Job Satisfaction and Psychosocial Well-Being of COVID-19 Frontline Health Workers in Uganda

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) to mental health problems and various challenges that impacted their job satisfaction. We explored the job satisfaction and psychosocial/mental well-being of COVID-19 frontline HCWs in Uganda. This was a mixed-methods study conducted at Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH), Entebbe Regional Referral Hospital (ERRH), and Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI). A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire and Four Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were used for data collection. A five-point Likert scale was used for the quantitative data to measure mental well-being and job satisfaction. Bloom’s cut-off was used to categorize participants’ job satisfaction and mental well-being into good (≥80%), moderate (60% - <80%), and poor (<60%). FGDs were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed thematically using NVivo version 12 software. 218 participants participated in the quantitative survey and 24 of them further participated in the FGDs. 51.4% ( n = 112) were males, aged 18 to 39 years (77.5%, n = 169) and 50.9% ( n = 111) were at MNRH. Overall, 54%, 28%, and 18% of the participants reported moderate, good, and poor job satisfaction respectively. Satisfaction with salary (2.6 ± 1.2) and compensation (risk) allowances (2.4 ± 1.3) was particularly low. Furthermore, 35%, 33%, and 32% of the participants reported moderate, good, and poor mental well-being respectively. Anxiety, burnout, stigma, and discrimination contributed to poor psychosocial/mental well-being. Less than half of the frontline HCWs reported good job satisfaction and psychosocial/mental well-being. There is a need for prioritization of the psychosocial well-being of frontline HCWs, in addition to improvement of remuneration systems.