Abstract:
Human resources are the livelihood of all types of organizations. The biggest
challenge that organizations are facing today is not only managing these resources but also
retaining them. It has been observed that retention of Medical Officers of Health in the
government preventive health sector has been difficult. Many Medical Officers of Health
leave to the curative sector from the preventive sector. The study was carried out to investigate
the influence of work related factors on retention of Medical Officers of Health working in
the preventive health sector. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among
Medical Officers of Health in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka which has 18 Medical Officer
of Health units providing preventive health services to the community with 64 Medical
Officers. A self-administrated questionnaire was used as the study instrument. Interviews were
held to obtain their suggestions to improve the retention of medical officers in the preventive
health sector. Data analyses showed that all four variables; recognition, work schedule,
remuneration and responsibility are positively and significantly influence retention of Medical
Officers of Health. The variable ‘work schedule’ showed the highest impact to the retention
of Medical Officers of Health. This is the first study done in Sri Lanka to scientifically explore
the factors affecting the retention of Medical Officers. The findings of this research would be
much beneficial for health managers and policy planners to make strategies to retain medical
officers in the preventive health sector.
