Determinants of Quality of Service offered by Doctors of District Hospitals in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

There is a growing concern about the poor quality of health services rendered to the population by public hospitals in Kenya. The study sought to investigate factors affecting quality of service in public hospitals in Murang’a county, Kenya. The study was guided by resource-based theory and theory of human motivation. A descriptive research design was adopted. The study population was 84 healthcare providers. Questionnaires were administered and the data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The study findings indicated that management support, employee motivation, and resource allocation had a positive and significant effect on quality of service in public hospitals. The study concluded that management support, employee motivation, and resource allocation contribute significantly to positive change in quality of services in public hospitals. The study recommends that County governments should increase the number of employees working per facility; hospital management, County government, and all relevant stakeholders should ensure availability of resources for easier functioning; hospitals management should be flexible and create a free working environment where staff would freely air their views on services being offered; the use and acceptance of information technology services should be scaled up and an awareness of its benefits should be communicated to the staff so that they can adopt the technology.