Research conducted as part of Pepal's Caring Together project in Uganda has been published in the Journal of Healthcare Leadership!
Caring Together was a partnership between Pepal, Baylor-Uganda and Janssen Pharmaceutica (Johnson & Johnson) to improve the leadership capacities of frontline health care workers in Uganda from 2015-2018.
As part of the project, Musinguzi Conrad, a Health Service specialist, was awarded a grant by Janssen Pharmaceutica to work as a Research Fellow at Baylor-Uganda to investigate the connection between leadership style and health worker motivation, job satisfaction and teamwork. Conrad was supported in this research by our wonderful Programmes Manager, Aruna Dahal, who is credited as a co-author in the publication.
This cross-sectional study was conducted in three different geographical regions in Uganda - Eastern and Rwenzori regions (where the Caring Together leadership project was implemented), and West Nile region (where the project was not implemented). The study found that transformational leadership styles had a positive impact on stimulating motivation, assuring job satisfaction, and consolidating teamwork among health workers compared with those who demonstrated transactional skills or laissez-faire styles. The results of this study clearly shows that transformational leaders need to be fostered in the health care system to ensure efficiency in health care delivery in Uganda.
This research was invaluable to the Caring Together program design and for Pepal's other leadership training projects in East Africa and South Asia.
Please follow this link to read the article and get in touch with us if you would like to learn more about the importance of leadership for health system strengthening in East Africa.