Negative factors associated with work ethic and morale of paediatric rehabilitation professionals in an under-resourced rural hospital in Limpopo Province of South Africa

Children with disabilities are rehabilitated by dedicated professionals. Rehabilitation professionals in rural areas are challenged by a lack of resources often in the form of budgetary constraints and a shortage of transport. Healthcare professionals are thus unable to provide quality health services leading to low staff morale and burnout. This study explores factors that negatively affect rehabilitation professionals’ work ethic and morale in an under-resourced rural hospital, in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach was used. Data were collected in individual face-to-face interviews with eight rehabilitation professionals at Nkhensani Hospital. The participants comprised staff members from the physiotherapy department (n=2), occupational therapy department (n=5), and nursing department (n=1). Eight themes emerged as factors that negatively affect rehabilitation professionals’ work ethic and morale including (1) Managerial support, (2) Budgetary constraints, (3) Commitment and compliance of caregivers, (4) Results, (5) Commitment of colleagues, (6) Workload, (7) Working far from home and (8) Learning opportunities. Rehabilitation professionals were influenced by the management style of hospital managers, lack of financial resources to sustain the workplace and the conduct of caregivers of children with disabilities. The minimal workload was perceived to discourage staff morale. Financial compensation was not seen to be a factor that positively improved staff morale. We recommend that hospital managers should avail themselves to listen to their staff members and should introduce non-financial strategies to boost staff morale. Lastly, rehabilitation professionals should be allocated in other clinical departments on a rotational basis to reduce burnout and prevent boredom.Keywords: Work ethic, staff morale, rehabilitation professional, children with disability, rural area