Evaluating the impact, implementation experience and political economy of primary care networks in Kenya: protocol for a mixed methods study.

BackgroundPrimary care networks (PCNs) are increasingly being adopted in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to improve the delivery of primary health care (PHC). Kenya has identified PCNs as a key reform to strengthen PHC delivery and has passed a law to guide its implementation. PCNs were piloted in two counties in Kenya in 2020 and implemented nationally in October 2023. This protocol outlines methods for a study that examines the impact, implementation experience and political economy of the PCN reform in Kenya.MethodsWe will adopt the parallel databases variant of convergent mixed methods study design to concurrently but separately collect quantitative and qualitative data. The two strands will be mixed during data collection to refine questions, with findings triangulated during analysis and interpretation to provide a comprehensive understanding of PCN implementation. The quantitative study will use a controlled before and after study design and collect data using health facility and client exit surveys. The primary outcome measure will be the service delivery readiness of PHC facilities. We will use a random sample of 228 health facilities and 2560 clients in four currently implementing PCNs, four planning to implement and four control counties at baseline and post-implementation. We shall undertake a preliminary cross-sectional analysis of the data at baseline from October to December 2023, followed by a difference-in-difference analysis at the endline from October to December 2024 to compare the outcome differences between the intervention and control counties over a 12-month period. The qualitative study will include a cross-sectional process evaluation and political economy analysis (PEA) using document reviews and approximately 80 in-depth interviews with national and sub-national stakeholders. The process evaluation will assess the emergence of PCN reforms, the implementation experience, the mechanism of impact and how the context affects implementation and outcomes. The PEA will examine the interaction of structural factors, institutions and actors/stakeholders' interests and power relations in implementing PCNs. We will also examine the gendered effects of the PCNs, including power relations and norms, and their implications on PHC from the supply and demand sides. We shall undertake a thematic analysis of the qualitative data.DiscussionThis evaluation will contribute robust evidence on the impact, implementation experience, political economy and gendered implications of PCNs in a LMIC setting, as well as guide the refining of PCN implementation in Kenya and other LMICs implementing or planning to implement PCNs to enhance their effectiveness.