Financial Risk Management Practices and Business Sustainability: Empirical Findings from Private Hospitals in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Access to affordable and equitable health is a global challenge. Health is the third sustainable development goal under the seventeen United Nations sustainable development goals of 2015. Private hospitals play a key role in promoting the well-being of citizens. In Kenya, private hospitals provide over 47% of the healthcare services to the general population of over 53.8 million people in Kenya. Health is one of socio-economic factors that have a strong bearing on the economic growth of a nation. Despite their importance, their sustainability has been at risk, threatening provision of health services to Kenyans, achievement of social pillar agenda under Kenya’s vision 2030 and the implementation of the Kenya Health Policy 2014-2030. Effective risk management plays a fundamental role in ensuring business continuity. The study investigated the effect of financial risk management practices on sustainability of private hospitals in Nairobi County, Kenya. This study adopted positivism research philosophy and a descriptive research design. The sampling frame was 68 private hospitals that are located in Nairobi based on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentist Board retention register (2019) and NHIF accredited Hospitals. A closed ended questionnaire was used to collect primary data.. In order to test the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was carried out on 30 respondents from private hospitals in Mombasa, Siaya, Kakamega and Meru Counties.

The study utilized the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for data analysis. In order to enhance construct validity, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was done and generated KMO and Bartlett’s Chi- Square for factorability analysis. Total variance explained, Scree plot and rotated component matrix were generated and interpreted. Bivariate linear regression was used for inferential analysis after testing the data for normality, linearity and independence. Regression results showed that the regressor had a positive and statistically significant effect on regress and, with an explanatory power (R-Square) of 23.6%. The study recommends that first; private hospitals should continuously build, monitor and review capacity of the financial risk management function as it has a significant relationship with sustainability of hospitals. In addition, they should also continuously update the risk register and carry out risk assessments on regular basis as a sustainability safeguard. This will not only improve organizational performance but also strengthen sustainability potential of these entities and increase customer base, asset quality, quality of service and enhance competitiveness.