Human Resource Management Practices Influencing Performance of Health Professionals Working in Selected Public Mental Health Facilities in, Kenya

Abstract

Human resource for health is a fundamental building block in the health system as espoused in the sustainable development goals and Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030.According to the WHO-mhGAP an estimated 450 million people are living with mental disorders globally and seek services in acutely under staffed, and under financed health systems characterized by a treatment gap of 50% - 85%. In Kenya a gap exists in translation of mental health policy 2015-2030 service outcome indicators and targets into tangible outputs, resulting in disparity of access and delivery of mental health services at all tiers of the health care system. This study sought to establish whether human resource management practices influence performance of health professionals in selected public mental health facilities in Kenya. To achieve this objective, the study focused on influence of training, employee relations, appraisal systems and rewards on performance of health professionals. A concurrent mixed method design was used, data was collected using a structured questionnaire from 137 mental health professionals, key informant interviews were conducted with eight supervisors. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS Version 26, findings presented as descriptive and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis of qualitative data done and identified themes triangulated with quantitative data. Results obtained from multiple linear regression analysis indicate that minimal training opportunities led to non-statistically significant decline in performance of mental health professional (β= -0.059 [95% CI: -0.203 to 0.085, p=0.42), employee relations revealed a statistically significantly increase in work performance (β=0.219 [95% CI: 0.029 – 0.408, p=0.024),appraisal system led to statistically significant increase in health professional work performance (β= 0.221 [95% CI: 0.086 to 0.357, p=0.002), while rewards did not lead to a statistically significant increase in work performance (β= 0.068 [95% CI: -0.115 to 0.251, p=0.464). Human resource management practices influence performance of mental health professionals. This study recommends support and incentives for continuous professional development, expedited grievance and safety incident resolution, linking performance appraisal to rewards, training needs, promotions, career progression and sanction framework. Further replication studies should be done in other public and private mental hospitals using a larger sample size to investigate whether the study variables are also applicable.