Total Quality Management and Health Service Delivery in Public Health Centres: A Case Study of Lira Regional Referral Hospital.

Abstract

OTIM GIRA CHRIS (2014-M102-20040) Total Quality Management and Health Service Delivery in Public Health Centres: A Case Study of Lira Regional Referral Hospital. The general objective of the study was to investigate the effects of total quality management on health service delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital. The study was guided by the following objectives: to ascertain the effect of top management commitment on Health Service Delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital; to determine the effect of customer focus on Health Service Delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital; to establish the effect of employee involvement on Health Service Delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital and to examine the effect of continuous improvement on Health Service Delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital. A case study research design was used. The study predominantly employed a quantitative approach. The study population consisted of 1464 clients and health workers found in Lira Regional Referral Hospital. A sample size of 383 respondents was selected using simple random sampling techniques. Quantitative data analysis mainly consisted of descriptive statistics (percentages) and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation, coefficient of determination and regression). Both simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select respondents. The result indicated that top management commitment, customer focus, employee involvement and continuous improvement combined accounts for 76.7 % (Adjusted R Square) variation in the level of health service delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital. This implies that the higher the adoption of Total Quality Management, the more the improvement in health service delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital. Thus, it was recommended that for purposes of health service delivery in Lira Regional Referral Hospital, it is imperative that further training be conducted amongst the employees as there were noted cases where some employees were not aware of some aspects of TQM practices in the surveyed hospital. Key Words: Total Quality Management, Health Service Delivery, Public Health Centres, Lira Regional Referral Hospital.