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Table 3 Explanatory variables and their measurement

From: Psychological wellbeing in a resource-limited work environment: examining levels and determinants among health workers in rural Malawi

Variable

Measurement

Distribution

Basic demographic and other characteristics

 Sex (male, female)

See Table 1

 Number of years in health care service

 Responsibility as health facility in-charge (yes, no)

 Cadre (clinical officer/medical assistant, nurse)

 Level of care (primary, secondary)

 Data collection year (2013, 2015)

 Exposure to the RBF4MNH Initiative (yes, no)

 Relationship

Yes

No

44.8%

55.2%

 Children and other dependents

Yes

No

77.0%

23.0%

Clinical competence

 Any professional training within the last year

Yes

No

57.5%

42.5%

 Clinical knowledge

Clinical case vignettes pertaining to maternal care; see for details [37]

Mean

sd

0.59

0.24

 Perceived competence*

“I am self-assured about my capabilities to perform my work activities.”

Mean

sd

0.86

0.12

Organizational support

 Any supervision within the last month

Yes

No

58.1%

41.9%

 Perceived supervisor support*

4 Likert items, e.g., “My supervisor takes pride in my accomplishments at work.”

Mean

sd

0.64

0.18

 Perceived co-worker support & team work*

8 Likert items, e.g., “The people I work with encourage each other to work together.”

Mean

sd

0.75

0.14

Satisfaction with working conditions

 Satisfaction with physical work environment*

“How satisfied are you with …” 1) availability of medicine, 2) availability and condition of equipment, 3) availability of other supplies, 4) infrastructure

Mean

sd

0.48

0.29

 Satisfaction with remuneration*

“How satisfied are you with …” 1) salary, 2) benefits (incl. housing, allowances, bonuses)

Mean

sd

0.18

0.27

 Satisfaction with demands of the job*

“How satisfied are you with …” 1) variety and challenges at work, 2) demands of the job, 3) workload

Mean

sd

0.50

0.27

 Satisfaction with interpersonal relationships at work*

“How satisfied are you with your working relationship with …” 1) coworker, 2) district/MoH staff, 3) management staff, 4) traditional leaders, 5) community health workers, 6) community members

Mean

sd

0.72

0.17

Motivation

 Intrinsic motivation*

3 Likert items, e.g., “I work in this job because my work has become a fundamental part of who I am.”

Mean

sd

0.77

0.14

 Extrinsic motivation*

“I work in this job for the income it provides me.”

Mean

sd

0.50

0.29

  1. Note: Responses to Likert items (marked *) were given on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree/unsatisfied) to 5 (strongly agree/very satisfied). For variables measured with more than one Likert item, the unweighted mean of responses to all items was calculated. At the analytical level, all variables measured with multiple items were rescaled to range from 0 (lowest level) to 1 (highest level) for ease of interpretation