Evaluating the technical efficiency of neonatal health service among primary hospitals of northwest Ethiopia: Using two-stage data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression model.

introductionMost cases of neonatal mortality are preventable but a substantial number of cases get complicated and become irreversible not only due to scarcity but also due to inefficient utilization of available resources in the health service. However, limited evidence shows the efficiency level of health facilities in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the technical efficiency of neonatal health service and its associated factors among primary hospitals in three zones of Northwest Ethiopia.

methodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among fifteen randomly selected primary hospitals from March 17 to April 17, 2021. Input data on non-salary recurrent costs, salary costs, and the number of beds, and output data on neonatal admissions, outpatient visits, and referrals for the 2019/20 fiscal year were collected using a document review. In the first stage of analysis, input-oriented data envelopment analysis with a variable return-to-scale assumption was employed to estimate the efficiency scores using DEAP 2.1. A Tobit regression model was fitted in the second stage to identify the associated factors with technical efficiency. Variables with a p-value <0.05 were declared as statistically associated factors.

resultsIn this study, 80% of the primary hospitals were pure technical efficient whereas 46.67% of the facilities were scale efficient with all of the scale inefficient hospitals operating below their scale. The mean pure technical and scale efficiency score of primary hospitals was 0.948±0.113 and 0.887±0.143, respectively. Total catchment population, incentive packages for the clinical staff, and the educational status of the manager were positively associated with the technical efficiency of hospitals. On the other hand, technical efficiency was negatively associated with the presence of a health facility that provides neonatal health services near the hospital and the distance of the manager's residence.

conclusionThough most of the primary hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia were technical efficient, more than half of them were working below their scale of operation. Our results also indicated that introducing the performance-based provision of incentive packages for clinical staff and employing master's and above-educated health professionals as a manager might improve the efficient utilization of resources in primary hospitals.