Exploring the sustaining factors that motivate nurses to work in the rural areas of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is among other developing countries that are faced with a critical shortage in human resources in health, specifically nurses, and rural areas are the most affected. Initially, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there were only two relevant studies that directly related to Papua New Guinea in this area based on the literature search. The first of these two studies was focused on nurses and the social aspect of rural motivation compared to the other which was focused on rural health professionals in general. Nevertheless, other research studies were eventually found from other developing countries such as certain Pacific, African and Latin American countries that served to assist in focusing the research on the chosen topic. This descriptive-exploratory study set out to explore the sustaining factors that influenced existing nurses to remain (or otherwise) in their work in Papua New Guinea’s rural areas. As such, the study involves 10 rural nurses with over two years of rural work experience in two different organisations; government and church. The interviews were semi-structured and were designed to explore the motivating factors for rural nurses and how any challenges, or demotivating factors, were overcome. The interviews were conducted in the common spoken language Tok Pisin which was translated into English, transcribed and analysed thematically. Overall the study found that rural nurses are disadvantaged because they struggle with limited resources to deliver effective health care, and they also face several personal challenges which are often overlooked. The main findings are categorised under two major themes, 1) safety and 2) socioeconomic, and each are explored by further exploration of the themes and sub-themes that are evident in both. The implications of this study are examined, including recommendations, to develop policies that are designed to address the ongoing needs of rural nurses in Papua New Guinea

Exploring the sustaining factors that motivate nurses to work in the rural areas of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is among other developing countries that are faced with a critical shortage in human resources in health, specifically nurses, and rural areas are the most affected. Initially, and perhaps unsurprisingly, there were only two relevant studies that directly related to Papua New Guinea in this area based on the literature search. The first of these two studies was focused on nurses and the social aspect of rural motivation compared to the other which was focused on rural health professionals in general. Nevertheless, other research studies were eventually found from other developing countries such as certain Pacific, African and Latin American countries that served to assist in focusing the research on the chosen topic. This descriptive-exploratory study set out to explore the sustaining factors that influenced existing nurses to remain (or otherwise) in their work in Papua New Guinea’s rural areas. As such, the study involves 10 rural nurses with over two years of rural work experience in two different organisations; government and church. The interviews were semi-structured and were designed to explore the motivating factors for rural nurses and how any challenges, or demotivating factors, were overcome. The interviews were conducted in the common spoken language Tok Pisin which was translated into English, transcribed and analysed thematically. Overall the study found that rural nurses are disadvantaged because they struggle with limited resources to deliver effective health care, and they also face several personal challenges which are often overlooked. The main findings are categorised under two major themes, 1) safety and 2) socioeconomic, and each are explored by further exploration of the themes and sub-themes that are evident in both. The implications of this study are examined, including recommendations, to develop policies that are designed to address the ongoing needs of rural nurses in Papua New Guinea

Acceptability of self-collected vaginal swabs and point-of-care testing for sexually transmitted and genital infections among pregnant women in Papua New Guinea

The self-collection of vaginal swabs and point-of-care testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is reported from several low-and middle-income countries. However, the reporting on women’s experiences of self-collection and same-day testing and treatment of STIs is less well described. In this paper, we present the acceptability of self-collected vaginal swabs and point-of-care testing and treatment among pregnant women enrolled in a clinical trial (Women and Newborn Trial of Antenatal Intervention and Management – WANTAIM) in Papua New Guinea. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 54 women enrolled into WANTAIM to identify the acceptability of the test and treat approach. Analysis of qualitative data used deductive and inductive thematic analysis applying Sekhon, Cartwright and Francis’ acceptability theoretical framework. Most women reported that they understood that the vaginal swab was to identify infections that may affect their unborn baby; however, some were unsure about the specific infections they were being tested for. Among women who tested positive for an STI, some were unsure what they had been treated for. Overall, the self-collection of vaginal swabs for STI testing during pregnancy was highly acceptable