Retention of Medical Officers in Preventive Health Sector in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Human resources are the livelihood of all types of organizations. The biggest challenge that organizations are facing today is not only managing these resources but also retaining them. It has been observed that retention of Medical Officers of Health in the government preventive health sector has been difficult. Many Medical Officers of Health leave to the curative sector from the preventive sector. The study was carried out to investigate the influence of work related factors on retention of Medical Officers of Health working in the preventive health sector. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among Medical Officers of Health in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka which has 18 Medical Officer of Health units providing preventive health services to the community with 64 Medical Officers. A self-administrated questionnaire was used as the study instrument. Interviews were held to obtain their suggestions to improve the retention of medical officers in the preventive health sector. Data analyses showed that all four variables; recognition, work schedule, remuneration and responsibility are positively and significantly influence retention of Medical Officers of Health. The variable ‘work schedule’ showed the highest impact to the retention of Medical Officers of Health. This is the first study done in Sri Lanka to scientifically explore the factors affecting the retention of Medical Officers. The findings of this research would be much beneficial for health managers and policy planners to make strategies to retain medical officers in the preventive health sector.