Influence of project management practices on delivery of reproductive health services by rh-oba project in Kiambu county, Kenya

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of management practices on delivery of reproductive health services by RH-OBA project in Kiambu County, Kenya. Agency theory was used to guide the study. The study used descriptive survey design. The target population for this study were RH-OBA project staff and beneficiaries in Kiambu County. RH-OBA project has three zones in Kiambu County, which include Ngarariga, Kawaida and Riabai and have 417 RH-OBAproject staffs and 6081 beneficiaries. The sample for this study was 568 respondents. Proportionate stratified sampling was used to select the respondents for this study. The beneficiaries’ and project staffs’ project area formed the strata for this study. The respondents were accessed through the health facilities and other social facilities that the project used in its implementation. This study collected primary data using semi-structured questionnaires. The researcher used drop-and-pick-later method to administer the questionnaires. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. This study revealed that from both project staff and beneficiaries’ perspective, reproductive health services delivery was positively correlated to project planning. The study also established that project staff and beneficiaries perceives reproductive health services delivery to be positively correlated to project leadership. However, they did not agree on the relationship between organizational design and reproductive health services delivery. While the project staff perceived reproductive health services delivery to have a weak and negative correlation with organizational design, the beneficiaries perceived them to have a medium positive correlation. The study revealed that both project staff and beneficiaries see reproductive health services delivery as strongly and positively correlated to project control. This study recommends that project managers and stakeholders in project management should ensure that project planning has been undertaken thoroughly before commencement of any project. Project managers and leaders should be keen to ensure they give the right direction, share the vision and inspire their team to achieve project goals. Project managers should use the right organizational design for project management and ensure adequate project control measures are in place.