Influence of adoption of management information system on performance of health programs: a case of health facilities in Nairobi county

Abstract

Management Information System is one of the important functions of management which plays an important role in providing information that is required for crucial decision making which directly affects the performance of the organization. Modern public health practice requires good and reliable management information system. A Health Information System (HIS) is a functional entity within the framework of a comprehensive health system to improve the health of individuals and the population. As such, it is a management information system. The lack of reliable health information is one of the major obstacles to the effective planning of health services in Kenya. To provide optimal care, healthcare institutions need timely patient information from various sources at the point-of-care, and need a comprehensive, complete and fully functional system to fulfill all these needs. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of management information system on the performance of health programs in Kenya. To examine the influence of the nature of health information on the performance of health programs in Kenya. Specifically, the study analyzed how health information; processing affects the performance of health programs in Kenya, data storage and management influence performance of health programs in Kenya and accessibility on the performance of health programs in Kenya. The design was a descriptive survey because it allows the collection of large amount of data from a sizable population in a highly economical way. The target population was the the staffs accredited private and public hospitals in Nairobi in Kenya. Thus, the sample size for this study was selected using convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling (sometimes known as grab or opportunity sampling) is a type of non-probability sampling which involves the sample being drawn from that part of the population which is close to hand. The method was used to select a sample of 40 hospitals. This is 44% of the total population. The study will be of benefit to the practitioners and academicians both in the private and in public sector by contributing to the existing body of knowledge in the area of management information systems in general. The study will also benefit the government and other actors by reviewing the reports based on health programmes reforms through effective management information systems practices as a new concept for efficient and effective health care delivery. The study established that health information processing contribute most to the performance of health programs in Kenya followed by health information accessibility and finally health data storage. The study concluded that health information processing had a positive and significant influence on performance of health programs in Kenya. The study concluded that health data storage influence performance of health programs in Kenya. The study concluded that health information accessibility influence performance of health programs in Kenya. The study recommended that Success of the HMIS depends upon the input of each individual health worker at each level. Integrating all existing health programmes and the general administration of the health unit will ensure that common information (and the work involved in the collection and processing) is not duplicated and is in fact shared without wasting limited resources. All information should be collected for the explicit purpose of decision-making at the health unit level, i.e., the system will provide functional information at the level of collection.