Purpose Retaining skilled medical professionals remains a major challenge for healthcare systems as many countries struggle to sustain a stable physician workforce. Understanding what shapes doctors' retention is crucial for maintaining service delivery. This study examines how demographic characteristics influence the relationship between total rewards and doctors' retention, focussing on age and experience. Total rewards are conceptualised as financial incentives, such as salary and allowances and non-financial incentives such as promotion opportunities and career development. Doctors' retention served as the dependent variable, while age and experience were tested as moderators. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative research design was employed, with a structured online survey distributed to doctors at public and private healthcare facilities. 400 valid responses were analysed through structural equation modelling to evaluate both the direct effects of total rewards and the moderating role of demographic factors. Findings Total rewards have a positive, significant effect on doctors' retention, indicating that comprehensive reward structures support workforce stability. Age and experience have a negative, significant influence on retention, suggesting that older, more experienced doctors are less motivated by rewards and more inclined to leave. However, these demographic factors do not significantly moderate the relationship between reward retention and the other variables. Practical implications Reward strategies must align with different career stages. Combining financial incentives with structured career development could strengthen long-term retention. Originality/value Empirical research rarely considers demographic characteristics as moderators of the rewards-retention relationship in medical contexts. This study provides new evidence that age and experience influence retention independently, rather than altering the effect of rewards.
Awadzie et al. (Wed,) studied this question.