How to solve absenteeism in health facilities, by new study

A new research has recommended a combination of government regulations and involvement of actors at community level, such as health workers and community leaders, to address absenteeism in primary healthcare centres.

The study, conducted by a team of researchers from Health Policy Research Group (HPRG), University of Nigeria (UNN), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, suggested that health workers’ absenteeism could be curtailed if communities, hosting public health facilities, could be part of monitoring the development.

Titled, ‘The Promise of Grassroots Approach To Solving Absenteeism In Primary Healthcare Facilities In Nigeria: Evidence From A Qualitative Study,” it noted that community resources, such as neighborhood watch, could be used to provide security in public hospitals.

The research suggested that communities could as well join efforts with health workers to identify and leverage alternative arrangements for security and accommodation of health workers, as both issues largely reinforce absenteeism.

While urging government to improve infrastructure in public hospitals, it also recommended that communities should reach out to donor agencies and their well-to-do members to provide accommodation for health workers in their areas.

The Coordinator of HPRG, Prof. Obinna Onwujekwe, also advised that governments should revamp its existing systems or introduce new ones to interface with communities and speedily take actions when reports and recommendations come from the grassroots on absenteeism.

That way, according to him, efforts of the grassroots actors will be reinforced and sustained.