ArticleHuman resources for health2015
Factors influencing the career choice and retention of community mental health workers in Ghana.
Article in Human resources for health, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assessment of Barriers and Facilitators to the Delivery of Care for Noncommunicable Diseases by Nonphysician Health Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Analysis.JAMA network open · 2019Pooled it
- 'Mental health was always the last; always an afterthought': policy analysis of domestic financing and prioritisation for mental health in Ghana.BJPsych open · 2026Review
- Career Choice and Career Change Among South African Health Professions: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Retaining nurses in Sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.International journal of nursing sciences · 2025Review
- Exploring the relationship between compassion fatigue, stigma, and moral distress among psychiatric nurses: a structural equation modeling study.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- The Impact of Rural Alimentation on the Motivation and Retention of Indigenous Community Health Workers in India: A Qualitative Study.JMIRx med · 2025Article
- Perspectives of psychiatric nurses on the stigmatization of mental healthcare in Ghana: a qualitative study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Stakeholder perspectives of mental healthcare services in Bangladesh, its challenges and opportunities: a qualitative study.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2024Article
- The Role of Continuing Professional Training or Development in Maintaining Current Employment: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Factors influencing career preference in mental health among nursing students and intern nurses in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- "We have nice policies but…": implementation gaps in the Ghana adolescent health service policy and strategy (2016-2020).Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- The professed effect of stigma on community psychiatric nurses in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.BMC psychiatry · 2022Article
- Situational analysis of service provision for adolescents with mental and neurological disorders in in two districts of Ghana.International journal of mental health systems · 2021Article
- Factors influencing medical students and psychiatry residents in Ghana to consider psychiatry as a career option - a qualitative study.Global mental health (Cambridge, England) · 2020Article
- Observational
- Perceptions of Community Involvement in the Peruvian Mental Health Reform Process Among Clinicians and Policy-Makers: A Qualitative Study.International journal of health policy and management · 2019Article
- An integrative review of potential enablers and barriers to accessing mental health services in Ghana.Health research policy and systems · 2018Review
- Magnitude of Turnover Intention and Associated Factors among Health Professionals Working in Public Health Institutions of North Shoa Zone, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.BioMed research international · 2018Article
- Improving Ghana's mental healthcare through task-shifting- psychiatrists and health policy directors perceptions about government's commitment and the role of community mental health workers.Globalization and health · 2016Article
- Barriers to mental health service utilisation in Sudan - perspectives of carers and psychiatrists.BMC health services research · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWhilst there have been several studies exploring retention in health workers, little is known about health workers engaged in the provision of mental health services and the factors that affect their recruitment and retention.
aimsThe objective of this research was to examine the views of stakeholders about the factors which influence career choices and retention of community mental health workers (CMHWs) in Ghana.
methodsWe administered three separate, self-administered, semi-structured questionnaires to 11 psychiatrists, 29 health policy directors and 164 CMHWs across Ghana, including 71 (43.3%) community psychiatric nurses (CPNs), 19 (11.6%) clinical psychiatric officers (CPOs) and 74 (45.1%) community mental health officers (CMHOs).
resultsOverall, 34 (20.7%) of all CMHWs chose to work in mental health because of the job prospects in mental healthcare. Overall, 12 (16.2%) CMHOs, 1 (5.3%) CPO and 20 (28.2%) CPNs reported they had considered leaving the mental health profession because of the stigma, with 4 (36.4%) psychiatrists and 12 (41.4%) health policy coordinators also reporting that they knew some CMHWs who had considered leaving the mental health profession because of stigma. Similarly, 16 (21.6%) CMHOs, 4 (22.1%) CPOs and 38 (53.5%) CPNs said they had considered leaving the mental health profession because of concerns about risk. Furthermore, 6 (54.5%) psychiatrists and 3 (10.3%) health policy directors said they knew some CMHWs who had considered leaving the mental health profession because of concerns about risk. Overall, 61 (37.2%) of CMHWs reported that they have considered leaving the mental health profession for other reasons other than stigma and risk including the following: the lack of support, respect and recognition from healthcare managers, lack of opportunities for professional development and poor conditions of service including low salaries, lack of office and personal accommodation and lack of risk allowance and transportation as well as poor inter-professional relationships.
conclusionsSeveral factors affect the recruitment and retention of CMHWs in Ghana, including the prospects of easy employment, stigma, risk, lack of opportunities for career progression and low salaries.
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