Perceptions and Experiences of Health Care Workers on Accountability Mechanisms for Enhancing Quality Improvement in the Delivery of Maternal Newborns and Child Health Services in Mkuranga, Tanzania

Abstract

BackgroundMaternal mortality estimates globally show that by 2017 there were still 211 deaths per 100,000 live births; more strikingly, 99% of them happen in low and middle-income countries, including Tanzania. There has been insufficient progress in improving maternal and newborn health despite the efforts to strengthen the health systems, to improve the quality of maternal health in terms of training and deploying human resources for health, constructing health facilities, and supplying medical products. However, fewer efforts are invested in enhancing accountability toward the improvement of the quality of maternal health care. This the study was conducted to explore the perceptions of healthcare workers regarding accountability mechanisms for enhancing quality improvement in the delivery of maternal newborn and child health services in Tanzania.MethodsWe adopted phenomenology as a study design to understand how health workers perceive accountability and data were collected using semi-structured interviews. We then used thematic analysis to analyze themes and sub- themes.ResultsThe study revealed four categories of perceptions namely, differences in the conceptualization of accountability and accountability mechanisms, varied opinions about the existing accountability mechanisms, perceived the usefulness of accountability mechanisms, together with perceived challenges in the enforcement of accountability mechanisms.ConclusionPerceived variations in the understanding of accountability among healthcare workers signaled a proper but fragmented understanding of accountability in maternal care. Accountability mechanisms are perceived to be useful for enhancing hard work in the provision of maternal health services. Moreover, inadequate motivation resulting from health system bottlenecks tend to constrain enforcement of accountability in the provision of maternal care services. Thus, we recommend that the government should deal with health system constraints and enforce regular monitoring and supervision.