Employer’s Perceptions on the Promotion of Workplace Health and Wellbeing in Public and Private Institutions in Kigali City, Rwanda

EMPLOYER’S PERCEPTIONS ON THE PROMOTION OF WORKPLACE HEALTH
AND WELLBEING IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS IN KIGALI CITY,
RWANDA
UMUNAZILE IMMACULEE
FINAL THESIS
AUGUST 2022
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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First of all, we are thankful to the almighty God and Praise Jesus Christ to have guided and
protected us through the whole period of our academic struggles
A vote of thanks goes to my lovely husband for his significant support moral and encouragement
during my studies and research period.
I gratefully acknowledge the Graduate School of London for organizing this kind of research
which help student to familiarize with the field in which they will be supposed to work, as well as
to find out what situation the society is facing with. We are indebted and grateful to lecturers in
school of health sciences.
This work would not have been possible without the support of my research supervisor Dr.
who assisted me in every step of this research. I’m very grateful for your support.
Finally, I’m thankful to my spouse Augustin and our children Melissa, Meghane and Meilla for
their support and perseverance, as well as for the precious time they devoted to me during my
studies.
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LIST OF TABLE
Table 4.1 Characteristics of the study participants......................................................27
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS
ABHR: Alcohol Based Hand Rub
CDC: Center for Disease Control
HH: Hand Hygiene
MIGEPROF: Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion
MoH: Ministry of Health
NGOs: Non-Government Organizations
OSH: Occupational Safety and Health
REG: Rwanda Energy Group
RSSB: Rwanda Social Security Board
PPE: Personal Protective Equipment
PSF: Private Sector Federation
WHO: World Health Organization
WHP: Work Health Promotion
WHRC: Workplace Health Resource Center
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ABSTRACT
The place that maximizes the integration of worker goals for well-being and institution
objectives for profitability and productivity is all about healthy workplace. The aim of present
study was to assess the employer’s perceptions on the promotion of workplace health and
wellbeing in public and private institutions in Kigali city, Rwanda. A qualitative cross-sectional
design was used by involving key informants interview and focus groups to gather information
about employer’s perceptions on the promotion of workplace health and wellbeing as well as the
factors contributing to their perceptions. The target population was business owners; managers
for private institutions; director generals and heads of department for public and private
institutions. Convenience sampling was used to select eligible respondents from listed
institutions. Data was collected by using recorders and all transcripts were translated from
Kinyarwanda to English for coding and analysis. Green light of data collection was obtained
from Kigali city and concerned institutions. Thematic analysis was used to analysis all
qualitative data. The researcher conducted a total of 30 interviews with employers from six
institutions where the researcher interviewed five respondents from each. Among them (n=18)
were female and (n=12) were male. They were almost all married(n=27) only (n=3) were
separated and aged between 27 and 52. This study revealed that there were main interventions of
employers in promotion of workplace health and well-being. The heads of departments who
participated in this study have described the key main activities standing in relation with
promotion of workplace health and well-being. The significant number of employers from both
institutions, have showed their potential beliefs in promotion of workplace health and well-being
where they agreed that improved working conditions are necessary to ensure higher labour
productivity, better quality work, healthier labour relations and compliance with quality
standards. They also believe that through the transformation of work place environment and
making it safe, an employer could improve the welfare of workers so that their interaction with
the work environment and equipment achieve standards that guarantee optimum Safety and
Health as well as increasing the productivity. The study found that the participants attributed
factors influencing their perceptions towards workplace health and well-being which were
generally classified as individual and factors. It concludes that different workplace circumstances
must be given consideration when designing initiatives and interventions.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT......................................................................................2
LIST OF TABLE.....................................................................................................3
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS...............................................4
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................5
TABLE OF CONTENT..........................................................................................6
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION....................................................................8
1.0 Introduction..........................................................................................................................8
1.1 Background of Research.....................................................................................................9
1.2 Problem Statement.............................................................................................................12
1.3 Research Aim......................................................................................................................13
1.3.1 Research Objectives..................................................................................................................13
1.3.2 Research Questions...................................................................................................................14
1.4 Research Significance........................................................................................................14
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................15
2.0 Related Literature..............................................................................................................15
2.0.1 Workplace Health Model.........................................................................................................18
2.0.2 What are workplace health programs?..................................................................................19
2.0.3 Examples of workplace health program components and strategies include:....................19
2.0.4 Impact of workplace health programs....................................................................................19
2.1 Employer’s perceptions on the promotion of workplace health and wellbeing in
public and private institutions................................................................................................20
2.1.1 What is the workplace?............................................................................................................20
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2.1.2 Employers' health and safety responsibilities........................................................................21
2.2 Conclusion......................................................................................................................22
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY....................................23
3.0 Data analysis considerations.............................................................................................23
3.1 Research design..................................................................................................................24
3.2 Research strategy...............................................................................................................25
3.2.1 Sampling approach...................................................................................................................25
3.2.2 Data reliability and validity.....................................................................................................25
3.3 Ethical considerations........................................................................................................26
CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS................................................26
4.1.1 The main interventions of employers in promotion of workplace health and well-being..30
4.1. 2 The potential beliefs of employers in promotion of workplace health and well-being......36
4.1.3 The factors influencing the employers’ perceptions towards workplace health and well-
being....................................................................................................................................................39
4.2 Discussion............................................................................................................................42
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMANDATIONS................45
5.0 Introduction........................................................................................................................45
5.1 Summary of Findings.........................................................................................................45
5.2 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................45
5.3 Recommendations..............................................................................................................46
REFERENCES......................................................................................................48
APPENDICES........................................................................................................52
Appendix I: SPSS.....................................................................................................................52
Appendix II: Questions............................................................................................................54
Appendix III: Consent form....................................................................................................56
Appendix IV: Approved Letters from the institutions.........................................................57
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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.0 Introduction
The place that maximizes the integration of worker goals for well-being and institution
objectives for profitability and productivity is all about healthy workplace. There are three
objectives that have to be reached in this dissertation; the first will explore the main interventions
of employers in promotion of workplace health and well-being, the second will identify the
potential beliefs of employers in promotion of workplace health and well-being and the third will
explore the factors influencing the employers’ perceptions towards workplace health and well-
being. The area of workplace was chosen because its safety and well-being promotion would
come up with positive impacts not only on health care providers but also on people seeking
different services. A workplace health promotion program can have multiple benefits on patients
and employee’s physical and psychological health, including decreasing stress and anxiety,
lower spread of infections, as well as receiving effective health care and general well-being
(Leonard, 2020).
The following key points are discussed in this chapter including; the study’s background, the
problem statement, research aim, objectives of the study, the questions’ research, the research’s
significance and the dissertation structure.
1.1 Background of Research
The history of global effort has been described by WHO to improve worker health, well-being
and safety, where it stated that its origin and evolution is complex(Joan, 2020). Workplace is a
setting or area for health promotion initiatives and supportive environment as well as the
development. Hence the healthcare providers could learn more from it and carrier strengthening
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