Basic health care provision fund project implementation: An assessment of a selected technical skill among mid-level managers of a performance-based financing scheme in Southwest Nigeria

Introduction: Knowledge and skills in quantitative/numerical disciplines are some of the essential skills necessary for sustainable and successful administration and management in financing health care. It is not clear whether the personnel across relevant establishments in the health sector of Nigeria have the requisite capacity to implement and manage a performance-based financing project. This survey assessed the availability of certain technical skills among selected mid-level managers in charge of the implementation of the Basic Health Care Provision Fund Project (BHCPFP). Materials and Methods: Data were collected with the aid of a self-administered questionnaire developed from a review of the project document. A total population of mid-level managers from all the respective ministries was studied across the six states in Southwest Nigeria. Data collection was conducted between February and June 2019. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22. Frequency tables were generated and charts were constructed. Results: A total of 234 eligible participants were studied. Those who had formal training in quantitative/numerical-based skills such as accounting-related courses were about one-third, 77 (32.8%) and those who had acquired formal training in insurance-related disciplines were 91 (38.7%). A little above one-third, 66 (28.2%) had a form of on-the-job health insurance training. Conclusions: This study showed that mid-level managers had poor quantitative-related skills necessary for administrative and technical roles for implementation of BHCPFP. Mid-level managers should be trained and re-trained on those administrative and technical skills for better implementation of BHCPFP.