Impacts of Regional Barriers on the Workforce Participation of Female Healthcare Providers

Abstract

Female healthcare providers in Pakistan face regional barriers which are obstacles for retention of career. The population for this study was from District Mansehra and Abbottabad in the Hazara Division. The population was female healthcare providers working at Ayub Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad, and King Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Mansehra. For sample Slovin’s formula was used to select a stratified random sample of 289 respondents. The margin of error was 5 percent with 95 percent confidence. Data came from a structured questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale. The analysis used SPSS with univariate, bivariate (chi-square and Goodman–Kruskal’s gamma), and multivariate cross tabulation methods. Univariate results showed that most respondents strongly agreed about regional barriers like mobility limits and safety risks. Bivariate tests confirmed these results, where unsafe transport structure had strong negative effects on workforce participation. Multivariate cross tabulation examined whether the results remain same or there are some effects after controlling for background factors such as age, marital status, job experience, residence, and income.