KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN TANZANIA’S PUBLIC HOSPITALS

Abstract

This paper reports on the findings of an investigation on the knowledge management practices and mechanisms used in knowledge creation, storage and sharing among healthcare professionals in Tanzania’s public hospitals. The study employed both questionnaires and interviews to collect data for triangulation purposes. The survey involved a sample of 225 respondents for participation in the questionnaire survey. However, 201 questionnaires were returned and analysed. Moreover, the study conducted interviews with 20 heads of department and four District Medical Officers. The quantitative data collected was analysed using SPSS version 20 whereas the qualitative data was subjected to thematic analysis. The study found inadequate Knowledge Management practices to exist among healthcare professionals. In addition, the hospitals did not have a formal knowledge management, hence prompting healthcare professionals to rely on informal mechanisms such as face-to-face communication, mobile phones, discussion forums, in creating and sharing knowledge. On the other hand, written medical records, shared files, and people’s minds used for storing knowledge were wanting and were coupled with less use of expert systems, medical repositories, and social media tools. Thus, there is a need to establish formal knowledge management in hospitals to boost the quality of healthcare service delivery.

Key words: Knowledge management practices; Healthcare Professionals; hospitals; Tanzania.