Training Influence on the Performance of Mental Health Professionals in Selected Public Psychiatric Hospitals Kenya

Abstract

Public hospitals have been struggling with issues related to low general performance and personnel productivity. Concerns have been raised about differences in study leave and training received by employees at public health facilities, which explain why employee performance is low. There are serious consequences when employee well-being is not addressed through good training. Failing to prioritize their training can result in increased rates of disengagement, absenteeism, and turnover. The objective of this study is to evaluate how training influence performance of mental health professionals. The study adopted mixed methodologies in a cross-sectional descriptive research design. About 146 mental health professionals, were sampled using stratified random proportionate sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select ten key informants. Content analysis was used on qualitative data, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. The study findings show there is a correlation between training and employee relations (r=0.584, p<0.001), between training and appraisal (r=0.529, p<0.001), between training and remuneration (r=0.415, p<0.001) between training and performance (r=0.280, p < 0.001). This study recommends that in order to maximize employee performance, hospital management should prioritize the ongoing skill development of their staff. Only via ongoing training and development procedures is this achievable.