Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27741956›Full record

ArticleGlobal health action

Can performance-based incentives improve motivation of nurses and midwives in primary facilities in northern Ghana? A quasi-experimental study.

Gifty Apiung Aninanya, Natasha Howard, John E Williams, Benjamin Apam, Helen Prytherch, Svetla Loukanova, Eunice Karanja Kamara, Easmon Otupiri

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Article in Global health action. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Gifty Apiung AninanyaSchool of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; gapiung@gmail.com.
Natasha HowardDepartment of Global Health and Development, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
John E WilliamsNavrongo Health Research Centre, Navrongo, Ghana.
Benjamin ApamDepartment of Statistics, Bolgatanga Polytechnic, Bolgatanga, Ghana.
Helen PrytherchSwiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Svetla LoukanovaDepartment of General Practice and Health Services Research, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Eunice Karanja KamaraDepartment of Philosophy, Religion and Theology, Moi University, The Eldoret, Kenya.
Easmon OtupiriSchool of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundLack of an adequate and well-performing health workforce has emerged as the biggest barrier to scaling up health services provision in sub-Saharan Africa. As the global community commits to the Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage, health workforce challenges are critical. In northern Ghana, performance-based incentives (PBIs) were introduced to improve health worker motivation and service quality.

objectiveThe goal of this study was to determine the impact of PBIs on maternal health worker motivation in two districts in northern Ghana.

designA quasi-experimental study design with pre- and post-intervention measurement was used. PBIs were implemented for 2 years in six health facilities in Kassena-Nankana District with six health facilities in Builsa District serving as comparison sites. Fifty pre- and post-intervention structured interviews and 66 post-intervention in-depth interviews were conducted with health workers. Motivation was assessed using constructs for job satisfaction, pride, intrinsic motivation, timelines/attendance, and organisational commitment. Quantitative data were analysed to determine changes in motivation between intervention and comparison facilities pre- and post-intervention using STATA™ version 13. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using NVivo 10 to explore possible reasons for quantitative findings.

resultsPBIs were associated with slightly improved maternal health worker motivation. Mean values for overall motivation between intervention and comparison health workers were 0.6 versus 0.7 at baseline and 0.8 versus 0.7 at end line, respectively. Differences at baseline and end line were 0.1 (

conclusionsThe results contribute evidence on the effects of PBIs on motivational constructs among maternal health workers in primary care facilities in northern Ghana. PBIs appeared to improve motivation, but not dramatically, and the long-term and unintended effects of their introduction require additional study.

Indexed as

constructs of motivationGhanahealth workermotivationperformance-based incentives

Identifiers

PMID27741956
PMCPMC5065697

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.