DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1918196/v1
Background: The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is a compulsory one-year programme for graduates of tertiary schools including doctors. This study was conducted to explore the perceived benefits and challenges of serving corps medical doctors. The study would influence policy making so as to improve the experiences of corps medical doctors and help NYSC to achieve its objectives.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 399 medical doctors doing their compulsory national youth service in Nigeria. The research instrument was developed by the researchers and pretested before use. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test using p < 0.05.
Results: The majority (83.5%) of respondents believed that the scheme offers one or more benefits to corps medical doctors. These include Exposure to new culture (47.6%), Gaining of medical/surgical skills (36.3%) and finding lover/spouse (4.5%). Similarly, most of respondents (89.2%) reported one or more serious challenges. Some of the perceived challenges reported include; No provision of accommodation (51.6%), poor remuneration (44.7%) and exploitation (41.4%). Majority of the corps doctors expressed dissatisfaction with their job on the scheme reporting that it would have no role to play in their professional development. There was a significant association between job satisfaction and region of deployment (p-value: <0.001), gender (p-value: 0.021) and marital status (p-value: 0.008). The region of deployment and marital status were found to have a statistically significant association with the overall perceived challenges with p-value of 0.012 and < 0.001 respectively. Treatment at Places of Primary Assignment (PPAs) was mostly reported to be fair and it had a statistically significantly association with region of deployment (p-value: 0.012), location of medical school (p-value: 0.023) and gender (p-value: <0.001)
Conclusions: The overall perception of NYSC among corps doctors is poor and majority have suggested that the scheme be scrapped or revamped.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was established by decree on the 22nd of May 1973 in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war with the aim of ensuring proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity. [1] The goal was to mobilize Nigerian youths for nation building and to prepare them for patriotic and loyal service to their fatherland. [1] Corps members, being the prime of Nigerian Youths, are mainly those who have graduated from universities in or outside Nigeria and those who have obtained the Higher Diploma (HND) from polytechnics or other recognized higher institutions in Nigeria. [2]
Following graduation from medical school having spent at least 6 years in Nigeria, medical doctors go for a compulsory 1-year housemanship where they are paid while acquiring skills and managing patients. They must complete this housemanship in order to be eligible for NYSC. The scheme is divided into four parts: Orientation, Primary Assignment, Community Development Service and Passing out parade. [1] During mobilisation for the scheme, Prospective corps members are expected to choose four states of their choice for possible deployment but it has been alleged that despite this selection process some people end up in states they did not choose while some are able to influence their posting to a desired state. [21] The program has been met with criticism from a large portion of the country and corps members about their remuneration that goes along with the scheme [3]. A few youths carrying out the NYSC program have been killed in the regions where they are sent due to religious, ethnic and political violence [4,5]. Some have died from road traffic accidents on their way to orientation camps as they are expected to travel within a short notice. [6]
Following mobilization, corps members go for 3 weeks of orientation at camps all over the states of the federation, after which they are sent to various facilities for primary assignment and for doctors, a hospital setting. It has been reported that corps members are exploited by employers at their places of primary assignment.[16] There have been anecdotal reports which suggest that corps doctors at the various Places of Primary Assignment [PPAs] work so much, while earning little or no pay from their PPAs. Corps members are allowed to relocate to other states for various reasons but out of what is considered unfair to doctors, it is allegedly reported that the headquarters of the scheme placed an embargo on the relocation of medical doctors and other health professionals, making it hard for them to relocate while other corps members are allowed to relocate. [7]
Some corps members posted to some states have lamented the non-provision of accommodation and stipend from the PPA despite so much work with their skills. [18, 21] Most corps doctors earn 1/3rd to 1/5th of their housemanship monthly Salary during service. This downgrade of income in spite of the skills possessed could be depressing and discouraging. The frustration could lead to poor patient care due to lack of motivation.
The average doctor spends about 8 to 10 years from 100 level to the end of NYSC. They enter the scheme with 1 year of working experience with other corps members with no such experience. While the allowance from the federal government is the same for all corps members irrespective of discipline, some non-medical corps members and the general public erroneously believe that corps doctors are paid more. [22]
According to a study done in 2015, the prevalence of anxiety, depression and stress was found to be high among corps members. [8] With studies having shown that mental health problems are more common among medical personnel [9], corps medical doctors are at risk of various psychosocial problems which may or may not be related to their profession. An understanding of the perception of service year among corps medical doctors would guide stakeholders on how best to meet the psychosocial needs of corps doctors and this will help in reducing the prevalence of mental health problems among them.
Despite the challenges bedevilling the scheme, it has not only provided an avenue for corps doctors to learn medical and surgical skills but also an opportunity to help cushion the devastating effects of industrial action by National association of resident doctors. [10] This is beneficial to the doctors as well as the general public as these doctors develop more confidence in patient care.
The scheme has since inception received praise as well as criticism as people including doctors still question its relevance. There was a recent bill passed in National assembly demanding that the scheme be scrapped. The bill was sponsored by Hon. Awaji-InombekAbiante who listed insecurity in the Country, incessant killings of corps members and inability of firms to retain corps members after service due to failing economy as some of the reason why the NYSC should be scrapped. [12]
Lack of adequate support structure has been implicated in the poor performance of the scheme. [13]A study by O S Fadairo in 2010 concluded that the influence of NYSC scheme on the development of youth corps members was perceived to be poor by majority of the respondents. [14] This study was done among non-medical personnel which makes our study unique as it seeks to explore the perception of NYSC by medical doctors.
There is an extreme dearth of studies on the perception of NYSC among corps members who are medical doctors, as extensive literature search on the topic yielded little or no results.
Similar national youth programmes exist in other countries of the world such as Israel, France, United States of America, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, etc. [23,24,26], however, the mode of operation, requirements and demographic categories involved in such schemes vary widely among these countries. For example, in Kenya and Zimbabwe, National Youth Service is a voluntary scheme for secondary school leavers. [25,27], implying that the participation of medical doctors in the scheme will be uncommon. These peculiarities have compounded the dearth of data and published works on the perception of National Youth Service programmes among participating doctors in Africa and the world. Therefore, this study aims to study the perception of NYSC among corps doctors.
This is a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among serving corps doctors in Nigeria. The National youth service scheme was founded in 1973 for tertiary education graduates including doctors to undergo one-year service to fatherland. About 150,000 corps members are recruited yearly but the exact number of doctors recruited is not known. [11] Corps members are recruited in 2 to 3 batches per year and each batch as 2 streams. The programme runs in cycles such that as one stream is passing out, another stream is being recruited.
Aim of Study
General: The study aimed to explore the perception of National Youth Service Corps programme among corps medical doctors in Nigeria.
Specific:
1. To determine the perceived benefits of National Youth Service Programme among corps medical doctors in Nigeria.
2. To determine the challenges of National Youth Service Programme among corps medical doctors in Nigeria.
Study population
The study was conducted among serving corps doctors. All corps doctors, irrespective of age, sex, serving at the time of the study, who had completed NYSC camp orientation and gave consent, were recruited for the study. Those who refused to provide informed consent were excluded.
Sample size
The minimum sample size of 380 was calculated using the Cochran’s formula using a prevalence of 55.4% from the study: Taking the Maximum Risks for Satisfaction: Understanding the Process of Condom Discontinuation among National Youth Service Corps’ Members in Nigeria, p =0.554. [15]
Study design
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among serving corps doctors at various places of primary assignment across the 6 geopolitical zones of the country.
Data collection
Data on participants’ socio-demographics as well as overall perception of the NYSC scheme was obtained with a pre-tested, semi-structured, self-administered e-questionnaire using google forms as a tool.
Data analysis
Data obtained was sorted using Microsoft EXCEL 2016 and was entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Descriptive statistics such as: frequency, percentages, mean with or without Standard deviation was used to summarize and present the results. Chi Square test was used to determine associations between variables.
A total of 399 corps doctors (male: 50.4%, Female: 49.6%) were surveyed. The mean age of respondents was: 27.16 years and Majority of them were single (82.7%) and Christians (66.7%). Distribution of the respondents among the major tribes was Hausa (17.5%), Igbo (26.3%) and Yoruba (23.1%). Majority of the respondents were resident in the South west (22.8%), Abuja (16.3%) and the North East (15.3%). More respondents were deployed to North central (17%), South-South (16.8%) and the Abuja (16%) zones. Table 1
54% of respondents were not deployed by the NYSC to any of their four most preferred states and only 20.8% of those that applied for relocation to more preferred states were granted their requests. The recent embargo by the NYSC on the relocation of corps doctors to preferred states was mostly responsible for the low relocation rates. Most of the respondents (63.2%) had spent at least 6 months in the Scheme as corps doctors as at the time of data collection. Table 2
82.5% of the respondents worked in PPAs that are government facilities. Less than 10% of 287 corps doctors who attempted to change their PPAs were granted their requests. Most respondents (59.4%) reported a fair treatment of corps doctors in their PPAs, with 22.8% and 17.8% reporting good and bad treatments of corps doctors respectively. 17% of the corps doctors were not paid by their PPAs and majority of those who were paid earned less than 80 thousand naira monthly. More than half of the participants take call duties at the PPAs (hospitals) with most of them (20%) taking more than 3 call duties per week. About half of these doctors (51.6%) were not provided with accommodation by their PPA and 70.9% of them took up extra work in addition to their PPA work. Table 3
45.4% of the participants reported at least one form harassment during the scheme and most of the reported harassments were from NYSC officials (30.3%) with verbal harassment being the most reported (25.8%). Most of the respondents (71.9%) admitted to going through the scheme only because it is a requirement to get government jobs and residency positions, while only 13.8% of respondents were actually participating in the scheme for the purpose of national integration. Less than 30% of respondents enthusiastically looked forward to joining the scheme as corps doctors. Majority of the respondents (79.4%) were unhappy with their jobs in their PPAs, with about three-quarter (74.9%) stating that their quality of life while working as a corps doctor was worse than it was before they started the mandatory national service. Also, 60.9% of respondents do not believe that the mandatory scheme would make them better professionals. As regards suggestions on what should be done by the government about the scheme, majority of the respondents (42.9%) opined that the scheme should simply be made optional, while 15.3% believed that doctors should be exempted from the scheme totally. Another one-fifth of respondents were of the opinion that that scheme should be extensively revamped, while about a quarter of respondents believed that the whole scheme should be scrapped completely. Table 4
The majority of respondents (89.2%) reported one or more serious challenges in the NYSC scheme. Figure 1. The specific challenges include; No Provision of accommodation (51.6%), poor remuneration (44.9%) and exploitation (41.4%). 17.0% of corps doctors were not being paid by their PPAs. Other challenges reported include; poor security (15.5%), excessive workload (3.8%) and poor transportation (1.0%). Figure 2
The majority (83.5%) of respondents believe that the scheme offers one or more benefits to corps medical doctors. Figure 3. Some of the reported benefits include; Better exposure to new culture and new life (47.6%), Gaining surgical/medical skills (36.3%), social integration (19.5%), Learning new language (7.8%), entrepreneurial skills (6.0%) and finding a lover/spouse (4.5%). Figure 4
Corps doctors serving in the South East region reported the highest level of challenges and this was statistically significant. Marital status also had a statistically significantly association with challenges of NYSC. Table 5
Most of the corps doctors in all regions reported a fair treatment at their PPA, however most of those who reported the best treatment were from North East region while most of those who reported a bad treatment were from South East region. This association was statistically significant. More males reported bad PPA treatment compared to females and this was also statistically significant. Location of medical school was also found to have a statistically significant association with treatment at PPA. Table 6
There was a statistically significant association between region of deployment and job satisfaction as North East region had the highest proportion of corps doctors happy with their work while South East and South South regions had the highest number of corps doctors unhappy with their job. Sex and marital status also had a statistically significant association with job satisfaction. Table 7
There is significant paucity of data on the subject of this study and our study revealed some variation in national service experience between corps members in Nigeria and other countries.
A 15-year review of the compulsory community service scheme for South African medical doctors showed that two-thirds of respondents in their study expressed satisfaction with their accommodation and general welfare [28], as opposed to 89.2% of respondents in our study reporting one or more welfare-related problems such as exploitation, poor remuneration and lack of accommodation at their PPAs. Also, A study conducted among corps members in medical services (Doctors, nurses and pharmacists) in Kogi state found that the lack of improved salaries and infrastructure, and insecurity were some of the factors that negatively influence healthcare service delivery among the corps members.[19] These perceptual differences may be rooted in the fact that better welfare packages are made available for young South African doctors involved in the Community service scheme, and imply that drastic improvement in welfare for Corps medical doctors in Nigeria may go a long way in positively influencing perception of the scheme by doctors.
Our study has also shown that a majority (61%) of corps medical doctors do not believe that the experience of serving during the compulsory NYSC programme provides them with any sort of professional development. In contrast, up to 91% of Community service medical officers in the study in South Africa believe that their country’s community service scheme provides them with tangible professional development. [28] This may be correlated to the fact that they feel well orientated to their jobs and receive quality clinical supervision, characteristics that most Nigerian corps doctors perceive to be lacking in their various places of primary assignment.
More than half of our respondents (53.9%) were not deployed to any of their preferred states and about 80% of them did not enjoy the National service. This is at variance with a similar study done in Ghana were more than 80% of the participants were posted to their preferred regions in Ghana and most of them enjoyed their service. [11] It can thus be reasonably inferred that being posted to a region of one’s preference may be an important determinant of perception of national service by medical doctors, and that the perception of NYSC by Nigerian corps medical doctors may be significantly improved by posting many of them to their preferred states or geopolitical zones
About 72% of the participants in our study were doing the national service because it was mandatory while 74% of participants in the same study in Ghana were of the opinion that they would still do national service even if it were voluntary. [11] The comparatively positive perception of national service in Ghana could be responsible for this difference, and perhaps many more Nigerian corps doctors will show improved willingness to participate in the scheme if measures are put in place to ensure a higher positive perception of the scheme.
NYSC has been seen by employers as a source of free or cheap labour whereby corps members are offered paltry stipends which is not commensurate with the rendered services. [16] Corps doctors are not left out of this unfair treatment. According to our study, most corps doctors (66.9%) receive less than 80,000 from their PPAs while 17% of corps doctors are not paid a dime at their places of primary assignment. This is against the directives of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission on the allowances corps doctors are supposed to receive from their PPAs. [29] This gross reduction in earning potential of medical doctors during the period of national service could be a major contributor to the negative perception of the scheme.
51.6% of the corps doctors from our study reported no provision of accommodation at their places of primary assignment as part of the challenges faced. This is close to the findings of a study among corps member in Ibadan where 79.7% of respondents reported lack accommodation as part of challenges faced. [21] The study was conducted among 177 corps members from different fields in Ibadan, so the differences in sample size, distribution and population could account for the observed differences.
From our study, 15.5% of respondents cited poor security as part of the perceived challenges of participating in the scheme. This is close to the findings of a study done among corps members in Nigeria where 10% of participants reported that insecurity was a problem facing the scheme. [17] The relatively higher percentage from our study could be due to difference in sample size and sample population as the above study was conducted among corps members in Abuja.
Our study also explored the experiences of corps doctors at their places of primary assignment. About 17.8% of respondents reported bad PPA treatment while 59.4% considered their PPA treatment to be fair. Other problems faced at PPAs include No payment (17.0%), No accommodation (51.6%) and exploitation (41.4%). A study among corps members in Nigeria reported the above problems as part of the reasons corps members were rejected at some places of primary assignment. [17] Also, the above problems could make corps doctors reject a PPA. Out of 112 corps doctors who attempted to get their PPA changed, only less than half of them were successful. These statistics call on the attention of the of NYSC to be more proactive in the monitoring of the welfare of corps members posted to various PPAs.
About half of the respondents in a study done among corps members in Abuja reported that they would love to marry from the host communities where they served. [17] This demonstrates a positive perception towards one of the purposes of NYSC which is integration. In contrast, only 4.5% of our respondents reported finding a lover or spouse through the scheme as a perceived benefit. This significantly lower percentage reported in our study may be a consequence of the poor perception of the scheme by doctors, or other factors relating to difference in study populations such as differences in average age, experience, longer time spent in training.
Our study revealed that only 20.6% of corps doctors were satisfied with their Job and this is similar to the finding of a study done among corps members in Bayelsa where only 17% of respondents reported high level of job satisfaction. [20] Although unlike our study, the study population comprised of corps members in various fields, the similarity in results could imply a similar level of dissatisfaction with NYSC jobs between corps medical doctors and corps members in other fields. More studies are needed to explore this.
Corps doctors serving in the South East region reported the highest level of challenges compared to other regions. This finding was significant statistically and could be related to the poor treatment of corps doctors in the region as most of the corps doctors who reported bad PPA treatment were from South East region and this association was also statistically significant.
There was a statistically significant association between region of deployment and job satisfaction as North East region had the highest proportion of corps doctors happy with their work while South East and South South regions had the highest number of corps doctors unhappy with their job. This finding could be due to the variations in the treatment received in the different regions as majority reported good treatment in North East region while majority reported bad treatment in South East region.
From our study, 23.6% of respondents were of the opinion that the programme, NYSC should be scrapped completely, while 18.3% suggested that the programme be revamped. Almost half (42.9%) of our respondents suggested that the national service be made optional. These opinions suggest that the programme needs attention. Exhaustive and holistic assessment of the national service programme, with the implementation of befitting changes could grossly improve the perception of participants, including medical doctors.
This study suggests a general, widespread negative perception of the National Youth Service Corps by corps medical doctors and shows that the participation of this group of professionals in the scheme is fraught with significant challenges. There is significant lack of data on the experiences of these doctors while participating in the scheme. It is recommended that the scheme be reviewed by relevant stakeholders and a favourable framework be developed for corps doctors. It is recommended that corps members especially doctors be given the opportunity to assess their PPAs just as the PPAs are expected to evaluate and clear corps members every month. The report of the corps members on their PPAs would be utilized by NYSC in the analysis of PPAs and subsequent posting of corps members. The NYSC should ensure the implementation of the instructions on the PPA posting letters by various PPAs. A work schedule template should be developed for corps doctors and adopted at various PPAs to avoid undue exploitation. This will improve their welfare, and by extension, improve service delivery to the patients and the communities in which they are serving their fatherland.
NYSC: National Youth Service Corps
PPA(s): Place(s) of Primary Assignment
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Ethical approval was obtained from Ethics Committee of Bingham University Teaching Hospital Jos, with reference number: NHREC/21/05/2005/00861. Informed consent was obtained from each respondent and confidentiality was assured as names were not required from the subjects. All methods were performed according to relevant guidelines and regulations.
Consent for publication
Not applicable
Availability of data and materials
The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are included in this published article and its supplementary files.
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests
Funding
The study was solely funded by the authors********
Author’s contributions
CEN sorted, analyzed and interpreted data. EOO collected data and interpreted the results, GBC designed e-questionnaire, collected and sorted data, CFO collected data. All authors contributed in the writing of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Acknowledgement
The authors thank the corps doctors for their support during data collection.
Table 1: Socio-demographics of Respondents
|
Variable |
Response |
Frequency(N=399) |
Percentage % |
|
Age (Years) Mean Age: 27.16 |
23 - 25 |
75 |
18.8 |
|
26 - 29 |
279 |
69.9 |
|
|
30 and Above |
45 |
11.3 |
|
|
Sex |
Male |
201 |
50.4 |
|
Female |
198 |
49.6 |
|
|
Tribe |
Hausa |
70 |
17.5 |
|
Igbo |
105 |
26.3 |
|
|
Yoruba |
92 |
23.1 |
|
|
Others |
132 |
33.1 |
|
|
Marital Status |
Divorced |
1 |
0.3 |
|
Married |
67 |
16.8 |
|
|
Single |
330 |
82.7 |
|
|
Widowed |
1 |
0.3 |
|
|
Religion
|
Christianity |
267 |
66.9 |
|
Islam |
129 |
32.3 |
|
|
Others |
3 |
.8 |
|
|
Location of Medical school
|
Abroad |
70 |
17.5 |
|
Nigeria |
329 |
82.5 |
|
|
Region of Residence
|
Abuja |
65 |
16.3 |
|
North Central |
39 |
9.8 |
|
|
North East |
61 |
15.3 |
|
|
North West |
39 |
9.8 |
|
|
South East |
52 |
13.0 |
|
|
South South |
52 |
13.0 |
|
|
South West |
91 |
22.8 |
|
|
Region of Deployment |
Abuja |
64 |
16.0 |
|
North Central |
68 |
17.0 |
|
|
North East |
49 |
12.3 |
|
|
North West |
55 |
13.8 |
|
|
South East |
41 |
10.3 |
|
|
South South |
67 |
16.8 |
|
|
South West |
55 |
13.8 |
Table 2: Socio-demographics of Respondents
|
Variable |
Response |
Frequency (N=399) |
Percentage (%) |
|
Length of time in service |
Less than 6 months |
147 |
36.8 |
|
6 months and above |
252 |
63.2 |
|
|
Deployed to any of the four preferred states |
Yes |
184 |
46.1 |
|
No |
215 |
53.9 |
|
|
If yes, which one |
First |
64 |
16.0 |
|
Second |
37 |
9.3 |
|
|
Third |
44 |
11.0 |
|
|
Fourth |
39 |
9.8 |
|
|
Applied for Relocation |
Yes |
199 |
49.9 |
|
No |
200 |
50.1 |
|
|
If Yes, was Relocation successful |
Yes |
83 |
20.8 |
|
No |
116 |
29.1 |
|
|
If Unsuccessful, Why? |
Lack of necessary documents |
1 |
0.3 |
|
NYSC Embargo |
115 |
28.8 |
Table 3: PPA Experience of Corps Doctors
|
Variable |
Response |
Frequency (N=399) |
Percentage (%) |
|
Type of PPA Facility |
Government |
329 |
82.5 |
|
Private |
43 |
10.8 |
|
|
Military |
13 |
3.3 |
|
|
Missionary |
12 |
3.0 |
|
|
NGO |
2 |
.5 |
|
|
Any Attempt to change PPA |
Yes |
112 |
28.1 |
|
No |
287 |
71.9 |
|
|
Successful change of PPA? |
Yes |
34 |
8.5 |
|
No |
78 |
19.5 |
|
|
Does your PPA pay you? |
Yes |
331 |
83.0 |
|
No |
68 |
17.0 |
|
|
Range of Pay (Naira) |
Less than 30,000 |
25 |
6.3 |
|
30,000 - Less than 50,000 |
78 |
19.5 |
|
|
50,000 - Less than 80,000 |
164 |
41.1 |
|
|
80,000 - Less than 120,000 |
57 |
14.3 |
|
|
120,000 and above |
7 |
1.8 |
|
|
Treatment at PPA |
Good |
91 |
22.8 |
|
Fair |
237 |
59.4 |
|
|
Bad |
71 |
17.8 |
|
|
Do you take call duty |
Yes |
263 |
65.9 |
|
No |
136 |
34.1 |
|
|
If Yes, what is the call duty frequency |
Once per week |
62 |
15.5 |
|
Twice per week |
77 |
19.3 |
|
|
Thrice per week |
43 |
10.8 |
|
|
More than thrice per week |
81 |
20.3 |
|
|
Do you have to work extra to make more money? |
Yes |
283 |
70.9 |
|
No |
116 |
29.1 |
|
|
Did your PPA Accommodate you |
Yes |
193 |
48.4 |
|
No |
206 |
51.6 |
Table 4: Further Perceptions and Recommendations of Corps Doctors
|
Variable |
Response |
Frequency (N=399) |
Percentage (%) |
|
Any Harassment |
Yes |
181 |
45.4 |
|
No |
218 |
54.6 |
|
|
Location of Harassment |
In Camp |
71 |
17.8 |
|
Outside Camp |
101 |
25.3 |
|
|
Type of Harassment |
Verbal |
103 |
25.8 |
|
Physical |
57 |
14.3 |
|
|
Sexual |
5 |
1.3 |
|
|
Harassment by who? |
NYSC Official |
121 |
30.3 |
|
Military/Paramiliatary Personnel |
70 |
17.5 |
|
|
PPA Staff |
63 |
15.8 |
|
|
People in Local environment |
17 |
4.3 |
|
|
Are you happy with your job as an NYSC doctor? |
Yes |
82 |
20.6 |
|
No |
317 |
79.4 |
|
|
Quality of life compared to pre NYSC? |
Better |
29 |
7.3 |
|
Same |
71 |
17.8 |
|
|
Worse |
299 |
74.9 |
|
|
Did you look forward to NYSC |
Yes |
117 |
29.3 |
|
No |
282 |
70.7 |
|
|
Do you believe NYSC will make you a better professional? |
Yes |
156 |
39.1 |
|
No |
243 |
60.9 |
|
|
Why are you doing NYSC? |
I do not Know |
29 |
7.3 |
|
National Integration |
55 |
13.8 |
|
|
Compulsory for Employment |
286 |
71.7 |
|
|
Political Ambition |
17 |
4.3 |
|
|
Parental Influence |
9 |
2.3 |
|
|
I Love it |
3 |
.8 |
|
|
What should be done to NYSC? |
Made Optional |
171 |
42.9 |
|
Scrapped for Doctors only |
61 |
15.3 |
|
|
Scrapped Totally |
94 |
23.6 |
|
|
Revamped |
73 |
18.3 |
Table 5: Association between Socio-demographics and Overall Perception of Challenges and Benefits
|
Variable |
Any Benefits
|
Any Challenges |
||||
|
Yes |
No |
P value |
Yes |
No |
P value |
|
|
Region of Deployment |
|
|
0.127 |
|
|
0.012 |
|
Abuja |
52(81.3%) |
12(18.8%) |
|
59(92.2%) |
5(7.8%) |
|
|
North Central |
63(92.6%) |
5(7.4%) |
|
60(88.2%) |
8(11.8%) |
|
|
North East |
44(89.8%) |
5(10.2%) |
|
37(75.5%) |
12(24.5%) |
|
|
North West |
47(85.5%) |
8(14.5%) |
|
48(87.3%) |
7(12.7%) |
|
|
South East |
31(75.6%) |
10(24.4%) |
|
40(97.6%) |
1(2.4%) |
|
|
South South |
52(77.6%) |
15(22.4%) |
|
64(95.5%) |
3(4.5%) |
|
|
South West |
44(80.0%) |
11(20.0%) |
|
48(87.3%) |
7(12.7%) |
|
|
Medical school location |
|
|
0.391 |
|
|
0.846 |
|
Abroad |
56(80%) |
14(20%) |
|
62(88.6%) |
8(11.4%) |
|
|
Nigeria |
277(84.2%) |
52(15.8%) |
|
294(89.4%) |
35(10.6%) |
|
|
Sex |
|
|
0.381 |
|
|
0.831 |
|
Male |
171(85.1%) |
30(14.9%) |
|
180(89.6%) |
21(10.4%) |
|
|
Female |
162(81.8%) |
36(18.2%) |
|
176(88.9%) |
22(11.1%) |
|
|
Marital Status |
|
|
0.094 |
|
|
<0.001 |
|
Divorced |
1(100.0%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
1(100%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
|
Married |
59(88.1%) |
8(11.9%) |
|
50(74.6%) |
17(25.4%) |
|
|
Single |
273(82.7%) |
57(17.3%) |
|
304(92.1%) |
26(7.9%) |
|
|
Widowed |
0(0.0%) |
1(100.0%) |
|
1(100%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
|
Tribe |
|
|
0.855 |
|
|
0.328 |
|
Hausa |
56(80.0%) |
14(20.0%) |
|
60(85.7%) |
10(14.3%) |
|
|
Igbo |
89(84.8%) |
16(15.2%) |
|
98(93.3%) |
7(6.7%) |
|
|
Yoruba |
77(83.7%) |
15(16.3%) |
|
83(90.2%) |
9(9.8%) |
|
|
Others |
111(84.1%) |
21(15.9%) |
|
115(87.1%) |
17(12.9%) |
|
|
Religion |
|
|
0.639 |
|
|
0.326 |
|
Christian |
225(84.3%) |
42(15.7%) |
|
241(90.3%) |
26(9.7%) |
|
|
Islam |
106(82.2%) |
23(17.8%) |
|
113(87.6%) |
16(12.4%) |
|
|
Others |
2(66.7%) |
1(33.3%) |
|
2(66.7%) |
1(33.3%) |
|
|
Age(YRS) |
|
|
0.206 |
|
|
0,434 |
|
23 - 25 |
59(78.7%) |
16(21.3%) |
|
69(92%) |
6(8%) |
|
|
26 - 29 |
233(83.5%) |
46(16.5%) |
|
249(89.2%) |
30(10.8%) |
|
|
30 AND ABOVE |
41(91.1%) |
4(8.9%) |
|
38(84.4%) |
7(15.6%) |
|
|
Duration in Service |
|
|
0.638 |
|
|
0.470 |
|
Less than 6 months |
121(82.3%) |
26(17.7%) |
|
129(87.8%) |
18(12.2) |
|
|
6 months and above |
212(84.1%) |
40(15.9%) |
|
227(90.1%) |
25(9.9%) |
|
Table 6: Association between Socio-demographics and Treatment at PPA
|
Variable |
Treatment at PPA |
P value |
||
|
Good |
Fair |
Bad |
|
|
|
Region of Deployment |
|
|
|
0.012 |
|
Abuja |
17(26.6%) |
42(65.6%) |
5(7.8%) |
|
|
North Central |
11(16.2%) |
41(60.3%) |
16(23.5%) |
|
|
North East |
19(38.8%) |
21(42.9%) |
9(18.4%) |
|
|
North West |
13(23.6%) |
31(56.4%) |
11(20.0%) |
|
|
South East |
5(12.2%) |
26(63.4%) |
10(24.4%) |
|
|
South South |
9(13.4%) |
43(64.2%) |
15(22.4%) |
|
|
South West |
17(30.9%) |
33(60.0%) |
5(9.1%) |
|
|
Medical school location |
|
|
|
0.023 |
|
Abroad |
21(30%) |
44(62.9%) |
5(7.1%) |
|
|
Nigeria |
70(21.3%) |
193(58.7%) |
66(20.1%) |
|
|
Sex |
|
|
|
<0.001 |
|
Male |
40(19.9%) |
110(54.7%) |
51(25.4%) |
|
|
Female |
51(25.8%) |
127(64.1%0 |
20(10.1%) |
|
|
Marital Status |
|
|
|
0.065 |
|
Divorced |
0(0.0%) |
1(100.0%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
|
Married |
25(37.3%) |
35(52.2%) |
7(10.4%) |
|
|
Single |
66(20.0%) |
200(60.6%) |
64(19.4%) |
|
|
Widowed |
0(0.0%) |
1(100.0%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
|
Tribe |
|
|
|
0,799 |
|
Hausa |
19(27.1%) |
35(51.4%) |
15(21.4%) |
|
|
Igbo |
23(21.9%) |
63(60.0%) |
19(18.1%) |
|
|
Yoruba |
18(19,6% |
57(62.0%) |
17(18.5%) |
|
|
Others |
31(23.5%) |
81(61.4%) |
20(15.2%) |
|
|
Religion |
|
|
|
0.074 |
|
Christian |
52(19.5%) |
162(60.7%) |
53(19.9%) |
|
|
Islam |
39(30.2%) |
72(55.8%) |
18(14.0%) |
|
|
Others |
0(0.0%) |
3(100.0%) |
0(0.0%) |
|
|
Age(YRS) |
|
|
|
0.268 |
|
23 - 25 |
12(16.0%) |
51(68.0%) |
12(16.0) |
|
|
26 - 29 |
66(23.7%) |
159(57.0%) |
54(19.4%) |
|
|
30 AND ABOVE |
13(28.9%) |
27(60.0%) |
5(11.1%) |
|
|
Duration in Service |
|
|
|
0.410 |
|
Less than 6 months |
27(25.2%) |
81(55.1%) |
29(19.7%) |
|
|
6 months and above |
54(21.4%) |
156(61.9%) |
42(16.7%) |
|
Table 7: Association between Socio-demographics and Job Satisfaction
|
Variable |
Happy with your Job as NYSC doctor |
P value |
|
|
Yes |
No |
|
|
|
Region of Deployment |
|
|
0.001 |
|
Abuja |
15(23.4%) |
49(76.6%) |
|
|
North Central |
17(25.0%) |
51(75.0%) |
|
|
North East |
17(34.7%) |
32(65.3%) |
|
|
North West |
14(25.5%) |
41(74.5%) |
|
|
South East |
2(4.9%) |
39(95.1%) |
|
|
South South |
4(6.0%) |
63(94%) |
|
|
South West |
13(23.6%) |
42(76.4%) |
|
|
Medical school location |
|
|
0.067 |
|
Abroad |
20(28.6%) |
50(71.4%) |
|
|
Nigeria |
62(18.8%) |
267(81.2%) |
|
|
Sex |
|
|
0.021 |
|
Male |
32(15.9%) |
169(84.1%) |
|
|
Female |
50(25.3%) |
148(74.7%) |
|
|
Marital Status |
|
|
0.008 |
|
Divorced |
0(0.0%) |
1(100.0%) |
|
|
Married |
24(35.8%) |
43(64.2%) |
|
|
Single |
58(17.5%) |
272(82.4%) |
|
|
Widowed |
0(0.0%) |
1(100.0%) |
|
|
Tribe |
|
|
0.646 |
|
Hausa |
17(24.3%) |
53(75.7%) |
|
|
Igbo |
22(21.0%) |
83(79.0%) |
|
|
Yoruba |
15(16.3%) |
77(83.7%) |
|
|
Others |
28(21.2%) |
104(78.8%) |
|
|
Religion |
|
|
0.676 |
|
Christian |
52(19.5%) |
215(80.5%) |
|
|
Islam |
29(22.5%) |
100(77.5%) |
|
|
Others |
1(33.3%) |
2(66.7%) |
|
|
Age(YRS) |
|
|
0.160 |
|
23 - 25 |
13(17.3%) |
62(82.7%) |
|
|
26 - 29 |
55(19.7%) |
224(80.3%) |
|
|
30 AND ABOVE |
14(31.1% |
31(68.9%) |
|
|
Duration in Service |
|
|
0.957 |
|
Less than 6 months |
30(20.4%) |
117(79.6%) |
|
|
6 months and above |
52(20.6%) |
200(79.4%) |
|