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Incentives to change: effects of performance-based financing on health workers in Zambia

Overview of attention for article published in Human Resources for Health, February 2017
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (89th percentile)
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (66th percentile)

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1 news outlet
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2 policy sources
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10 X users

Citations

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63 Dimensions

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347 Mendeley
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Title
Incentives to change: effects of performance-based financing on health workers in Zambia
Published in
Human Resources for Health, February 2017
DOI 10.1186/s12960-017-0179-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Gordon C. Shen, Ha Thi Hong Nguyen, Ashis Das, Nkenda Sachingongu, Collins Chansa, Jumana Qamruddin, Jed Friedman

Abstract

Performance-based financing (PBF) has been implemented in a number of countries with the aim of transforming health systems and improving maternal and child health. This paper examines the effect of PBF on health workers' job satisfaction, motivation, and attrition in Zambia. It uses a randomized intervention/control design to evaluate before-after changes for three groups: intervention (PBF) group, control 1 (C1; enhanced financing) group, and control 2 (C2; pure control) group. Mixed methods are employed. The quantitative portion comprises of a baseline and an endline survey. The survey and sampling scheme were designed to allow for a rigorous impact evaluation of PBF or C1 on several key performance indicators. The qualitative portion seeks to explain the pathways underlying the observed differences through interviews conducted at the beginning and at the three-year mark of the PBF program. Econometric analysis shows that PBF led to increased job satisfaction and decreased attrition on a subset of measures, with little effect on motivation. The C1 group also experienced some positive effects on job satisfaction. The null results of the quantitative assessment of motivation cohere with those of the qualitative assessment, which revealed that workers remain motivated by their dedication to the profession and to provide health care to the community rather than by financial incentives. The qualitative evidence also provides two explanations for higher overall job satisfaction in the C1 than in the PBF group: better working conditions and more effective supervision from the District Medical Office. The PBF group had higher satisfaction with compensation than both control groups because they have higher compensation and financial autonomy, which was intended to be part of the PBF intervention. While PBF could not address all the reasons for attrition, it did lower turnover because those health centers were staffed with qualified personnel and the personnel had role clarity. In Zambia, the implementation of PBF schemes brought about a significant increase in job satisfaction and a decrease in attrition, but had no significant effect on motivation. Enhanced health financing also increased stated job satisfaction.

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X Demographics

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 347 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 347 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 91 26%
Student > Ph. D. Student 34 10%
Researcher 29 8%
Student > Bachelor 18 5%
Student > Doctoral Student 16 5%
Other 50 14%
Unknown 109 31%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 61 18%
Nursing and Health Professions 43 12%
Social Sciences 28 8%
Business, Management and Accounting 26 7%
Economics, Econometrics and Finance 24 7%
Other 49 14%
Unknown 116 33%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 22. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 12 February 2024.
All research outputs
#1,720,089
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Human Resources for Health
#154
of 1,261 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#33,161
of 324,194 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Human Resources for Health
#8
of 24 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 93rd percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,261 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 13.3. This one has done well, scoring higher than 87% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 324,194 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 24 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 66% of its contemporaries.