Factors Affecting Provision of Service Quality in the Public Health Sector: A Case of Kenyatta National Hospital

Purpose – This paper seeks to explore the factors affecting provision of service quality in the public health sector in Kenya, focusing on employee capability, technology, communication and financial resources. The paper reviews existing literature and experiences on public health service provision and quality management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reports on empirical evidence drawn from a case study of Kenyatta National Hospital – the largest referral hospital in Eastern & Central Africa. A total of one hundred and three respondents, comprising; sixteen doctors, thirty two nurses, twenty nine clinical officers, fourteen laboratory technologists and twelve pharmacists. Data was collected using closed and open ended questionnaires. Findings: Low employee’s capacity led to a decrease in provision of service quality public health sector by factor of 0.981 with while Inadequate Technology adoption in provision of health service led to a decrease in provision of service quality by a factor of 0.917. The Ineffective communication channels affected delivery service quality in public health sector by a factor of 0.768 while insufficient financial resources resulted to decrease in provision of health service quality by factor of 0.671. This implied that low employees capacity, low technology adoption, ineffective communication channels and insufficient fund affect delivery of service quality to patients in public health sector affecting health service quality perceptions, patient satisfaction and loyalty. Practical Implications – In the paper the implications for policy include: comprehensive healthcare policy,addressing the plight of the worker, the working environment, the resources to enable the healthcare personnel perform effectively, and emotional intelligence management of the workforce. Originality/value- The paper shows that the respondents in this study were various professionals in the healthcare provision, covering the comprehensive process of healthcare provision from diagnosis to treatment.The approach to study the largest referral hospital in Eastern and Central Africa region and data collected is indicative of special case of Kenyatta National hospital and may be entirely different from other public health institutions within the Eastern and Central Africa region.