Assessing Employee Training's Contribution to Health Service Delivery at Benjamin Mkapa Hospital in Tanzania

The purpose of this paper is to assess employee training’s contribution to health service deliveryin public health facilities, such as the case of Benjamin Mkapa Hospital (BMH). The studyanswers the question of whether and how employee training is associated with the quality ofhealth service delivery. The study was guided by the human capital theory and applied mixedmethods with a cross-sectional design. Primary data were collected from 89 service providersand 68 beneficiaries at BMH using questionnaires, whereas eight key informants wereinterviewed. Quantitative data were analysed using the descriptive statistics generated by RVersion 4.3.4 in the form of frequencies, percentages, and mean scores, sample means tests,assumptions of normality tests, and correlation analysis. Qualitative data were analysed usingthematic analysis. The study found that much more attention was given to on-the-job trainingthan it was given to off-the-job training, subject to budgetary constraints and limited studyleaves to secure the workload balance needs. Nonetheless, there was a very strong positivecorrelation between effective employee training and quality of health service delivery [rho =0.879, p-value<0.001; 95% CI = 0.821 - 0.919]. This relationship is mediated through skills,competence, and confidence attributable to regular, relevant, and inclusive training, all of whichdepend on the scope of the training programs and how well they are being implemented. Thus,the government needs to increase the absorption rate so that off-the-job training is notcompromised, especially when the management limits study leave to meet excessive workloadbalance needs.