Assessing the staffing needs for primary health care centers in Cross River State, Nigeria: a workload indicators of staffing needs study

BACKGROUND

A major human resources for health challenge for Nigeria is ensuring the availability and retention of adequate competent health workers in the right mix to provide health care particularly at primary health care facilities in remote and rural communities. This study applied the Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) method to determine the numbers of nurses, midwives, community health officers (CHOs), community health extension workers (CHEWs), and junior community health extension workers (JCHEWs) required to cope with health care service delivery at primary health care facilities in Cross River State; compare workloads of different cadres at selected health facilities, and identify facilities with highest workload pressure.

METHODS

Cross River State in Nigeria has 18 local governments, 196 wards, and an estimated population of over three million people. We used the WISN method to estimate the numbers of nurses/midwives, CHOs/CHEWs, and JCHEWs required to cope with the workload in the 196 ward-level primary health care facilities.

FINDINGS

Basic services provided by nurses/midwives, and CHOs/CHEWs were typical of the primary health care level. They are antenatal care, routine immunization, child welfare clinic, family planning, treatment of minor ailments, assisted and normal deliveries, postnatal care, emergencies, care of tuberculosis patients, and referrals. Findings show that available nurses/midwives for the 196 PHC facilities were 79, and the calculated requirement was 209, WISN ratio of 0.4 and difference of - 130; the existing number of CHOs/CHEWs was 808, the calculated requirement was 1,258, WISN ratio of 0.6, with a difference of - 450; and the number of existing JCHEWs was 258, the calculated requirement was 203, WISN ratio of 1.3 with a difference of 55. Cross River State had only 40% of required nurses and midwives; and 60% of CHOs/ CHEWs needed to provide health services in the ward-level PHC facilities.

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study indicated marked shortages of needed health workforce particularly nurses and midwives at the primary level of care; and overlap in some of the tasks performed by nurses/midwives, CHO/CHEWs, and JCHEWs.

Retention and motivation of health workers in remote and rural areas in Cross River State, Nigeria: a discrete choice experiment

BACKGROUND

Cross River State is making investments geared towards ensuring equitable distribution and improved retention of its frontline health workforce in remote and rural areas. This informed the conduct of a discrete choice experiment to determine the motivating factors supporting the retention of healthcare workers.

METHODS

Study participants were 198 final year students of nursing, midwifery and community health and frontline health workers. Eight focus group discussions and 38 key informant interviews were conducted to obtain information about the dimensions of the work conditions that are important to frontline health workers when choosing to take up posting or stay in their rural work locations.

RESULTS

Health workers are 2.7 times more likely to take up a rural posting or continue to stay in their present rural duty posts if they receive a salary increment. They are also four times more likely to take a rural job posting if a basic housing or a housing allowance is provided.

CONCLUSION

Improving working conditions of frontline health workers in terms of adequate staff strength, good skills mix and equipment, etc., as well as improving opportunities for career advancement will support retention in rural health posts.

Estimating frontline health workforce for primary healthcare service delivery in Bauchi State, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

In Nigeria, adoption of the primary healthcare approach led to the establishment of numerous primary healthcare facilities, and training of new cadres of community health officers (CHOs), community health extension workers (CHEWs) and junior community health extension workers (JCHEWs). These new groups complemented the work of nurses and midwives.

METHODS

We conducted a workload indicators of staffing needs study in the 20 local governments of Bauchi State, from March 2016 to September 2018, in all 317 ward-level primary healthcare facilities.

RESULTS

Findings show a total of 128 existing nurses/midwives, a calculated requirement of 402 and a shortage of 274 nurses/midwives. Existing CHOs/CHEWs were 735, a calculated requirement was 948 and a shortage of 213 CHOs/CHEWs. The JCHEWs were 477, a calculated requirement of 481, with a shortage of four JCHEWs.

CONCLUSION

Results from this study highlight the unequal distribution of health workers; the abundance of some frontline workers in some communities and dire need of others. We emphasize the need to strengthen health workforce planning to deliver essential primary healthcare services, particularly in rural and remote communities with high levels of vulnerability to diseases.

Perspectives of policymakers and health care managers on the retention of health workers in rural and remote settings in Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Health workers are indispensable to service delivery especially in rural and remote communities where the burden of disease is high. Nigeria faces numerous human resources for health challenges, health workers are reluctant to take up rural postings, and the government is struggling to implement planned interventions due to staff shortages. This study explored the perspectives of policymakers and primary health care (PHC) managers on factors that hinder health workers from staying in rural and remote areas and strategies for improving retention.

METHODS

We interviewed purposively selected 10 policymakers and 20 PHC managers in Bauchi and Cross River States, Nigeria.

RESULTS

Respondents identified a lack of basic social amenities, the poor state of infrastructure, poor working conditions, remuneration and the barrier to career advancement as factors that impede health workers from taking up rural postings. Strategies for improving retention include enforcing bonding; paying salaries promptly, increase in rural allowances and prioritizing health workers in rural and remote areas for capacity building.

CONCLUSION

The results of the study indicate the importance of applying context-specific strategies aimed at ensuring the availability of social amenities such as roads, water, electricity, telecommunication, security, the status of infrastructure, working conditions and remunerations.

Hypertension in pregnancy--a major hospital cause for concern

OBJECTIVE

To document the contribution made by hypertensive disease of pregnancy on maternal and foetal outcome in order to suggest possible changes in management.

DESIGN

A descriptive study.

SETTING

Harare Hospital-a tertiary referral hospital in Zimbabwe.

SUBJECTS

Records of all women seen in the Unit were reviewed on a daily basis by one research fellow.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Predefined events related to maternal and foetal outcome.

RESULTS

A total of 354 women out of 4,846 cases reviewed were admitted for hypertensive related problems. Seven hundred and thirteen women were admitted to the antenatal ward, 39.8% because of hypertension; 55.6% were multiparous. Hypertensive women stayed in the antenatal ward for a mean of 7.9 days and gestation on admission was over 32 weeks in 64.4% of cases. Low birthweight, preterm labour, perinatal and maternal mortality and all measures of short term perinatal morbidity were significantly increased in the hypertensive group.

CONCLUSION

The results clearly demonstrate the reproductive health issues associated with hypertension in pregnancy. The discussion focuses on methods to improve the management of these women.