Effect of Human Resource Management Practices and Moderating Role of Attitude On Employees’ Commitment in Public Health Sector in Kenya

Abstract

Over time, there have been public grievances regarding inadequate service provision at public hospitals in Kenya. This deficiency has partially been attributed to insufficient personnel, equipment, and other resources. Nevertheless, existing literature suggests that the lack of commitment and attitude of the workforce within these institutions could be a contributing factor, which could explain patients' preference for private hospitals and clinics. Given this circumstance, it is critical for researchers to explore the causes of employee disengagement in Kenya's public health sector. The purpose of this study is to fill a knowledge vacuum by investigating the effect of human resource management practices and moderating role of attitude on employees’ commitment in public health sector in Kenya. The research specifically examines critical human resource management functions such as recruitment and selection procedures, training and development protocols, and employee remuneration techniques. The insights derived from this research endeavor hold the potential to assist the government in formulating and implementing more effective strategies for human resource management. The study used descriptive, survey research, and co-relational methodologies, using 849 public hospital personnel in Kirinyaga County as its target population, from which 272 respondents were chosen as a sample. Information was collected via interviews, followed by the utilization of both descriptive and inferential statistical methods for analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to portray the characteristics of the participants regression analysis was done to establish the relationship between independent and dependent variables. In Kenya's public health sector, the level of personnel commitment was notably affected by the processes of personnel selection and recruitment. Furthermore, the commitment of Kenyan workers to the public health was significantly affected by training and developmental initiatives. Employee remuneration emerged as a substantial and positive influences on employee commitment. It was revealed that the attitude of employees had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between human resources management practices and employee commitment. Based on the findings, it was concluded that health workers’ commitment was influenced by HR practices, mainly; training and development, compensatory measures for employees, and the processes of recruitment and selection. Thus. It is recommended that health sector adopts a well-defined and transparent set of criteria for personnel selection. After the recruitment process, it is recommended that healthcare institutions initiate training programs in order to address the distinct requirements and skill sets of their staff. Finally, healthcare organizations must enhance their employee compensation frameworks in order to increase commitment.