A Dissertation Submitted to Institute of Development Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Award of the Degree of Master of Science in Development Policy (Msc. DP) of Mzumbe University
The study aimed at examining the Challenges facing private health service providers in Tanzania. Specifically the study focused at examining the Performance of private Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets (ADDO), the challenges facing private Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets in the provision of heath services, the causes of the challenges facing the private Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets in the provision of services and measures in improving the performance of private Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlets in provision of service in Tabora Municipality.
This study applied a case study design, which targeted ADDO owners in Tabora Municipal Council as the private health service providers. A sample size of 100 respondents was drawn by using purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Questionnaire, Interview and Observation methods were applied in collection of primary data, whereas documentary review method was adopted for collecting secondary data. The collected data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Excel Software and Content Analysis then presented in tables, figures and texts.
The findings from the study revealed that; Unavailability of qualified staff, Poor storage facilities, shortage of required drugs, Low purchasing power, difficult drug policy, poor Government support, selling expired drugs and high training costs reported by respondents are the challenges facing ADDO.
To overcome the challenges facing ADDO, the study suggests; adherence to the Government medical policies, Proper Dispensing of required drugs, effective and efficiency drug planning, improving drug storage and dispensing enough of the required drug.