Factors influencing nursing staff morale in S'brana Psychiatric Hospital in Lobatse- Botswana

Abstract

Background: Employee morale is a critical factor in any organization either be locally and or globally and Botswana is no exception. Mental health nurses have been considered professionals that assist people to regain a sense of coherence over what is occurring to them - be it a result of trauma or some other form of mental distress. Good morale among staff on inpatient psychiatric wards is an important requirement for the maintenance of strong therapeutic alliances and positive patient experiences, and for the successful implementation of initiatives to improve service delivery. The aim of the study was to determine the factors influencing nursing staff morale at S’brana Psychiatric Hospital (SPH) in Botswana. Methods: A quantitative, cross sectional study was conducted on 147 respondents. Self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection and it was closed ended. Data was collected at S’brana Psychiatric Hospital (SPH) and stratified random sampling technique was used to select nurses according to their categories. Data were analyzed through SPSS Software v21.0. Results: The results revealed that the majority of the nurses were aged between 26 - 30 years and most of them were females compared to males. It is evident from the results that, there was strong association between number of years and nursing position (χ2(15) = 72.34, p = .000). Also, there was positive correlation between respondents highest qualification in nursing and training received to do the job well (r = .312, n = 147 and p = .000.). Multiple regression analysis showed a statistically significant, F(3, 143) = 46.69, p = .000, and accounted for 70.3% of the variance. Conclusion: This study has revealed that nurses’ morale in SPH can be affected by a number of factors irrespective of their age, work experience, nursing position and ward they work in. The consequences of low staff morale are detrimental to health professionals (nurses) and patients, therefore, it is important for healthcare managers to address the shortcomings in order to counteract the negative effects of low staff morale