MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS AND THE QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE SERVICES IN KAMPALA CAPITAL CITY AUTHORITY

Abstract

The study explored how management functions affect the quality of healthcare services in Kampala Capital City Authority. It was intended to solve the problem of why city dwellers shun KCCA healthcare facilities and preferred using alternative service providers. The objectives of study were: to examine the effect of the planning function on the quality of healthcare services in KCCA; to assess the effect of the organizing function on the quality of healthcare services in KCCA; and to establish the relationship between the controlling function and the quality of healthcare services in Kampala using the SERVQUAL instrument. The study used cross sectional descriptive survey design which ably facilitated the collection of data from the different strata of respondent and helped the researcher to get the individual characteristics of the variables under study. The study used both primary and secondary sources of data. A self-administered questionnaire and interview guide were used to collect data and analysed using a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Correlation and regression tests were run to establish the relationship between the study variables. A total of 209 respondents participated in the study including both patients and health service providers; in the number of 152 and 57 respectively. The findings revealed significant positive correlations between planning and quality of healthcare services (r=.391**, p-value<0.01), organising and quality of healthcare services (r=.291**, p-value<0.01), controlling and quality of healthcare services (r=.392**, p-value<0.01). The results indicated that the overall satisfaction of patients concerning the quality of service in Kampala health centres was on average good. Reliability and empathy scored highly implying the service is effective and efficient. The study concluded that indeed management functions conceptualized in terms of planning, organizing and controlling influence the quality of healthcare services in KCCA. The study recommends that KCCA should create situations that enhance management functions through proper planning and scheduling and promote co-workers relationships and client care for efficiency. More emphasis should be put on physical appearance and equipping the facilities to improve tangibility, knowledge and courtesy of employees which is assurance and improve on responsiveness which were found a bit weak.