District hospitals in Nigeria play a crucial role in healthcare delivery, especially in underserved areas. However, their operational efficiency varies significantly and is often underresearched. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, combining quantitative data on operational metrics with qualitative insights from interviews and focus groups. Data for the study will be collected through surveys of hospital administrators and patients, complemented by observational audits of hospital records. Initial analysis suggests a moderate improvement in patient throughput efficiency between baseline () and follow-up (), with an average increase in bed turnover rate of approximately 5% per year. This trend indicates potential gains from targeted interventions. The quasi-experimental design allows for the assessment of causal relationships without random assignment, providing robust evidence on system improvements over time. Policy recommendations include prioritising training programmes for hospital staff and enhancing coordination between district hospitals and primary care providers to optimise resource utilization. Treatment effect was estimated with logit (pᵢ) =₀+^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.
Ajayi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.