Influence Of Effective Implementation Of Health Policy In Devolved Governments: A Case Of Mandera County

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to foster the delivery of healthcare services, the county governments have been actively implementing healthcare policies. However, the devolved units have been facing a number of challenges. The current sought to examine the determinants affect the implementation of health policy within Mandera County. The research specifically examined how procurement process, budgetary allocation and leadership practices affect the implementation of health policy in Mandera County. The research was based on the resource-based view theory and the human capital theory. The research adopted a descriptive research design that targeted personnel working within the health sector in Mandera County. The sample population for the research was 101 personnel selected from the hospitals. The research utilized a structured questionnaire that was piloted with 10% of the research respondents. The collected research data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The analyzed data was presented using tables, graphs and pie charts. The study ensured that ethical considerations have been observed in the course of the research study. The results of the research indicate that there was a 88% response rate with the majority of the respondents 59% being male personnel within the Mandera County government. Results of the regression analysis shows that leadership practices, procurement process, budgetary allocation accounts for 62.3% (R2=.623) variations in the implementation of health policy. The research concludes that the county government has poor budget disbursement and utilization of funds, has limited delegation of duties, lacks a clear chain of command within the health sector. The study further indicates that the county government has fostered digitalization and coordination of the procurement processes. The research recommends that the county government should foster financing of the health sector and adopt an internal structure and internal controls that can foster the implementation of health policies.