Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep 11;19(1):660.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-019-4435-0.

Understanding healthcare provider absenteeism in Kenya: a qualitative analysis

Katherine Tumlinson  1   2 , Margaret W Gichane  3 , Siân L Curtis  4   5 , Katherine LeMasters  6
Affiliations

Understanding healthcare provider absenteeism in Kenya: a qualitative analysis

Katherine Tumlinson et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Healthcare worker absenteeism is common in resource limited settings and contributes to poor quality of care in maternal and child health service delivery. There is a dearth of qualitative information on the scope, contributing factors, and impact of absenteeism in Kenyan healthcare facilities.

Methods: In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted between July 2015 and June 2016 with 20 healthcare providers in public and private healthcare facilities in Central and Western Kenya. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed using an iterative thematic approach.

Results: Half of providers reported that absenteeism occurs in both private and public health facilities. Absenteeism was most commonly characterized by providers arriving late or leaving early during scheduled work hours. The practice was attributed to institutional issues including: infrequent supervision, lack of professional consequences, limited accountability, and low wages. In some cases, healthcare workers were frequently absent because they held multiple positions at different health facilities. Provider absences result in increased patient wait times and may deter patients from seeking healthcare in the future.

Conclusion: There is a significant need for policies and programs to reduce provider absenteeism in Kenya. Intervention approaches must be cognizant of the contributors to absenteeism which occur at the institutional level.

Keywords: Absenteeism; Healthcare providers; Kenya; Maternal and child health; Qualitative; Quality of care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

References

    1. Filippi V, Ronsmans C, Campbell OM, et al. Maternal health in poor countries: the broader context and a call for action. Lancet. 2006;368(9546):1535–1541. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69384-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu L, Oza S, Hogan D, et al. Global, regional, and national causes of under-5 mortality in 2000–15: an updated systematic analysis with implications for the sustainable development goals. Lancet. 2016;388(10063):3027–3035. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)31593-8. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA WBG and UNPD. Trends in Maternal Mortality : 1990 to 2015: Estimates Developed by WHO,UNICEF,UNFPA, The World Bank and the United Nations Population Divisions. Who /Rhr/1523. 2015;32(5):1–55. doi:ISBN 978 92 4 150363 1.
    1. UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. Levels and trends in child mortality. New York, NY; 2017.
    1. Mills A. Health Care Systems in low- and Middle-Income Countries. N Engl J Med. 2014;370(6):552–557. doi: 10.1056/NEJMra1110897. - DOI - PubMed

MeSH terms