Tile: Job Preference and Retention of health workers at township health centers in rural China in the context of health system reform
Funding agency: China Medical Board
Principal Investigator: Dr. Liu Xiaoyun
Research period: 01/09/2011-31/08/2014
Severe shortage and mal-distribution of health workers is a key challenge in Human Resources for Health (HRH) in many developing countries. Health workers’ job preferences and job choices are determined by various external and intrinsic factors. Although countries have implemented interventions to improve attractions and retentions of health workers, there is limited evidence on their effects. Very few studies can be found in this area in China.
China launched new health system reform in 2009. Although HRH is a key issue in the reform process, there is no systematic analysis on its potential influence on attraction and retention of health workers.
This study aims to measure job preferences of health workers in rural China and to analyze their responses to the currently ongoing health system reform in China in relation to attraction and retention.
The study will be conducted in two phases. In the pilot phase, in-depth interviews with clinical doctors at township health centers will be conducted to explore influencing factors of attraction and retention of health workers. In the second phase of the main study, an innovative approach to Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE) will be applied to study the determinants of health workers’ job preferences. Health workers and managers will be interviewed to explore their responses to the health system reform in relation to attraction and retention.
DCE can analyze the relative importance of each job character in deciding health workers’ job choices, while qualitative study can explore how health workers’ job characters change as a result of the health system reform. Combining these two analyses will give useful implications for policymakers to improve attraction and retention of health workers in rural China in the context of health system reform.