Submission ID 129597
| Issue/Objective | Understanding the turnover intention of healthcare workers in conflict-affected settings can be crucial to crafting strategies for retaining health workers and wider recovery and reconstruction interventions. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of turnover intention and associated factors among healthcare workers working in war-torn Tigray. |
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| Methodology/Approach | A mixed methods study surveyed 2,376 frontline health workers across 44 districts in Tigray from August to September 2023. It included 30% of healthcare facilities in each zone, such as hospitals and health centers. Quantitative data was collected via a standardized questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. Qualitative data came from in-depth interviews with nine health professionals and key informant interviews with 20 health managers and physicians who left Tigray. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyzed relationships between variables, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. |
| Results | The prevalence of turnover intentions was 77.5% (95% CI: 75.8%, 79.1%). Turnover intention was significantly higher among healthcare workers who are younger (as age increased by 10 years, turnover intention decreased by 0.3; P<0.001), males ((Unstandardized coefficient = 0.27, 95% CI [0.16, 0.38]), higher vicarious trauma (Unstandardized coefficient = 0.11 [95% CI: 0.03, 0.20], dissatisfied with their job (Unstandardized coefficient = -0.89 [95% CI: -1.02, -0.75]), and high level of burnout (Unstandardized coefficient = 0.30 [0.25, 0.35]. Additionally, the thematic analysis of the qualitative data highlighted several important reasons for turnover intentions, including a sense of insecurity, long-standing salary issues, and other financial incentives inadequacy, unpaid salary and incentive backlog, poor drugs and supplies availability, poor system governance, limited career development, and demotivation. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | The prevalence of turnover intention among healthcare workers in Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region was alarmingly high. This finding calls for stakeholders' intervention to alleviate the future exodus of healthcare workers and its negative impact on patient care. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Mengistu Hagazi Tequare Mekelle University |
