Staff Quality as Determinant of Records Preservation and Conservation Practices in Selected Hospitals in Oyo State, Nigeria.

Records Preservation and Conservation Practices (RPCP) is inevitable for record personnel that provide adequate health information and services in the hospitals. Preliminary investigations showed that adequate priority has not been given to records preservation and conservation practices in hospitals in Ibadan. This may be as a result of non-use of ICTs by records personnel or their low quality (in terms of educational qualification, ICT literacy skills, training) to drive RPCP. Little attention, however, has been paid to factors that could predict good records preservation and conservation practices among records officers in hospitals in Ibadan. It is on this background that the study investigated staff quality as determinants of records preservation and conservation practices in selected hospitals in Ibadan. Self-efficacy Theory was used as the framework, while the survey design of the correlational type was adopted. All the 190 records officers in five hospitals in Ibadan, Oyo State were enumerated. The instruments used were Staff quality (u=0.995) scales and Records preservation and conservation (a=0.785) scales. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple regressions at 0.05 level of significance. About 55.4% of the respondents were of the senior cadre and 69% possessed first degree certificate. The RPCP (proper handling of records x ̅=3.83, environmental control on records 3.78). The SQ=50.98 was high against 2.0 test of norm. There is a positive significant relationship between staff quality and records preservation and conservation practices by the records officers (r=.631**; df =183; p< 0.01). The staff quality (B=.600) relatively contribute to RPCP. Staff quality determined records preservation and conservation practices in selected hospitals in Ibadan. Hospitals in Ibadan, Oyo State should address staff quality to drive records preservation and conservation practices.