MPPM Thesis and Dissertations (2018)

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    Assessing the influence of the Health Labour Market Framework in addressing health worker availability: a case of Turkana County
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Wambua, Prisca Mwithi
    The United Nations has projected a shortage of 18 million health workers if the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs’) are to be attained. Kenya has developed a national human resources for health strategy which gives policy and strategy guidance to County governments which are now responsible for management of their health workforce. This study referenced the health labour market framework as a basis to review how effectively the county has identified and addressed the health worker demand and supply factors. The study employed a mixed methods approach. The target population was all health workers in level 2-4 facilities in Turkana County. The population comprised of staff at the 153 operational health facilities in Turkana County. The study also targeted the members of the County Public Service board in Turkana and the health management team members in the county including the Chief Officer for Health, the County Human Resources for Health officer and County Public Service Board HR Manager. The sample size of the study was 100 health workers. Stratified sampling was used to sample the health workers while purposive sampling was used to pick the key informants. Data collection involved administration of questionnaires, conducting key informant interviews and review of secondary data. Quantitative data was analysed through descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed through content analysis. The study established that the current implementation of the measures has positive effect on availability of health workers across the county. The study recommends that the prioritization and sequencing of measures be aligned to the needs of health workers and that further studies be conducted to determine the factors influencing the implementation of HRH policies in Turkana County.
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    Assess the perceptions of personal data privacy amongst users and developers of mobile applications in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Njuguna, Roselyn Muthoni
    This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of understanding the right to privacy of personal data relating to someone’s personal life. The objectives guiding this study were: to establish to what extent users of mobile applications understand that personal data collected through these applications was private. To understand the role of mobile application users in enhacing the knowledge of role of privacy when using mobile application. Finally, to establish to what extent mobile application users understood that they have a responsibility for their personal data. The paper utilized a descriptive research design. A total of 259 respondents were interviewed in Nairobi County. The study found out that most users of mobile applications were aware of their right to privacy of personal data regarding their personal lives and families. The study found out that if mobile application users understood that they had rights with respect to personal data relating to their private and family life, they are most likely to protect any information they share when using mobile applications. Those who were aware of their rights to privacy were most likely to refuse to provide any information. However, majority of users were not aware they had a right to access and correct any personal data collected from their mobile applications. From a mobile developers perspective, the study found out that creating knowledge on privacy amongst mobile application users such as purpose of collecting personal data, recipient of the data and how the data was to be processed increased users likelihood to know their rights to privacy. The study also found out that mobile application developers had an important role in educating users on how their information is being used. The study further found out that those agencies that had full access of your personal data, were most likely to transmit it to third parties. The study recommends that there is a need to fast track the Data Protection Bill in Kenya currently under discussion. Additionally, there is a need for greater collaboration amongst private and public sector organisations to enhance knowledge on the role of rights to privacy when collecting personal data.
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    A critical analysis of the role of think tanks in Kenya’s Economic Policy
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Njeru, Alex Ndungu
    This research sought to examine the part played by think tanks as actors in economic Policy Advice Supply in Kenya. The study employed an exploratory qualitative research approach with a purposive sample of think tanks that had a focus on economic policy and the government’s Ministries, Department, and Agencies that were involved in economic policy planning, formulation, implementation and evaluation. The findings showed that think tanks played a role in economic policy making through four main approaches: capacity building; economic policy research and analysis; advocacy and policy engagement; and through the use of consultancies. Key areas of involvement included agenda setting, participation in policy formulation and contribution to economic policy content. Key informants pointed out that most policy advice from think tanks was supply-driven rather than demand-driven. In addition, there seemed to be a communication buffer, between policy technocrats and think tanks, which reduced the participation of think tanks in economic policy advice. The convergence of Policy Advice Supply and Policy Advice Demand was found to be when technocrats in government communicated their policy advice needs clearly and unambiguously and when think tanks possessed the technical capacity to provide the policy advice. The study established that the endogenous factors that determined the ability of think tanks to play a role in Kenya’s economic policy were: technical capacity; reputation and social capital; corporate governance and communication capital. The exogenous factors that were found to have an effect on think tanks’ influence on economic policy included donors who had both macro-level and micro-level effects on think tanks; a think tank’s mandate and categorization; political leaders/political culture and political freedoms. The research recommends that think tanks should consider and involve public sector officials in the design and execution of their policy advice. In addition, think tanks should endeavor to re-orient their policy advice supply to be demand-driven rather than supply-led. A useful way of actualizing the link between Policy Advice Supply and Policy Advice demand is for both think tanks and government agencies to establish exchange programmes between public sector officials and researchers in think tanks. This would give think tanks the opportunity to get acquainted with the socio-political dynamics of economic policy formulation, implementation and evaluation. In addition, policy makers in government would have a chance to help think tanks to distill their policy advice products to have a structure and language that would appeal to policy advice demand. Areas of further study include the role of the leaders in think tanks and government institutions in influencing the contribution of think tanks to economic policy.
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    Assessing citizens’ perception of service quality at Huduma centres in Nairobi County, Kenya.
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Murage, Wangui
    The needs of citizens and their demands of their governments are changing around the world, including in Kenya. This change is creating complex working environments for governments that are compounded by the finite resources available to cater for multiple competing needs in service provision. In Kenya, the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and the aim to provide quality services, both from private and public institutions, has catapulted the focus on quality of government services to the forefront while requiring the government to provide more services to the citizens with greater efficiency.Kenya Vision 2030 recognizes that an efficient and effective public sector is a pre requisite to achieving global competitiveness and a high quality of life by 2030 and requires reforms to the public service. Further, the current government’s manifesto singles out public service delivery, efficiency and innovation as one of its key focus areas specifically through the use of the government’s Citizen Service Centres otherwise referred to as Huduma Centres.In order for the Huduma Centres to deliver on the desired level of efficient, transparent and innovative service delivery for citizens, service quality has to be assured.Measuring the quality of service has long been a topic of discussion in the private sector, recognizing that it is difficult to measure the quality of services due to the inherent characteristics of services. It is important for the public managers to measure the service quality across government agencies and the citizen service centres because the citizens are co- producers in the service encounter and their perceptions of service quality would serve to inform the design and service standards and communications about the service by the producer and between the producer and the citizen. Further, studies have shown that levels of citizen satisfaction and the levels of trust in the government of the day are positively correlated.This study sought to assess the citizens’ perceptions of the service quality at the Huduma Centres in Nairobi County and also to ascertain if there was a correlation between service quality and citizen satisfaction. The data collected for the study are both qualitative and quantitative in nature with the qualitative being scheduled interviews with the service centre iv managers as the service providers and the quantitative being data collected through structured questionnaires to the citizens.The findings of the study reveal citizens are overall satisfied with the services at the Huduma Centres and were satisfied with the performance of each dimension of service quality measured. Further there is need for the Huduma Kenya Programme (HKP) to design the service offering in such a way that reduces the turnaround time for the citizens receiving services; invest in stable Information Communications Technology (ICT) systems and connectivity with the mother ministries; continually train the staff at the centres on customer service; and roll out other channels of service that lessen the need to physically visit the centres to get service; and more importantly continue focusing on the citizen needs in order to better serve them. Areas of further study include similar studies in more counties in Kenya to establish if there are significant differences with Nairobi County as well as comparative studies with other Citizen Service Centres around the world.
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    An examination of factors influencing safety within the boda boda transport sector in Kenya
    (Strathmore University, 2018) Mugwe, Evanson Mwaengo
    The purpose of the study was to examine factors influencing safety within the bodaboda transport sector. The study was restricted to Lang’ata Sub-County as the area typically has a wealth of bodaboda operators. The objectives of the study were to examine to what extent flexibility and accessibility, affordability, employment opportunities and informality influenced safety within the bodaboda transport sector. Data was collected using questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings generally revealed that most bodaboda operators are young males below the age of 30 who in a desperate quest to find employment/incomes opt to engage in the bodaboda transport business. Indeed, the findings revealed that the overwhelming quest for incomes drove most bodaboda operators to unsafe operations including over speeding, non-use of helmets and carrying more than the prescribed one passenger per trip. Lastly the study recommended the formalisation of the sector in order to enhance regulation and management, which in turn will reduce the incidence of accidents in the sector.