South Africa, like many other low and middle income countries, face issues recruiting and retaining a nurses, especially in rural areas. RESYST has investigated the dynamics of health worker movement in South Africa, to better understand the job choices of nurses – specifically with regard to where they work, when they move, where they move to, and the reasons for the decisions.
This video presents first hand experiences from nurses who participated in the study as well as interviews with the researchers and key decision makers.
In particular, it addresses the following questions:
- What are the main challenges that nurses face?
- How do nurses deal with chronic everyday stressors?
- What makes nurses move or remain in their jobs?
- What constitutes and promotes health worker resilience?
- What influences nurses’ behaviour?
- What are the key policy initiatives that need to be supported?
Further resources
RESYST Working Paper 10: A Longitudinal Study of the Job Choices of a Cohort of South African Nurses to inform Human Resource Policy Interventions
Policy Brief: Rural or urban: the role of nurses' dedication towards patients in their choice of job
Key finding sheet: How do we train, support and retain resilient nurses in underserved areas?
