Adoption of scale up strategy and its effects on health care service provision in Kenya: a case of academic model providing access to healthcare (AMPATH) cervical cancer program

Abstract

Scale up strategy is the deliberate effort to increase the impact of healthcare services successfully tested in experimental projects. The key purpose of this study was to examine the adoption of scale up strategy and its effects on access to healthcare services by women in Western Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine factors facilitating scale-up strategy on cervical cancer screening program, to establish barriers to scale-up strategy on cervical cancer screening program, to find out the effects of scale up strategy in cervical cancer screening program in Western Kenya and to examine the effects of scale up strategy on cervical cancer awareness and screening in AMPATH cervical cancer screening program in Western Kenya. The study was carried out in Western Kenya at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (AMPATH center) in Uasin Gishu County, Turbo health center in Uasin Gishu county, Mosoriot health center in Nandi county and Webuye District Hospital in Bungoma county. The study employed survey research design that involved qualitative methods of data collection and analysis. The target population of the study included the CCSP staff and clients, which formed 13,370 drawn from the five cervical cancer-screening clinics in which the study was conducted. A sample size of 390 respondents was drawn from this target population. Both open ended and closed ended questionnaires were administered to the screening clients while interview schedule was administered to the staff members. The major findings of the study were: the scale up strategy has led to expansion in Geographic coverage which has increased the coverage of screening. The CCSP program has been able to improve access to healthcare through the scale up strategy that has been able to see the program not only improve in the coverage location but also population coverage. The scale up strategy has increased cervical cancer awareness in AMPATH cervical cancer screening program in Western Kenya. The results were presented in tables, graphs and real captions of respondents quoted words. This research recommended the need to conduct much bigger similar study with more programs, studies on scale up facilitators to be conducted and that similar studies should be conducted by healthcare sector to come up with improvement in their service provision