Does stewardship make a difference in the quality of care? Evidence from clinics and pharmacies in Kenya and Ghana.

Objective: To measure level and variation of healthcare quality provided by different types of healthcare facilities in Ghana and Kenya and which factors (including levels of government engagement with small private providers) are associated with improved quality.

Design: Provider knowledge was assessed through responses to clinical vignettes. Associations between performance on vignettes and facility characteristics, provider characteristics and self-reported interaction with government were examined using descriptive statistics and multivariate regressions.

Healthy firms: constraints to growth among private health sector facilities in Ghana and Kenya.

Background: Health outcomes in developing countries continue to lag the developed world, and many countries are not on target to meet the Millennium Development Goals. The private health sector provides much of the care in many developing countries (e.g.