Factors affecting the availability of tracer health commodities in public facilities at Tana River County, Kenya

Background: Delivery of quality healthcare is significantly based on the level of commitment among health facilities. This includes building a strong system with the continued availability of tracer commodities. Human resources, financing, health information provision, and technologies integrated into the care environment have been vital in defining improved care.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in health facilities in Tana River County. A census method was used where all 62 health facilities across different tiers of healthcare delivery were considered. Out of 62 facilities, 60 participated in the study. A structured questionnaire and a checklist were used to collect data. Data were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26 was used for data analysis.

Results: Majority of the participants were nurses (71.7%), male (68.3%), and diploma holders (78.3%). The mean availability of the tracer commodities was 68.73%. The human resource-related factors influencing availability were personnel training on commodity management (β = 4.56, 95%CI 2.29-11.21, p = 0.012) and presence of pharmaceutical technicians dispensing commodities (β = 2.85, 95%CI 1.29-5.21, p = 0.005) Financial factors investigated revealed that those who were in county hospitals (β = 19.11, 95%CI 7.39-30.83, p = 0.002) and facilities which has disbursement of budgetary allocation on time (β = 12.08, 95%CI 3.11-23.57, p = 0.002) had higher availability of tracer commodities.

Conclusion: There was moderate availability of tracer commodities which was influenced by training, personnel, level of the facility, and budget allocation on time.