The Influence of Supply Chain Practices on Health Service Delivery under the National Health Insurance Fund Scheme: A Case of Selected Hospitals in Tanzania

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the influence of supply chain practices (process integration, agile practices, and strategic partnerships) on health service delivery under the NHIF scheme in selected hospitals in Tanzania. The research utilized a cross-sectional design, enabling data collection from 189 employees in a single snapshot at a specific moment. These participants were drawn from five selected hospitals under the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) scheme within Dodoma city. Data were collected using structured questionnaires scaled to a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) and then analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Findings show that the independent variables collectively account for 41.1% of the variance in the dependent variable. The best predictor of the dependent variable is strategic partnership practices which have a standardized coefficient of 0.484; p =0.001 followed by agile supply chain practice with a beta coefficient of 0.342; p 0.011, and lastly process integration practices with a beta coefficient of 0.297; p=0.019 whereby the variables in totality calls for the need to continue prioritizing the effective supply chain practices, given their substantial positive impact on health service delivery. The study provides novelty by linking key variables of supply chain practices with health service delivery under the NHIF scheme in the Tanzanian context as an area overlooked by other studies.