Health Professionals Organizational Commitment and Associated Factors in Government Health Facilities of Gurage Zone, South Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: There is a general conviction that organizational commitment has a positive and significant impact upon business performance and reform process of health system. However, to the best of the investigators knowledge, there are no studies examining organizational commitment in the health care setting of Ethiopia. Objective: To assess the level of organizational commitment1 and associated factors among health professionals in government health facilities of Gurage zone, south Ethiopia. Methods: A facility based cross sectional study employing quantitative and qualitative methods, was conducted in 30 health centers and one general hospital from March, 20/2014 to April, 12/2014 in Gurage zone, south Ethiopia. A total of 424 health professionals were included in this study. A self-administered questionnaire asking about Sociodemographic and economic characteristics of the participants, organizational commitment, job satisfaction and perceived organizational support was used. Factor analysis was conducted to identify the measurement scales and factor scores were used in both binary and multiple linear regressions. Qualitative data collected using key-informant interviews were employed to support the findings from the quantitative survey. Results: The response rate of this study was 93.6%. The percentage mean score of organizational commitment for health professionals working in government health facilities of Gurage zone was 64.81%. This study found that perceived leadership style and training opportunity, perceived value and care for employee and perceived remuneration as predictors of organizational commitment. As well perceived staff interaction and perceived resource availability and work setting were factors affecting organizational commitment in this study. Conclusions and recommendation: In this investigation, the percentage mean score of organizational commitment for health professionals working in government health facilities of Gurage zone was 64.81%. Hence, we recommend health managers and policy makers to consider and maintain perceived value and care for employees, good perceived leadership style and training opportunity and adequate remuneration to foster a more high level of organizational commitment among health professionals in government health facilities of Gurage zone.