Relationship between Rewards and Nurses’ work Motivation in Addis Ababa Hospitals

Background: Nurses constitute the largest human resource element and have a great impact on quality of care and patient outcomes in health care organizations. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between rewards and nurse motivation on public hospitals administrated by Addis Ababa health bureau. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to December 2010 in 5 public hospitals in Addis Ababa. Among 794 nurses, 259 were selected as sample. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaire. After the data was collected, it was analysed using SPSS version16.0 statistical software. The results were analysed in terms of descriptive statistics followed by inferential statistics on the variables. Results: A total of 230 questionnaires were returned from 259 questionnaires distributed to respondents. Results of the study revealed that nurses are not motivated and there is a statistical significant relationship between rewards and the nurse work motivation and a payment is the most important and more influential variable. Furthermore, there is significant difference in nurse work motivation based on age, educational qualification and work experience while there is no significant difference in nurse work motivation based on gender. Conclusion: The study shows that nurses are less motivated by rewards they received while rewards have significant and positive contribution for nurse motivation. Therefore, both hospital administrators’ and Addis Ababa health bureau should revise the existing nurse motivation strategy.