The Factors which Impact the Performance of Public Health Midwives of the Medical Officer of Health Areas in Nuwara Eliya District

Public Health Midwives (PHM) are the front-line health workers responsible for the provision of Maternal and child health (MCH) care. Despite having the best MCH indicators in the region, the Demographic and Health Survey (2016) reported significant disparities in MCH care between districts in Sri Lanka. The objective of the study was to assess the factors which impact the performance of PHMs of the medical officer of health areas in Nuwara Eliya District. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among a convenient sample of 169 PHMs in the Nuwara Eliya district using a self-administered questionnaire. The data were analysed concerning proportions (quantitative data) and associations (multiple linear regression). The main findings indicate that independent variables job satisfaction and supervision had a significant positive linear correlation with performance while motivation had a significant negative linear correlation with performance. Leadership’s moderating effect on the relationship between independent variables and the dependent variable ‘performance’ was insignificant. Hence, the factors related to the job satisfaction of the midwives need to be optimized in the district to obtain maximum service from them. The impact of motivation on the performance of PHMs needs to be further studied. The moderating effect of the Medical Officer of Health’s (MOH) leadership also needs to be further investigated since the leadership role of the MOH may be deficient.