A paper drawing on Capacity Project study results, “Job Satisfaction and Morale in the Ugandan Health Workforce,” was published in Health Affairs [vol. 28, no. 5 (2009): w863-w875 (published online 6 August 2009; 10.1377/hlthaff.28.5.w863)].

The Project’s Fatu Yumkella is a coauthor of this paper, which was cited in a story on Africa’s health worker shortage in the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/science/11glob.html?ref=world). The results are based on qualitative and quantitative data from health workers in 18 facilities across nine randomly selected districts. Findings suggest that Ugandan health workers are dissatisfied with their jobs, especially their compensation and working conditions. About one in four would like to leave the country, including more than half of all physicians. Workers in strong health systems are more motivated and satisfied, leading to workforce stability and better patient care.

The paper concludes that the Ministry of Health must focus on ways to keep workers from leaving their jobs—or leaving the country altogether. Policy strategies to strengthen Uganda’s human resources for health should focus on salary and benefits (especially health care coverage), working conditions and workload, facility infrastructure (including water and electricity), management and workforce camaraderie.

August 2009