Influence of Effective Implementation of Health Policy in the Health Sector: a Case of Cape Coast Teaching Hospital

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of effective implementation of health policy in the health sector using Cape Coast teaching hospital as a case. There were three main specific objectives, among them were to determine the influence of procurement process on the implementation of health policy within Cape Coast Teaching Hospital; examine the effect of budgetary allocation on the implementation of health policy within Cape Coast Teaching Hospital; and examine the effect of leadership practices on the implementation of health policy within Cape Coast Teaching Hospital. The study sought to draw evidence from 54 health workers from the study area. It was a quantitative study with self-administered questionnaire as the main research instrument. The results from the survey were analysed with the help of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS v26.0). The collected research data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results of the regression analysis shows that leadership practices, procurement process, budgetary allocation all had positive influence in the implementation of health policy. The research concluded that the Cape Coast teaching hospital has poor budget disbursement and utilization of funds, has limited delegation of duties, lacks a clear chain of command within the health sector. The study further indicates that the Cape Coast teaching hospital has fostered digitalization and coordination of the procurement processes. The research recommended that the Cape Coast teaching hospital should foster financing of the health sector and adopt an internal structure and internal controls that can foster the implementation of health policies.