International Journal of Current Business and Social Sciences | IJCBSS Vol.1, Issue 3, 2015 IMPLEMENTATION OF FREE MATERNITY SERVICES POLICY IN KENYA: HEALTH WORKERS’ ATTITUDE AND INVOLVEMENT

Kenya has a high maternal mortality rate. Free maternity services program was implemented to improve access and utilization of maternal health services and ultimately improve maternal health. The implementation of the policy in Kenya was done through a top-down approach, with health workers being called upon to implement the formulated policy. Evidence shows that involvement of health workers is critical for ownership and successful implementation of the policy. There is no evidence of involvement of Kenyan health workers before implementation of the policy. This study was carried out to determine the involvement of health workers in the policy process as well as their attitude towards the policy. The study was conducted in Nakuru County at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital and Bondeni Maternity. All health workers at Bondeni Maternity and all health workers at the Maternity Unit of the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital were included in the study. The objective of the study was to determine the level of involvement of health workers in policy process and the attitude of health workers towards free maternity services policy. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. A census was used to select the respondents from the sampled facilities. A total of 110 respondents were sampled and a 90.9 response rate was achieved. The study found that the policy was popular among respondents with 80% reporting that the policy was necessary and 72% reporting they like the policy. All respondents (100%) indicated that they were not involved in any way in the formulation of the policy. Majority of respondents knew about the policy through the media. There was a significant difference in attitude between the two facilities (p=0.008). The study concluded that health workers like the policy but they were not involved in formulating it. Their lack of involvement may hinder successful implementation of the policy.