ArticlePloS one2020
Managerial capacity among district health managers and its association with district performance: A comparative descriptive study of six districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
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- The Influence of Competent Managers on Employee Retention, Job Satisfaction and Well-Being in the Healthcare Industry - A Scoping Review.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2026Review
- Maturity of Systemic Leadership Among District Health Management Teams in a Post-Conflict Context: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Kasai-Central Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2026Article
- Practice of Leadership, Governance, and Management Related to Maternal Nutrition Intervention Research Embedded in Antenatal Care in Burkina Faso.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Management capacity of primary healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Healthcare managers' perspectives on direct health facility financing in Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- District health management and stillbirth recording and reporting: a qualitative study in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- "The trip actually opened our eyes to things that we were supposed to do and we were not doing": developing primary health care system leadership in a low-income country with peer exchanges.Research in health services & regions · 2023Article
- Article
- Strengthening health management, leadership, and governance capacities: What are the actual training needs in Tanzania?Health science reports · 2023Article
- What Factors Explain Low Adoption of Digital Technologies for Health Financing in an Insurance Setting? Novel Evidence From a Quantitative Panel Study on IMIS in Tanzania.International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Using a theory of change in monitoring, evaluating and steering scale-up of a district-level health management strengthening intervention in Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda - lessons from the PERFORM2Scale consortium.BMC health services research · 2022Article
- Challenges and lessons learned during the planning and early implementation of the RTS,S/AS01Malaria journal · 2022Article
- Improving health and social systems for all children in LMICs: structural innovations to deliver high-quality services.Lancet (London, England) · 2022Review
- Improving access to health services through health reform in Lesotho: Progress made towards achieving Universal Health Coverage.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Comparison of maternal and child health service performances following a leadership, management, and governance intervention in Ethiopia: a propensity score matched analysis.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Model of Organizational Commitment Applied to Health Management Systems.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Review
- Leadership, governance and management for improving district capacity and performance: the case of USAID transform: primary health care.BMC family practice · 2020Article
- Transforming capacity-strengthening in an era of sustainable development.International journal of public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionDistrict health managers play a pivotal role in the delivery of basic health services in many countries, including Ghana, as they are responsible for converting inputs and resources such as, staff, supplies and equipment into effective services that are responsive to population needs. Weak management capacity among local health managers has been suggested as a major obstacle for responsive health service delivery. However, evidence on district health managers' competencies and its association with health system performance is scarce.
aimTo examine managerial capacity among district health managers and its association with health system performance in six districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
methodsFifty-nine district health managers' in six different performing districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana completed a self-administered questionnaire measuring their management competencies and skills. In addition, the participants provided information on their socio-demographic background; previous management experience and training; the extent of available management support systems, and the dynamics within their district health management teams. A non-parametric one-way analysis was applied to test the association between management capacity and district performance, which was measured by 17 health indicators.
resultsShortcomings within different aspects of district management were identified, however there were no significant differences observed in the availability of support systems, characteristics and qualifications of district health managers across the different performing districts. Overall management capacity among district health managers were significantly higher in high performing districts compared with lower performing districts (p = 0.02). Furthermore, district health managers in better performing districts reported a higher extent of teamwork (p = 0.02), communication within their teams (p<0.01) and organizational commitment (p<0.01) compared with lower performing districts.
conclusionThe findings demonstrate individual and institutional capacity needs, and highlights the importance of developing management competencies and skills as well as positive team dynamics among health managers at district level.
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