Page 1 of 11

Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 11

Publication Date: November 25, 2022

DOI:10.14738/assrj.911.13412. Omambia, S. M., & Nganga, N. K. (2022). Political Factors Influencing the Shortage of Human Resources for Health in Samburu

County Referral Hospital, Kenya. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(11). 199-209.

Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom

Political Factors Influencing the Shortage of Human Resources for

Health in Samburu County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Salim Omambia Matagi

Kenya Medical Training College P.O.BOX 76-20402 Longisa

Bomet (Department of Administration)

Nipher Khisah Nganga

Kenya Medical Training College P.O.BOX 30195-00100, Nairobi

(Lecturer Department of Health Information)

ABSTRACT

Objective: The principal reason for carrying out the project was to determine the

political factors that influenced the shortage of human resources for health at

Samburu County Referral Hospital in Kenya. Design setting: The investigation

deployed a cross-sectional study. Subjects or participants: A sample population of

145 participants was calculated using the Fishers et al method of 1998. Data

collection was done using a survey with closed-ended queries. A strict inclusion

criterion was followed to select the respondents from all trained health personnel

in Samburu County Referral Hospital in Kenya. Data were analyzed using SPSS,

presented in figures with various diagrams like charts and tables and interpreted

using descriptive statistics. Results: The results showed that according to the study,

there were no programs set aside to ensure that all employees in the hospital were

treated fairly. When it came to discharging their jobs especially posting, 72.6% (p- value 0.000 and OR 1.1), agreed that they gave bribes to be posted to their preferred

working station. Segregation among the healthcare workers had been reported

with 59.4% and 56.8% (p-value 0.00 and OR 1.1), of the healthcare workers

agreeing that there was segregation by virtue of their religion, gender and culture.

Conclusion: Political factors such as employees using their affiliate influence to get

better working stations, preferential treatment and job posting were among the

major issues highlighted in the study.

INTRODUCTION

To have a good health system, there must be a symbiotic relationship between the government,

health care workers, tools used to properly run the hospitals and delivery of services. But

among the premise, human resources for health has been a crucial cross-cutting mass to all

other structure blocks. HRH was demarcated as all people involved in actions aimed at

improving health services. These human resource for health includes clinical staff such as

physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, radiologists, among others, as well as the support

staff and top-level management [1].

One of the major challenges and stumbling blocks in achieving health care services towards

sustainable development goals has been a shortage of personnel and specifically health

personnel. The shortage has led to poor health delivery services, especially to newborns,

Page 3 of 11

201

Omambia, S. M., & Nganga, N. K. (2022). Political Factors Influencing the Shortage of Human Resources for Health in Samburu County Referral

Hospital, Kenya. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(11). 199-209.

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.911.13412

The migration of health care workers within the country and outside the country, affected

ultimately service delivery in the country. The movement was associated to many things, such

as low pay, prospects of growth in your area of specialization, but pay stood out and seems to

be different in different governments, faith-based hospitals and the private hospital, [3,9].

When systems in the health sectors come out like they are created to only empower certain job

groups in that institution, they were likely to have some people complain because they felt

discriminated agains and ultimately affected the working psyche of the employee this

inequality was seen between doctors and clinical officers. These issues really brought out

aspects of reduced motivation, [10]. Correctly working national systems of examination could

significantly enrich worker inspiration, professionalism and conservation, because each health

professionals should be treated and paid equally. In Ghana, for instance, an extra duty hour’s

payment was announced to increase maintenance of health workers. Nonetheless, the point

that nurses get less than doctors under this payment is extensively testified to have

disheartened the nurse work fraternity. The ministry of health witnessed an upsurge in the

number of nurses wanting to migrate and subjective sign suggests that it was linked to the

disheartening consequence of this apparent inequity [11]. In a study of maintenance of expert

labor in Cape Town [12], acknowledgment and payment for the good concert were found to

have expressively unfair strengthening of personnel in the private sector establishments but

not so in the government run institution. Staffs, specifically those with admiration and self- drive pushes want to be valued and remunerated, not essentially with cash, but by willingly

admitting their accomplishments and involvement to the realization of administrative aims and

purposes. [13] Showed that employee pay was realized to stimulate how many workers would

stay in an organization or move to another organization. According to [14], the salary of the

health worker does a very important role in the final decision of an employee on whether to

transfer or stay in the same organization. Private organizations also give gratuities and

exceptional awards to respect and demonstrate a good deal. In public organizations, nurses are

known to be rewarded but there are no gratuities.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study utilized a cross-sectional study design, focusing on determinants of the shortage of

human resource for health at Samburu county referral hospital. Quantitative data was collected

from administering questionnaires to middle level management and health care workers in the

hospital. This study designed was deemed suitable for this study considering the desire to

obtain firsthand data from respondents to formulate rational and sound conclusions for the

study and recommendations for the study. Samburu County number 025 borders Baringo

County to the west, Laikipia County to the South, lsiolo County to the East, Turkana County to

the northwest and Marsabit County to the north. Lake Turkana borders at the northern tip

between Turkana and Marsabit counties. The study area was be Samburu County Referral

Hospital. It was the largest hospital in Samburu County. According to the Kenya Master Health

Facility List, the county has 3 level 4 health facilities, 17 level 3 and 89 level 2 health facilities.

Majority of health care facilities in the county were faith based and private hospitals and clinics

that serve the county. Samburu County Referral Hospital being the largest in the county was

picked to give a representation of the county health personnel shortage status.

Conferring to the 2019 Census, Samburu County populace had 310,327 persons with a domestic

of 4.7 and a populace mass of fifteen people per Km2 and a populace growing rate of two percent

per annum. The age distribution was zero to fourteen years at fifty percent, fifteen to sixty-four