The Influential Factors in the Job Motivation among Midwives as the Healthcare Providers in the Iranian Health Sector Evolution Plan

Abstract

Background & Aims: Midwives play a key role in the delivery of care services to mothers and neonates in the health system. The provision of high-quality services by midwives has a great impact on the prevention of maternal and neonatal mortality and its consequences, as well as the empowerment of women. It has been recommended that countries expand their midwifery programs, maintain the highest global standards, and improve the environment where midwives could effectively address the needs of women and their families. To achieve these goals, it is essential to motivate midwives as high job motivation could promote their efficiency. Theorists consider several factors to be influential in job motivation, such as physiological needs, safety, social needs, respect, and self-actualization. In Herzberg's two-factor theory, the needs and stimuli that motivate employees have been listed, as well as the approaches through which they could be addressed in an organization. Numerous studies have assessed the influential factors in the job motivation of midwives in Iran based Herzberg's theory. Meanwhile, midwives in healthcare centers have exclusively focused on their job duties (i.e., care of women of the reproductive age, pregnant women, and neonates). It seems that some of the motivational dimensions proposed for midwives have been modified due to the changes in the job duties of healthcare midwives in the Health Sector Evolution Plan, in which all midwives have been regarded as healthcare midwives, their organizational position has changed, and they were obliged to provide non-specialized and non-midwifery services in addition to specialized midwifery services, such as care services for infectious and non-communicable diseases for all ages and genders. Since the influential factors in the job motivation of midwives have not been properly recognized after the Health Sector Evolution Plan, the present study aimed to determine the influential factors in the job motivation of midwives based on Herzberg's theory. in the health system (enrichment of the midwifery profession). Furthermore, conducting research on the views and opinions of middle-range managers of the Health Sector Evolution Plan about staff motivation and the challenges in improving the quality of the healthcare services provided by midwives and healthcare providers could result in the inclusive assessment of the issues and challenges and adoption of comprehensive, practical, and effective strategies.