Reasons and destination features of medical personnel flow in township hospitals in Hubei province

Objective To analyze features of medical personnel flow in township hospitals in Hubei province and to provide a basis for human resource construction in township health institutions.Methods Stratified random sampling was used to select 24 township hospitals in Yichang, Xiaogan, and Enshi city in Hubei province.With questionnaire survey and semi-structured interview, we collected information on reasons and destination of township hospital staff mobility.Results From 2008 to 2012, the average annual number of net inflows of medical staff to a township hospital was 2.20 persons in Yichang(0.66%), 12.80 in Xiaogan(2.37%), and -9.40(-2.31%) in Enshi with significant differences(χ²=53.074, 48.483, P<0.05).The graduate inflow rate for Yichang, Xiaogan, and Enshi was 34.75%, 11.11%, and 2.70%, respectively.For the outflow of medical workers, the transfer proportion was 32.71%, 59.15%, and 52.38% for Yichang, Xiaogan, and Enshi, with the average annual net inflow rate of -0.10%, -0.56%, and -1.57%, respectively.The outflow of medical workers from township hospitals was mainly towards medical institutions of highe-ranking, with the ratio of 43.00% for Yichang, 61.97% for Xiaogan, and 59.52% for Enshi city.Conclusion The medical staff turnover for township hospitals in underdeveloped regions is serious and the excessive mobilization affect the stability of health human resource, suggesting the problem needs to be concerned.