Budget monitoring, accountability practices and their influence on the efficiency of county health systems in Kenya.

Public Finance Management (PFM) practices influence the attainment of health system goals. PFM processes are implemented within the budget cycle which entails the formulation, execution, and monitoring of government budgets. Budget monitoring and accountability actors, structures, and processes are important in improving the efficiency of health systems.

Examining the absorption of post-internship medical officers into the public sector at county-level in devolved Kenya: a qualitative case study.

Background: After Kenya's decentralization and constitutional changes in 2013, 47 devolved county governments are responsible for workforce planning and recruitment including for doctors/medical officers (MO). Data from the Ministry of Health suggested that less than half of these MOs are being absorbed by the public sector between 2015 and 2018. We aimed to examine how post-internship MOs are absorbed into the public sector at the county-level, as part of a broader project focusing on Kenya's human resources for health.

Political economy analysis of subnational health management in Kenya, Malawi and Uganda.

The need to bolster primary health care (PHC) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for health is well recognized. In Eastern and Southern Africa, where governments have progressively decentralized health decision-making, health management is critical to PHC performance. While investments in health management capacity are important, so is improving the environment in which managers operate.

Political economy analysis of sub-national health sector planning and budgeting: A case study of three counties in Kenya.

Devolution represented a concerted attempt to bring decision making closer to service delivery in Kenya, including within the health sector. This transformation created county governments with independent executive (responsible for implementing) and legislative (responsible for agenda-setting) arms. These new arrangements have undergone several growing pains that complicate management practices, such as planning and budgeting.

Examining the influence of budget execution processes on the efficiency of county health systems in Kenya.

Public financial management (PFM) processes are a driver of health system efficiency. PFM happens within the budget cycle which entails budget formulation, execution and accountability. At the budget execution phase, budgets are implemented by spending as planned to generate a desired output or outcome.

Management of human resources for health: implications for health systems efficiency in Kenya.

Background: Human resources for health consume a substantial share of healthcare resources and determine the efficiency and overall performance of health systems. Under Kenya's devolved governance, human resources for health are managed by county governments. The aim of this study was to examine how the management of human resources for health influences the efficiency of county health systems in Kenya.

Tracking health sector priority setting processes and outcomes for human resources for health, five-years after political devolution: a county-level case study in Kenya.

Background: Health sector priority setting in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) entails balancing between a high demand and low supply of scarce resources. Human Resources for Health (HRH) consume the largest allocation of health sector resources in LMICs. Health sector decentralization continues to be promoted for its perceived ability to improve efficiency, relevance and participation in health sector priority setting.