Hospital-related factors contributing to delayed healthcare service delivery among health workers at the outpatient department, Luweero Hospital, Luwero district. A cross-sectional study.

Authors

  • Loy Joyce Mwebaza Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.
  • Habert Mpamize Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.
  • Hasifa Nansereko Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.
  • Immaculate Prosperia Naggulu Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Francisco Ssemuwemba Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery
  • Jane Frank Nalubega Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70572/agp.v3i1.120

Keywords:

Hospital-related factors, Management support, interdepartmental communication, Luwero District

Abstract

Background:

Delayed health care service delivery often arises from health-facility-related challenges such as staff shortages, long waiting times, inadequate infrastructure, and poor coordination, among others. The study aimed to assess hospital-related factors contributing to Delayed HealthCare Service Delivery among Health Workers at the Outpatient department of Luweero Hospital, Luwero District.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive study was conducted among 40 health workers at the Outpatient Department of Luwero Hospital, selected from a population of 45 staff using Krejcie and Morgan’s table. Data were collected using structured self-administered questionnaires and analyzed using frequencies and percentages in Microsoft Excel 2016. Purposive sampling was used. Validity was ensured through expert review, reliability through pretesting with 10 respondents, and ethical approval and informed consent were obtained.

Results:

Among the 40 respondents, most respondents had certificate-level education (45%), while 35% held diplomas and 20% had bachelor’s degrees or higher. Nurses constituted the largest cadre (47.5%), followed by midwives (27.5%), doctors (17.5%), and laboratory clinicians (7.5%). Half of the respondents (50%) reported never receiving refresher training, while only 12.5% received training regularly. Regarding hospital-related factors, 65% indicated that medicines and supplies were not enough. Staffing levels were reported as very low by 70% of respondents. Additionally, 55% reported that most hospital machines were not working. Management support was never provided, according to 45% of respondents, and 60% rated interdepartmental communication as poor across departments within the hospital setting during service delivery processes.

Conclusion:

Hospital-related issues such as persistent stock-outs of medicines, non-functional equipment, and weak managerial support further contributed to delays in patient care.

Recommendation:

The hospital should strengthen supply chain management and adopt supportive, participatory leadership with improved communication to ensure adequate resources and timely healthcare service delivery.

Author Biographies

Loy Joyce Mwebaza, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.

 a student pursuing a diploma in Nursing and Midwifery

Habert Mpamize, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.

research supervisor at Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

Hasifa Nansereko, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery.

research supervisor at Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

Immaculate Prosperia Naggulu, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

research supervisor at Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

Francisco Ssemuwemba, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

is the dean of the School of Allied Health.

Jane Frank Nalubega, Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

research supervisor at Mildmay Uganda School of Nursing and Midwifery

References

Almutairi, A. M., Salonitis, K., & Al-Ashaab, A. (2020). A framework for implementing lean principles in the supply chain management at health-care organizations: Saudi's perspective. International Journal of Lean Six Sigma, 11(3), 463-492.https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLSS-01-2019-0002

Caraballo, C., Ndumele, C. D., Roy, B., Lu, Y., Riley, C., Herrin, J., & Krumholz, H. M. (2022). Trends in racial and ethnic disparities in barriers to timely medical care among adults in the US, 1999 to 2018. JAMA Health Forum, 3(10), e223856-e223856. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.3856

Kaimba, S., & Umar, E. (2025). Factors associated with delayed referrals of patients with sepsis from primary to tertiary healthcare in Blantyre, Malawi: A qualitative study. BMC Primary Care, 26(1), 13.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-025-02708-1

Kamaruzaman, A. Z. M., Ibrahim, M. I., & Hamid, A. A. (2020). Measuring Health Clinics' Workload Pressure in Kelantan Using the Workload Indicator of Staffing Needs. Malaysian Journal of Medicine & Health Sciences, 16(3).

Kibudde, S., Namisango, E., Nakaganda, A., Atieno, M., Bbaale, J., Nabwana, M., … & Orem, J. (2022). Turnaround time and barriers to treatment of newly diagnosed cancer in Uganda: A mixed-methods longitudinal study. African Health Sciences, 22(1), 327-337. https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v22i1.40

Masutha, S. S. T., Ikhile, I. A., & Mavhandu-Mudzusi, A. H. (2024). Unraveling the wait: exploring factors behind patient delays at a South African Clinic. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science, 13(10), 207-218. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v13i10.3605

Mesic, A., Gyedu, A., Mehta, K., Goodman, S. K., Mock, C., Quansah, R., Donkor, P., & Stewart, B. (2022). Factors contributing to and reducing delays in the provision of adequate care in Ghana: a qualitative study of trauma care providers. World Journal of Surgery, 46(11), 2607-2615. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06686-8

Mollel, H., & Mwanswila, M. J. (2024). Outcome evaluation of the effect of organizational strategies on the reduction of patient waiting time at the outpatient department at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Northern Tanzania. MedRxiv, 2002-2024. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.02.14.24302723

Nass, S. S., Isah, M. B., & Sani, A. (2019). Effect of integrated supportive supervision on the quality of health-care service delivery in Katsina state, Northwest Nigeria. Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, 6, 2333392819878619. https://doi.org/10.1177/2333392819878619

Urooba, A., Shah, M. M., Siddiqi, S., Afzal, U., Mehboob, S., Chauhan, S. S. B., … & Sheikh, L. (2024). Barriers to performing essential surgery at first-level hospitals in Pakistan: A mixed methods study. Journal of Surgical Research, 304, 383-390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2024.10.031

Verma, V. R., & Dash, U. (2021). Supply-side readiness for universal health coverage: assessing service availability and barriers in remote and fragile settings. Journal of Health Management, 23(3), 441-469.

https://doi.org/10.1177/09720634211035211

Yenet, A., Nibret, G., & Tegegne, B. A. (2023). Challenges to the availability and affordability of essential medicines in African countries: a scoping review. ClinicoEconomics and Outcomes Research, 443-458.

https://doi.org/10.2147/CEOR.S413546

Downloads

Published

2026-03-30

How to Cite

Mwebaza, L. J., Mpamize, H., Nansereko, H., Naggulu, I. P., Ssemuwemba, F., & Nalubega, J. F. (2026). Hospital-related factors contributing to delayed healthcare service delivery among health workers at the outpatient department, Luweero Hospital, Luwero district. A cross-sectional study. AfroGlobal Perspectives, 3(1), 8. https://doi.org/10.70572/agp.v3i1.120

Issue

Section

Section of Health Sciences

Similar Articles

<< < 3 4 5 6 7 8 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)