Nurses as creators of private health care businesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Like in most other developing nations, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has failed to create and effectively operate a sufficient number of health care facilities to improve the health status of many underserved communities. Private domestic and foreign entrepreneurs are increasingly stepping in to create private health care businesses (PHCBs) in areas underserved by public health facilities. This study explores the extent to which nurses create PHCBs in the Eastern Kasai province of the DRC and compares nurse entrepreneurs to their non-nurse counterparts in terms of age, age at creation of business, provision of preventative health services, job creation and sources of start-up funds (parents, brothers, sisters, friends and banks). We collected data in July 2010, using a questionnaire targeted toward the PHCBs and their creators. The survey yielded 68 responses. Nurses of various academic levels (BSN, ADN, High School) created 29 of these PHCBs (42%). Nurses were younger (n= 29; M =41.8; and S.D.= 8.3) than their non-nurse counterparts (n= 38; M =49.2; and S.D. = 12.15) and established their PHCBs at a younger age (n= 29; M =30.4; and S.D. = 8.2) than their counterparts (n= 38; M = 40.8; and S.D. = 12.78). However, they created less jobs (n= 24; M =3.3; and S.D. =3.19) than their counterparts (n= 24; M =9.25; and S.D. =13.1). Like their non-nurse counterparts, they raised their start-up capital mostly from personal savings and much less from parents, spouses, brothers, sisters, friends or banks.