Absenteeism
Ghost doctors: absenteeism in Bangladeshi health facilities
Highlighting the issue of absentee health workers in Bangladesh: providing insight into ways to improve health service policy
Authors:
N. Chaudhury; J.S. Hammer
Publisher:
World Bank, 2003
Against a background of criticism regarding the misuse and leakage of resources in the public health services in developing countries, the authors seek to address the issue of absenteeism of health workers. Produced as a draft document for the World Bank Development Research Group, this paper reports on a study of unannounced visits to health clinics in Bangladesh that were undertaken with the intention of systematically quantifying health worker absenteeism to provide an idea of the magnitude of the problem on a nationally representative scale.
The report examines motivations and disincentives for health sector staff noting the impact of variables such as gender, length of service, the location of the health facility, the level of wages and the standard of fittings at health facilities.
Following a full account of the methodology and results of the survey, the report concludes that the public perception of high levels of absenteeism are justified, running in some instances as high as 74%. Gender is also highlighted as a strong determining factor in addition to the inadequate provision of communications and electrical services.
