Retaining and motivating health workers in very remote areas of Indonesia, do they respond to incentives?

Adequate Human Resources for Health (HRH) are crucial to the delivery of health care services in very remote areas of Indonesia. However, very remote areas suffer shortages in terms the number, type and quality of staff. This situation must be addressed through innovative policy, planning and implementation, such as incentives for retaining and motivating health workers. This paper aims to assess the application of an incentive scheme based on working location. The role of decentralized local government on incentives given to health workers also will be discussed. A desk study was performed from a relevant published materials, MoH database and online literature. The document highlights the importance of financial and non financial incentives. However, financial incentives alone are insufficient to retain and motivate the health workforce. Incentive systems must be integrated within the health system, in line with the goal and objective of Indonesia’s health development. The role of local leadership under decentralization is also crucial to motivate and maintain staff in the workplace. Different incentives between contracted and permanent staff in very remote areas must be established to ensure sustainability of the program.