| dc.description.abstract | Health Products and Technologies (HPTs) are a cornerstone of Kenya’s health system and essential
for achieving universal health coverage by ensuring access to high-quality medical services with
minimal financial burden. Effective management of HPTs is critical for maintaining availability,
affordability, and quality of healthcare services. Despite ongoing efforts, challenges such as delays in
supply, inadequate stocks of essential medicines and laboratory commodities, wastage of health
products, long lead times, poor stock monitoring, and irrational use due to inadequate storage and
training persist across counties. This multi-county comparative study examined institutional
determinants influencing the management of HPTs in Kisumu, Kiambu, Nyeri, Machakos, and Isiolo
counties. The study focused on five independent variables, health financing, supply chain practices,
inventory optimization, human resource factors, and health information management, with
institutional leadership culture included as a moderating variable, while the dependent variable
management of HPTs, was assessed through the dimensions of availability, affordability, and quality.
Anchored on the Utilization Management Theory and Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints, and guided
by the pragmatism paradigm, the study adopted a mixed-methods design that combined quantitative
data from 106 respondents using census sampling and qualitative insights from ten key informants via
interview guides. Research instruments were pre-tested to enhance validity and reliability, while
quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and qualitative data
analyzed thematically, with diagnostic tests ensuring assumptions of normality, homoscedasticity,
autocorrelation, multicollinearity, and singularity were not violated. Findings revealed that HPT
financing (P=008), inventory optimization (P=0.000), human resource factors (P=0.002), and health
management information systems (P=0.022) had statistically significant positive effects on HPT
management, whereas supply chain practice (P=0.546) and institutional leadership (P=0.762) culture
demonstrated weak or no significant influence Based on these results, the study proposes an efficient
management model integrating lean inventory practices and digitalization to enhance the availability,
affordability, and quality of HPTs. The findings provide evidence-based recommendations for county
health administrations and policymakers and establish a foundation for future academic, scholarly,
and research endeavors in the management of health products and technologies in Kenya. | en_US |
