Table 3 Common themes from key informant interviews
Discussion topic | Common themes by respondents |
|---|---|
Impact of the emergency-hire programme (EHP) on health-care providers/clinic | Ability to train in speciality areas (e.g. paediatrics, HIV/AIDS, maternal-child health), also referred to as departmentalization |
Decrease in nurse burnout | |
Ability to increase emergency services overnight | |
Impact of the EHP on patients within the community (per clinic staff report) | More patients seen each day |
Decreased waiting times for patients | |
Increased access to obstetrical care, particularly overnight deliveries | |
Increased patient-provider time to discuss HIV/AIDS management and prevention | |
Challenges to maintaining adequate staffing levels | Nurse placement far from home village resulting in difficulty adapting to a new, often rural, village and missing husband/children |
Difficulty adapting to a new language/dialect and culture | |
Retirement and out-migration were less commonly reported | |
Barriers to further increasing delivery of health services | More staff needed, despite addition of EHP nurses |
Rainy season | |
Rough terrain | |
Limited ambulance services to transport critically ill patients to larger hospitals | |
Limited availability of medications (except HIV meds) and medical supplies (e.g. gloves, syringes) | |
Additional factors affecting delivery of health services | Presence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the region |
Political unrest, particularly at time of elections (2008) | |
Intermittent outbreaks (e.g. cholera) | |
Potential improvements to future EHPs (per clinic staff report) | Placement of nurses in districts/provinces near family |
Increased wages and uniform stipends | |
Availability of educational courses | |
Enhanced housing options | |
Easier process of absorption into the Government nursing force |