Abstract:
Background: Human resources are vital for delivering health services, and health systems cannot function effectively
without sufficient numbers of skilled, motivated, and well-supported health workers. Job satisfaction of health workers
is important for motivation and efficiency, as higher job satisfaction improves both employee performance and patient
satisfaction. Even though several studies have addressed job satisfaction among healthcare professionals in different
part of the world, there are relatively few studies on healthcare professionals’ job satisfaction in Ethiopia.
Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among health professionals working in health centers
in April 2015 using self-administered structured questionnaires. All 322 health professionals working in 23 randomly
selected public health centers were included. Factor scores were computed for the identified items by varimax rotation
to represent satisfaction. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed, and the effect of independent variables
on the regression factor score quantified.
Results: Three hundred eight respondents participated with a response rate of 95.56%. The overall level of job
satisfaction was 41.46%. Compensation (benefits) (beta 0.448 [95% CI 0.341 to 0.554]), recognition by
management (beta 0.132 [95% CI 0.035 to 0.228]), and opportunity for development (beta 0.123 [95% CI 0.020
to 0.226]) were associated with job satisfaction. A unit increase in salary and incentives and recognition by
management scores resulted in 0.459 (95% CI 0.356 to 0.561) and 0.156 (95% CI 0.065 to 0.247) unit increases
in job satisfaction scores, respectively.
Conclusions: The overall level of job satisfaction in health professionals was low. Salary and incentives, recognition by
management, developmental opportunities, and patient appreciation were strong predictors of j
