Evaluation of employee engagement in public health institutions in Uganda: a case study of Oyam district local government.

Abstract

This study evaluated employee engagement in public health institutions in Uganda using Oyam District Local Government as case study. Specific objectives were to assess current state, examine challenges and examine dimensions of engagement in terms of vigor, dedication and absorption. Descriptive cross-sectional design was used with accessible population of 268 health workers across 28 public facilities and sample of 50 health workers where 48 responded giving 96.0 percent response rate using convenience sampling. Data collected using selfadministered questionnaire adapted from Schaufeli et al. 2019 UWES-9 and analyzed using SPSS v27. Findings showed current state mean 3.08 moderate-low with 43.9 percent agreement, challenges high mean 4.14 with inadequate remuneration mean 4.38 top, heavy workload mean 4.32 second and poor working conditions mean 4.26 third, and dimensions absorption mean 3.31 highest, dedication mean 3.27 middle and vigor mean 2.98 lowest. The study concludes engagement moderate at best with pockets of low engagement in lower-level centres and recommends timely remuneration, staffing gap closure, supply of medicines and supportive supervision.