A Study of the Factors Due to Which Doctors Do Not Go and Work in the Periphery

Abstract

Background: In Nepal only 20% of rural physician posts are filled compared to 96% in the urban areas. More than half of the doctors registered in Nepal are practicing inside the Kathmandu valley. This imbalance in distribution clearly reveals the picture that the rural people are destined to live a life of misery as there is no one to cure their wounds and save them from dying due to illness. In this context, this study has been designed to investigate upon the factors that made the doctors uninterested to work in the periphery. Methods: The study was cross-sectional in nature and was conducted using stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire was distributed to the doctors of various levels. A total of 81 doctors were enquired. Results: The main reasons that made the doctors uninterested to work in the periphery were inadequate development of their career, faulty government policy and their unfair implementation, underutilization of their qualifications, their establishment in Kathmandu, family problems, no vacancy announcement. Conclusions: An initiation should be taken by the government first to create a sound working environment in the periphery area. Keywords: doctors; factors; government policy; periphery.