Medical equipment inventory management practices in public health facilities at Homabay county, Kenya

Background: Medical equipment performs a critical function in the daily running of health care. The management of these assets is key in ensuring quality healthcare since they aid in diagnosing and treating diseases. This study evaluated the medical equipment inventory management practices in public health facilities at Homabay County. Methods A cross-sectional design was used targeting nineteen public hospitals in Homabay County. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from healthcare workers who managed medical equipment inventory in the selected health facilities. The collected data was keyed into a Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using STATA version 14. Ethical Approval to conduct the study was given by KNH-UON-ERC. The county government of Homabay authorised accessibility to health facilities. Results Majority (97.56%) of respondents kept inventory records for medical equipment, and all of them were manual and decentralized. Most (93.9%) of the participants conducted physical stock, and only 51.2% of the equipment records were up to date. Only 12.2% of the facilities had policies and guidelines on equipment management. Conclusion The management of medical equipment was sub-optimal. The procurement, maintenance and disposal policies were inadequate.