, co-workers, management and supervision; they were on the other hand dissatisfied with the heavy work load, coupled with low pay and the need for accommodation near the hospitals. Recommendations: there is need to educate health managers on the relevance of QWL for nurses as this will help them understand the value and techniques of QWL. There is need to train and recruit more qualified health professionals especially the nurses to curb the challenge of heavy work load. There is also need for health managers to look for means of motivating nurses as this can even ensure that nurses are satisfied and may not necessarily demand for a pay rise hence they should take it with a lot of effort. Inclusion of nurses in decision making can also help improve employee opportunity in participation in various aspects of their work life. Key Words: Quality, Work, Life, Nurses, Hospitals, Buikwe District