Effect of Health Sector Grants on Availability and Quality of Healthcare in Kenya
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Date
2021-07-12
Authors
Kiplagat, Isabella J.
Musyoka, Philip K.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
African Economic Research Consortium
Abstract
This study seeks to investigate the effect of health sector grants on availability
and quality of primary healthcare in Kenya while focusing on the effect of Health
Sector Services Fund (HSSF), an innovative financing mechanism in which
funds are channeled directly from the national government to the lowest tiers
of healthcare providers in the country: the dispensaries, health centres and
first level hospitals. Specifically, we sought to establish the effect of HSSF on
availability and quality of healthcare in the country as measured by essential
drug availability and provider illness diagnostic accuracy, respectively. The study used data from the Health Service Delivery Indicators and Public Expenditure
Tracking Survey (SDI-PETs) conducted in Kenya in 2012/13. The analysis was based
on basic microeconomic theory¬ - the principal-agent theory. We appropriately used
Ordinary Least Squares and probit models in regressing availability and quality of
healthcare measures on HSSF status and a variety of control variables while controlling
for endogeneity of HSSF receipt. The regression results point to the importance of
Health Sector Services Grants (HSSF) amount and receipt in improving availability of
essential drugs and quality of care, respectively. Thus, direct, and increased funding
to lower-level health facilities enhance availability of individual essential medicines
at the facility level. Similarly, HSSF funding was important in influencing accuracy in
illness diagnosis. Other factors such as facility type and access to power influenced
availability of essential drugs while health worker age-group and health worker
training as indicated by cadre type were important determinants of provider process
quality of healthcare.