Acceptability of the Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF) initiative in Tanzania: A mixed methods process evaluation of the moderating factors

The impact of direct health facility financing on MNCH service provision: results from a comparative, before-after study in Pwani Region, Tanzania

BACKGROUND

Pwani Regional Secretariat in Tanzania implemented the Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health Project (2016-2022) through Direct Health Facility Financing (DHFF), which allocates funds directly to health facilities. This study assessed the impact of the six-year DHFF project in Pwani region.

METHODS

The study utilised District Health Information Software 2 data from 18 intervention health facilities in Pwani region. Control groups comprised an equal number of facilities from Pwani and Dodoma regions where the project was not implemented. Key indicators assessed included 'ANC 4 + Rate (%)', 'Percentage of Mothers tested for Anaemia during ANC', 'Caesarean Section Delivery Rate (%)', 'Percentage of Mothers and Newborns receiving PNC services within 48 hours', 'Delivery Complication Rate (%)', and 'SBA Delivery Rate (%)' which are associated with the project interventions. The impact of the project was analysed using a paired sample t-test comparing baseline and endline data. We evaluated the significance of the dependent variables using one-way ANOVA with control groups, with the Tukey-Kramer test for post hoc analysis. Chi-square test assessed the significance of Caesarean Section Delivery Rate and the relationship between variables and health facility conditions. Pearson correlation test was used for significance between funding size and the change of MNCH variables. Statistical significance at 0.05 was calculated.

RESULTS

The project showed limited positive impacts, only in the 'Percentage of Mothers tested for Anaemia during ANC' (****p < 0.0001), 'Percentage of Newborns receiving PNC within 48 hours' (**p = 0.0095), and 'SBA Delivery Rate' (***p = 0.0043). The health facility assessment identified positively influencing factors on service delivery, such as facility type (*p = 0.0347), distance to the facility (****p < 0.0001), and internet connectivity (*p = 0.0186). We found that the project did not improve most MNCH indicators, including the CEmONC coverage (χ2 = 2.82, p = 0.2448, df = 2), which was known to be the leading outcome.

CONCLUSION

The project had limited impacts on MNCH outcomes due to various factors. While the health facility assessment highlighted positive influences on service delivery, significant areas for improvement remain, including referral systems and infrastructure. Operational research findings indicate that the effectiveness of the DHFF could be enhanced by refining its management and governance structures.

Do community health committees participate in governing health workers in primary healthcare facilities under fiscal decentralization?-An explanatory qualitative study from Tanzania

Background

Decentralization is implemented at the local level to increase community participation in improving service delivery. Majority of developing countries are implementing Fiscal decentralization in primary healthcare through various approaches such as Direct Health Facility Financing, among other things, to empower Community governance structures to govern Primary Health Facility operations to improve the responsiveness of health service delivery and achieve Universal Health Coverage. One of the primary functions of these governance committees is to oversee health workers in their health facilities.

Aims

This aimed at assessing how empowered governance committees govern health workers in their facilities under fiscal decentralization.

Methods

To collect data for this study, an explanatory qualitative design with phenomenology traditions was used. To select the area of study, health facilities, and participants, a purposeful sampling procedure was used. Data were gathered through interviews and Focus Group Discussions to explore committee participation in governing health workers in primary care. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the collected data.

Result

The findings of the study suggest that community governance committees' participation in governing health workers under fiscal decentralization remains limited. Majority of the committees have found to have low limited participation in governing different aspects of health workers. The majority of the committees have discovered that hiring casual workers such as security guards and cleaners is more important than other functions.

Conclusion

The study implies that lower and middle-income countries' willingness to implement fiscal reforms at the local level and empower communities to take the lead in governing health workers still there are very limited specific powers granted to them to govern health workers. Therefore, capacity building to the governance actors is critical if we are to achieve the benefit of fiscal decentralization.

Who makes health governance decisions at the local level? A cross sectional study from primary health facilities in Tanzania

Background and Aims

Lower- and middle-income countries have decentralized decision-making at the community level, as well as community governance structures, to encourage community participation in governance processes, particularly in primary healthcare (PHC). In Tanzania, decentralization resulted in the establishment of Health Facility Governing Committees (HFGCs) to encourage community participation in the governance of primary health facilities to improve the quality and responsiveness of health service delivery. Nonetheless, despite the presence of HFGCs, PHC delivery remains ineffective and of poor quality. It is unclear who makes governance decisions at PHC facilities to ensure that services delivered are of expected quality and respond the community's needs, tastes, and preferences. This paper aims to assess the perspectives of members of the HFGC on who make governance decision in the context of fiscal decentralization.

Design and Methods

A cross-section design was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. A four-multistage sampling technique was adopted to selects regions, council, health facilities, and HFGC members. Respondents who participated in structured questionnaire responses were chosen using proportional sampling, whereas those who participated in in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions were chosen using purposive selection. The data was analyzed descriptively and thematically.

Results

The study revealed that HFGCs members perceive that governance decisions in primary health facilities are primarily made by the health facility management, and later are presented in HFGCs. As such, HFGCs are used a passively used to justify participation in decision that was already made by the management, which contradict with the principal of decentralization that emphasizes community participation on fiscal decisions.

Conclusion

Decentralization of PHC facilities does not guarantee the participation of community members in fiscal decision of their respective primary health facilities through HFGCs. HFGC is passively used governance structure to substitute community participation in primary health facilities' fiscal decisions. Enforcement mechanisms are required to facilitate effective community participation.