Enhancing Intersectoral Collaboration in Maternal Healthcare for the Realization of Universal Health Coverage in Kenya: The Perspectives of Health Facility Administrators in Kilifi County, Kenya

TL;DR

This study explores how collaboration between different sectors in maternal healthcare can help achieve universal health coverage in Kenya, based on the views of health administrators in Kilifi County.

Contribution

The study provides insights into intersectoral collaboration in maternal healthcare for achieving universal health coverage in Kenya.

Findings

Linda Mama, an expanded free maternity services program, is seen as a pathway to universal health coverage.

Fair stakeholder representation and local participation are key to successful intersectoral collaboration.

Bottom-up strategies are essential for building trust and ownership in health initiatives.

Abstract

Intersectoral collaboration is an instrument that enables better productivity by filling in for possible gaps in knowledge, skills, and competencies in a given department by leveraging them from other departments. In Kenya, there is a paucity of information on intersectoral collaboration in healthcare. This article explores the possibilities of intersectoral collaboration, specifically in maternal healthcare, and what can be done to realize such collaborations to drive universal health coverage (UHC) in Kenya. Free maternity services (FMSs) are among the primary healthcare services that push Kenya towards UHC. In light of the centrality of UHC in driving current health policy, there are still several challenges which must be faced before this goal can be achieved. Moreover, competing priorities in health systems necessitate difficult choices regarding which health actions and investments to fund; these are complex, value-based, and highly political decisions. Therefore, the primary objective of this article is to explore health facility administrators’ views on whether intersectoral collaboration could help with the realization of UHC in Kenya. The study area was Kilifi County, Kenya. The article is based on follow-up qualitative research conducted between March and July 2016 and from January to July 2017, and follow-up interviews conducted during COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021. The data are analyzed through a thematic analysis approach. The findings indicate that through Linda Mama, the expanded free maternity services program is one of the possible pathways to UHC. However, participants noted fair representation of stakeholders, distributed leadership, and local participation, considering bargaining power as a key issue that could enhance the realization of UHC in intersectoral collaboration through Linda Mama. These techniques require a bottom–up strategy to establish accountability, a sense of ownership, and trust, which are essential for UHC.