Open AccessFacility management associated with improved primary health care outcomes in Ghana
Author(s) -
Erlyn Rachelle King Macarayan,
Hannah L. Ratcliffe,
Easmon Otupiri,
Lisa R. Hirschhorn,
Kate Miller,
Stuart R. Lipsitz,
Atul A. Gawande,
Asaf Bitton
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0218662
Subject(s) - medicine , percentile , health facility , health care , quality management , disease management , family medicine , environmental health , health management system , health services , management system , operations management , alternative medicine , population , pathology , economic growth , statistics , mathematics , economics
Background Strong primary health care (PHC) is essential for achieving universal health coverage, but in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) PHC services are of poor quality. Facility management is hypothesized to be critical for improving PHC performance, but evidence about management performance and its associations with PHC in LMICs remains limited. Methods We quantified management performance of PHC facilities in Ghana and assessed the experiences of women who sought care at sampled facilities. Using multi-level models, we examined associations of facility management with five process outcomes and eight experiential outcomes. Findings On a scale of 0 to 1, the average overall management score in Ghana was 0·76 (IQR = 0·68–0·85). Facility management was significantly associated with one process outcome and three experiential outcomes. Controlling for facility characteristics, facilities with management scores at the 90 th percentile (management score = 0·90) had 22% more essential drugs compared to facilities with management scores at the 10 th percentile (0·60) (p = 0·002). Positive statistically non-significant associations were also seen with three additional process outcomes—integration of family planning services (p = 0·054), family planning types provided (p = 0·067), and essential equipment availability (p = 0·104). Compared to women who sought care at facilities with management scores at the 10 th percentile, women who sought care at facilities at the 90 th percentile reported 8% higher ratings of trust in providers (p = 0·028), 15% higher ratings of ease of following provider’s advice (p = 0·030), and 16% higher quality rating (p = 0·020). However, women who sought care in the 90 th percentile facilities rated their waiting times as worse (22% lower, p = 0·039). Interpretation Higher management scores were associated with higher scores for some process and experiential outcomes. Large variations in management performance indicate the need to strengthen management practices to help realize the full potential of PHC in improving health outcomes.