Results-Based Financing (RBF) Implication on the Availability of Essential Health Commodities in Primary Health Facilities: A Retrospective Pre- and Post-intervention Study in Tanzania

TL;DR

This study shows that result-based financing improves the availability of essential health supplies in Tanzania's health facilities.

Contribution

The study evaluates the impact of adding a supply chain component to RBF on health commodity availability in Tanzania.

Findings

Health facilities in RBF zones had higher average availability of essential commodities (50 vs 33).

RBF significantly improved commodity availability (F = 12.83, p = 0.0000).

Abstract

Background: The health commodities supply chain is considered an important building block of any functional health system. There is a suboptimal availability of various health commodities in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC). Result Based Financing (RBF) is the innovation in health system financing that links financing with results. In Tanzania, a supply chain component was added to the RBF implementation in 2016 with the purpose of improving essential health commodities availability. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of RBF on essential health commodities in Tanzania, i.e., health commodities that have a high impact on the population's priority health care needs. They must be available all the time and be affordable in Tanzania.

Methods: The study employs a retrospective pre- and post-intervention design with a comparison group, ensuring a systematic approach to data collection and analysis. The intervention area was the Medical Store Department (MSD) Mwanza zone, while the comparison was the Moshi MSD zone. Data was extracted from the electronic Logistic Management Information System (eLMIS) on a quarterly basis at the health facilities from April 2016 to September 2018. A Repeated Measure Analysis of Variance (RMA) analysis was carried out.

Results: The study showed that the average availability of essential health commodities at the facilities in the RBF implementing zone was higher than in the non-implementing zone (50 vs 33). Similarly, there was a significant effect of RBF on the essential health commodities availability at health facilities F (9, 414) = 12.83, p = 0.0000.

Conclusion: Result Based Financing has a positive impact on the availability of essential health commodities in the implementing areas.

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