IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ijphth/v65y2020i7d10.1007_s00038-020-01405-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Private money-making indulgence and inefficiency of primary healthcare in Nigeria: a qualitative study of health workers’ absenteeism

Author

Listed:
  • Prince Agwu

    (University of Nigeria, Nsukka
    University of Nigeria)

  • Pamela Ogbozor

    (University of Nigeria
    Enugu State University of Science and Technology)

  • Aloysius Odii

    (University of Nigeria
    University of Nigeria, Nsukka)

  • Charles Orjiakor

    (University of Nigeria
    University of Nigeria, Nsukka)

  • Obinna Onwujekwe

    (University of Nigeria
    University of Nigeria)

Abstract

Objectives Generating additional personal income is common with primary healthcare (PHC) workforce in Nigeria, which could be because of the inconsistencies marring their monthly salaries. Therefore, this study investigates the drivers of private economic activities of PHC providers in the public sector, and the links to absenteeism, as well as inefficiency of PHC facilities in Nigeria. Methods A qualitative study design was used to collect data from 30 key-informants using in-depth interviews. They were selected from 5 PHC facilities across three local government areas in Enugu state, south-eastern Nigeria. Data were analysed thematically, and guided by phenomenology. Results Findings showed that majority of the health workers were involved in different private money-making activities. A main driver was inconsistencies in salaries, which makes it difficult for them to routinely meet their personal and household needs. As a result, PHC facilities were found less functional. Conclusions Absenteeism of PHC providers can be addressed if efforts are made to close justifiable gaps that cause health workers to struggle informally. Such lesson can be instructive to low- and middle-income countries in strengthening their health systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Prince Agwu & Pamela Ogbozor & Aloysius Odii & Charles Orjiakor & Obinna Onwujekwe, 2020. "Private money-making indulgence and inefficiency of primary healthcare in Nigeria: a qualitative study of health workers’ absenteeism," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(7), pages 1019-1026, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ijphth:v:65:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s00038-020-01405-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01405-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00038-020-01405-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00038-020-01405-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Angell, Blake & Onwujekwe, Obinna & Roy, Pallavi & Nwokolo, Chukwudi & McKee, Martin & Mandeville, Kate & Obodoechi, Divine & Agwu, Prince & Odii, Aloysius & Orjiakor, Charles & Hutchinson, Eleanor & , 2023. "Designing feasible anti-corruption strategies in the Nigerian health system: A latent class analysis of a discrete choice experiment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. Chidiebere Emmanuel Okechukwu, 2022. "A call for improved mental health workforce in low-income countries," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 465-467, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ijphth:v:65:y:2020:i:7:d:10.1007_s00038-020-01405-3. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.