Home Institution
University of Notre Dame
Publication Date
Spring 2012
Abstract
Many factors influence a country’s ability to provide quality health services for its people. Particularly, quality health care hinges upon the availability of properly trained and equipped health care workers (HCWs) to deliver effective care. Resource-strained countries committed to the Millennium Development Goals are confronting the reality that shortages and uneven distribution of HCWs threaten their capacities to encourage and establish healthy communities. A scarcity in HCWs is one challenge of public health initiatives and places stress on existing HCWs. Other challenges faced by HCWs severely affect performance, motivation, and overall care-giving ability.
This study aims to examine the particular occupational challenges facing health care workers at Kasangati Health Centre IV in order to analyze their impacts on patient care and understand how the general quality of health care fits into the development of a country. A large component of this study consisted of the researcher partaking in participant observation at Kasangati Health Centre IV in order to gain a more accurate perspective of the issues. Individual interviews were also obtained and supplemented with secondary sources in order to gain a more holistic view of the current situation.
From this study, the researcher determined that the challenges to health care workers are exceptionally prevalent and their impacts have the capacity to severely affect the quality of care patients receive. The physical, social, and psychological challenges confronting health care workers stem from a plethora of sources including lack of adequate governmental support, mismanagement at the local and district levels, and loss of internal motivation over time. The results of this study are intended to initiate a preliminary examination in order to further explore the linkages of health care workers, public health, and development.
Disciplines
Community Health | Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Family, Life Course, and Society | Health Policy | Health Services Administration | Health Services Research | Inequality and Stratification | International Public Health | Medicine and Health Sciences | Other Public Health
Recommended Citation
McDowell, Shannon, "Conflict Situation for Health Care Workers: A Case Study of the Occupational Challenges in Kasangati Health Centre IV and Their Implications for Patient Care." (2012). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1276.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1276
Included in
Community Health Commons, Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Health Policy Commons, Health Services Administration Commons, Health Services Research Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International Public Health Commons, Other Public Health Commons
Program Name
Uganda: Development Studies