The Sociocultural Determinants of Barangay Health Worker (BHW) Motivation

Abstract

Task-shifting had become of the solutions to address the scarcity in human health resources. Similarly, the Philippine healthcare system had devolved with the intent to make its services for accessible to the masses, focusing on the delivery of primary health care. Through these efforts, the roles of community health workers (CHWs) and the local counterpart barangay health workers (BHWs) on health promotion have been established. Previous studies have noted how these health workers have been able to contribute to the improvement of the local state of health. However, numerous CHW programs globally have been facing high attrition rates. Furthermore, only several among the existing literature have focused on the situation in low- and middle-income countries. Given that context is paramount is the investigation of CHW motivation, this study aimed to explore the sociocultural determinants of the motivation of our local frontliners, the BHWs. This research utilized a qualitative method with case study as its design. Interviews were conductive with five BHWs who are based in the City of Manila. The data gathered were subsequently processed and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. From the results, the determinants can be classified into four levels: Individual, Family, Organization, and Community. This study recognizes that the motivation of BHWs are influenced by both material and non-material factors, with the acquisition of knowledge and having the capacity to serve their family and kapwa being held in high regard by the participants, showing that financial factors are not the primary drivers for their motivation.