Determining the Levels of Technical Efficiency Changes in Bomet County Before and After Devolution

Abstract

The study aimed at determining the levels of technical efficiency changes in Bomet County before and after devolution. A cross-sectional study design was used where secondary and quantitative data was collected using a data checklist from the ministry of health and the county’s information platforms. ‘Ex-ante’ and ‘ex-post’ data from the devolution periods were used to calculate the technical efficiencies using a non-parametric econometric technique, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Key informant interviews were done after analyses of data to get the views of the county’s health managers on the results. The mean constant returns to scale technical efficiency (CRS TE) scores for the county increased from 92.4% in 2012 to 96.1% in 2015, while the varied returns to scale technical efficiency (VRS TE) score showed an increase of 3.4% from 96.6% to 100%. The county mean scale efficiency scores increased from 95.7% before devolution to 96.1% after devolution. Bomet County ought to create more demand for its health services and therefore increase the utilization of its resources. This could be done through the use of community units, which is responsible for bringing out the unmet needs in the population and linking the populations to the health facilities.