Although considerable research has been undertaken to investigate capacity building within the Namibian Public Health Sector, little work has been published on staff turnover as a major contributor to the capacity building issue. It is against this background that the researcher sought to better understand the nature and causes of high staff turnover in the Public Health Sector, and find potential solutions to help overcome this important challenge.

1. SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
POLYTECHNIC
O F N A M I B I A
transforming into Namibia University of Science and Technology
TITLE: THE CAUSES OF STAFF TURNOVER IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH
CARE FACILITIES: A CASE STUDY OF KHOMAS REGION IN NAMIBIA
Author: JOSEPHINA MWADHINANDYENABOTH
and ANGELA CLARKE
Year: 2012
Institution: Polytechnic of Namibia
Mailing Address:
Josephine Mwadhina<kashanu82@yahoo.co.uk>
Phone no: 081 263 0364
ABSTRACT
Purpose
q Although considerable research has been undertaken to in-
vestigate capacity building within the Namibian Public Health
Sector, little work has been published on staff turnover
as a major contributor to the capacity building issue. It is
against this background that the researcher soughtto better
understand the nature and causes of high staff turnover in
the Public HealthSector, and find potential solutions to help
overcome this important challenge.
Design/Methodology/Approach
q This cross sectional study targetedstaff and patients at
selectedpublichealthfacilitiesintheKhomasregionofNamibia.
Data was collected using structured questionnaires distrib-
uted topatients as well as to current and former Health Care
Workers (HCWs). Semi-structured face to face interviews
with a number of Health Care staff were also conducted.
Findings
q Research findings, supported with secondary research from
theMinistry of Health Social Services (MoHSS) indicated that
virtually all HCWs left the Public Health Sector voluntarily.
However, virtually all of the causes for their departure related
to factors completely within the control of the organisation -
such as low salaries and benefits, poor working conditions,
a lack of recognition for good work and weak performance
management practices.
q Various strategies to address the staff turnover
problem have been adopted in the past in Namibia,
but have had negligible impact. This is mainly because
they lacked a holistic approach and because many of
the strategies did not address the root causes of the
problem, providing instead a number of short-lived ini-
tiatives that merely alleviated the symptoms.
Research limitations
q Although the research undertook a triangulated approach,
results from the questionnaires were based on a statisti-
cally small sample size. Some of the secondary research
consulted was a few years old,as newer published datawas
unavailable. Furthermore, as the research was conducted
using convenience-sampling, the findings may not be rep-
resentative of the whole of Namibia or even of the whole of
Khomas region.The research was also limited as a cross-
sectional study as insufficient doctors, social workers
and pharmacists participated in the study to confidently
represent a valid cross-section of the whole Public Health
Sector.
Practical implications
q This paper makes a number of recommendations for the
MoHSS to address root causes. Recommendations include
redistributed financial incentives and better workload
management practices. Suggestions are also made for how
Namibia could benefit from a better sharing of knowledge,
expertise and resources with other countries to address com-
monissues of high staff turnover.
q The research investigates the issues in Namibia, but the
problem of high staff turnover in the Public Health Sector is
a global issue. In particular, it is threatening the success of
key health and development goals in low-income countries.
The recommendations made in this paper have the potential
to be applied to the Public Health Sector worldwide.
Originality/value
q Although a vast amount of Health Sector literature is available
on topics such as high employee turnover, few articles inves-
tigate and attempt to address the root causes of this problem
and none in a holistic manner.
Keywords
q Staff turnover, Public Health Sector, Health Care Facilities,
Health Care Workers, Cause and Effect, Root Cause, Holistic
Solutions.
RESEARCH DAY