The Impact Of Health Sector Reforms On Health Service Delivery In Tanzania: The Case Of Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of health sector reforms on health service delivery in Tanzania. The main objective was to assess the impact of health sector reforms on improving quality and accessibility of health services. Specific objectives were to assess the status of health services accessibility, examine the contribution of various actors in promoting quality and accessibility of health services delivery and to analyze the challenges towards provision and accessibility of quality health services. The study was carried out at Dodoma Regional Hospital as it is among government health facilities that provide health services to the general public in the area. This gave room for assessing the impact of health sector reforms on improving quality and accessibility of health services. The study employed a cross-sectional research design, and data were collected through survey questionnaire, interview and observation methods. Data analysis employed both qualitative and quantitative methods through computer (SPSS) program. Research findings indicate that there is a number of challenges that need to be addressed towards provision of improved health services in government health facilities after health sector reforms. The study concluded that health sector reforms have achieves its goals in improving health service delivery to some extent although there are some weaknesses in some areas. Therefore, the study recommends that corrective measures to be taken by government and other actors in order to ensure that the goal of health sector reforms is achieved to the desired level, and quality, access, equity and efficiency in the delivery of health services is guaranteed.