Job Satisfaction among Health-Care Professionals in Selected Public Hospitals in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya

Background: The major challenge facing healthcare organizations worldwide is the satisfaction and retention of competent Health-care Professionals. Health systems cannot function optimally in an environment rife with unskilled and unmotivated healthcare professionals. In most instances, the effect of weak Health-care Professionals-employer relations manifests in the increase in the spate of industrial actions. Therefore, this research sought to explore the determinants of job satisfaction among Health-care professionals in selected public hospitals in Trans Nzoia County, Kenya. Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 263 randomly selected healthcare professionals from a public hospital in Trans-Nzoia County, Kenya. Quantitative data were collected using self-administered questionnaires and entered into epidata and analyzed using Excel and SPSS software. Qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews, summarized into most occurring categories and integrated into the findings.  Multivariate logistic regression with 95% confidence interval at p ≤ 0.05 was used to identify associated factors to job satisfaction. Results: A total of 263 human resources for health participated in the study representing a 100.00% response rate. The result showed that 69 (26.2%) of human resources for health were dissatisfied with their job.The majority of respondents were females (56.7%). The correlation between different aspects of job satisfaction was established to be significant. In a logistic regression model, the variables that independently predicted overall job satisfaction in Trans-Nzoia County Kenya are,time off, recognition, appreciation, promotion, training opportunities, employee evaluation and supervision. Conclusion: The study established a significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, human resource management practices and job satisfaction. The predictors of job satisfaction in Trans-Nzoia county Kenya were found to include, time off, recognition, appreciation, promotion, training opportunities, employee evaluation and supervision. Recommendations: To improve productivity, human resource policies need to be aligned with the institutional strategy as such the county should focus not only on the needs of the organization but also those of the employees. More specific policy responses include training of employees in relevant skills, hiring the right persons, enhancement of the performance-based compensation, providing security and nurturing effective and self-managed teams. A comparative study on the determinants of job satisfaction among Health-care professionals in private and public facilities can be done to understand the dynamics and variations.