Lira University Institutional Repository

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The Lira University Institutional Repository is a digital platform for collecting, preserving, and disseminating the intellectual and scholarly output of the University.

It provides access to theses, dissertations, journal articles, conference papers, learning materials, reports, university publications, and other research outputs produced by the Lira University community.

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Recent Submissions

Strengthening Health Service Quality Through Financial Accountability in Decentralised Health Systems: Evidence from Otuke District - Northern Uganda
(East African Journal of Health and Science, 2026) Meri John Kenedy; Opio, Peter Paul; Ogo, Emmanuel; Aguma, Ceaser
Purpose: This study examined the influence of financial accountability on health service quality in decentralised health facilities in Otuke district, northern Uganda, focusing on budgeting, financial reporting, and auditing practices. Anchored in public finance management, the agency and stewardship theories, and informed by the SERVQUAL model, it offers empirical evidence to advance theory, guide managerial practice, and inform policy for enhancing healthcare quality outcomes in developing economies. Methodology: The study utilised an explanatory sequential research design and a sample size of 268 respondents who were selected using purposive and stratified sampling. Data was gathered using questionnaires and interview guides and analysed using SPSS version 21 data analysis software. Descriptive statistics summarised the demographics, financial accountability, and healthcare quality sub-constructs, while correlation and linear regression procedures examined the relationships between financial accountability and healthcare quality and the predictive effects of financial accountability on healthcare quality. Findings: The study registered significant moderate positive associations between budgeting (r=0.452, p<0.000), financial reporting (r=0.543, p<0.000), and auditing practices (r=0.494, p<0.000) and healthcare quality. The linear regression results revealed that budgeting (R2=20, p<0.001), financial reporting (R2=29.1, p<0.001), and auditing practices (R2=24, p<0.001) significantly predicted health service quality in Otuke District health facilities. Unique contribution to theory, managerial practice, and policy: The study affirms that financial accountability accelerates healthcare quality in decentralised health governance systems of emerging economies. It advances the public finance management, agency, and stewardship theories by explicating how financial accountability predicts healthcare quality, while incorporating the SERVQUAL model. Practically, it guides healthcare administrators on institutionalising financial accountability mechanisms to boost healthcare quality. Policy-wise, our study recommends stricter financial governance enforcement by the Ugandan government to enhance public healthcare outcome
Optimising Public Finance Management Reforms to Enhance Education Service Delivery at Lira District Local Government, Northern Uganda
(International Journal of Finance and Accounting, 2026) Awor, Juliet Ruth; Opio, Peter Paul; Aguma, Ceaser; Ogo, Emmanuel
Introduction: Anchored on the public expenditure management and public service delivery theories, this study investigated the influence of the integrated financial management information system, treasury single account, and integrated personnel and payroll system on education service delivery at Lira District Local Government, Northern Uganda, to inform theory, managerial practice, and policy formulation in public sector institutions in developing economies. Methods: The study deployed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design to examine the influence of public finance management (PFM) reforms on education service delivery. Research data was gathered using pilot-tested questionnaires and interview guides from 223 participants selected using stratified proportionate and purposive sampling techniques. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 21, which generated descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, and linear regression to examine the associations and predictive effects of PFM reforms on education service delivery. Qualitative data were thematically analysed to supplement the quantitative results, providing comprehensive insights into how PFM reforms predicted education service delivery. Results: The study reported varying effects of PFM reforms on education service delivery in Lira District Local Government. The integrated personnel & payroll system registered a significant positive effect (r=0.222, β=1.036, p<0.001), enhancing education service outcomes. However, the integrated financial management information system (r=-0.185, β=-0.357, p<0.05) and treasury single account (r=-0.196, β=-0.462, p<0.001) registered significant negative effects, implying that they diminish education service outcomes. Unique contribution to theory, managerial practice, and policy: Our study reported that PFM reforms exert differential predictive effects on education service delivery in decentralised systems. It advanced the public expenditure management and public service delivery theories by exhibiting how payroll integration efficacy enhanced education service delivery outcomes. Managerially, it recommends the most effective PFM reforms that improve education delivery. Policy-wise, it recommends that the Ugandan government refine IFMIS and TSA governance systems to achieve higher education service delivery outcomes.
Workplace Conflict Management Strategies as Predictors of Employee Performance: Evidence from Abim District Local Government - North Eastern Uganda
(East African Journal of Business and Economics, 2026) Akamu, Joshua; Opio, Peter Paul; Akello, Christine Tina
Purpose: This study sought to examine the predictive effects of accommodation, compromising and negotiation conflict management strategies on employee performance in Abim District Local Government in North Eastern Uganda. Anchored on Thomas Kilman’s Conflict Mode Instrument and the goal-setting theory, the study provides empirical evidence to inform theory, managerial practice and policy formulation in state institutions in developing economies. Methodology: An explanatory sequential research design was deployed by this study. A sample size of 237 was generated using purposive and stratified proportionate sampling. Research data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides after rigorous quality control testing. The SPSS version 21 data analysis software was deployed for data analysis. Descriptive statistics were generated for demographic characteristics, conflict management, and employee performance constructs. Correlation and linear regression analysis were undertaken to ascertain the strength and direction of the relationship between conflict management strategies and employee performance, as well as the influence of the former on employee performance respectively. Findings: The study reported significant positive correlations between compromising (r=0.437, p<0.01), negotiation (r=0.413, p<0.01) and accommodation (r=0.639, p<.01) and employee performance respectively. Similarly, the multiple regression results asserted that accommodation (R2=40.8≈41, p<0.001), compromising (R2=18.7≈19, p<0.001), and negotiation (R2=16.6≈17, p<0.001) significantly predicted employee performance in Abim District Local Government. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: This study underscores the critical role of workplace conflict management strategies in predicting employee performance outcomes in decentralised governance systems of emerging economies. Theoretically, it advances Thomas Kilman’s Conflict Mode Instrument by quantifying how conflict management strategies predict staff performance outcomes, reinforced by the goal-setting theory. Policy-wise, the study recommended the deployment of robust conflict management frameworks supported by continuous capacity-building initiatives at District Local Governments in order to enhance staff capacity to effectively detect, investigate and resolve workplace conflicts.
Organizational-Based Conflict and Its Consequences to the Provision of Quality Water and Sanitation in Uganda
(EAST AFRICAN NATURE & SCIENCE ORGANIZATION, 2026) Owa, Kenneth; Mwesigwa, David; Okuna, Victor
Organisational-based conflict affects almost every aspect of an organisation, ranging from employee motivation, employee output, and the rate of staff turnover. When such conflict is mismanaged or neglected, it hinders organisational performance, and the reverse is true. This study aimed to review the consequences of organisational-based conflict on service delivery in Uganda. Issues surrounding the distribution of power and resources between local governments and the central government remain contentious, with local leaders frequently protesting perceived overwriting by the central authorities in matters related to development and resource allocation, a perception, which translates into full-blown central-local conflict. Also, competition for limited resources frequently leads to conflicts among various departments, ministries, and agencies seeking the same allocations. We particularly focused on three forms of conflict, namely political, resource-based, and role. Obtainable literature suggests a high prevalence for each of the three, even if their consequence to service appear to manifest differently at different levels. Specifically, resource-based conflicts are not solely driven by scarcity but are significantly influenced by governance practices and perceptions of equity in service delivery; political conflict is characterized by disruptions, governance adaptability, inequality, and the power of social cohesion, which affect water and sanitation service delivery; and, role conflict generates friction within teams, negatively affecting collaboration and communication because when team members are unclear about their roles, it leads to coordination issues, thereby creating inefficiencies that further impair the service delivery process. Increased organisational awareness about the causes and consequences of conflict can enhance conflict mitigation strategies in local governance.
Exploring the psychological implications of infertility among IVF parents in Uganda using the transactional theory of stress and coping
(BMC Psychology, 2026) Ouma, Samuel; Apili, Brenda; Baluku, Martin Mabunda; Muwanguzi, Allan Ivan
Infertility is on the rise among couples of reproductive age globally. In Uganda, while the prevalence of infertility has varied in recent studies due to differences in definitions and measures used, there is growing evidence for risks faced by those directly affected. The experiences and impact of involuntary infertility among the affected individuals and/or couples in Uganda have however not been extensively examined. This study examined the experiences of infertility before a decision to do In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) among individuals or couples who successfully had children through IVF treatment in Uganda. Methods: In this qualitative phenomenological study, we conducted individual in-person or virtual audio-recorded in-depth interviews with eight participants (one couple and six spouses). Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and transcripts thematically analyzed. Results: Four themes emerged: 1) Personal and social expectations 2) Frustrations with seeking help, inconclusive medical tests and delays in diagnosis 3) Stigma from family, workplace and community and 4) Psychological and emotional effects of infertility. These themes show growing distress due to failure to have normal conception as per personal and societal expectations. Finding care and the delays in diagnosis were frustrating for participants. Participants’ emotional and mental health problems resulted from a combination of factors such as unmet expectations of early conception; stigma and challenges with care and diagnosis. Conclusion: The stress that comes with delays in conception is exacerbated by a prolonged search for possible causes of ongoing infertility and diagnosis. A socio-cultural environment that espouses traditional beliefs and expectations about normality of conception increases risks of stigma and serious emotional and mental health problems among individuals facing infertility in Uganda. Public health campaigns on negative beliefs about infertility can reduce the psychological impact on affected individuals and couples. Key Words: Infertility; Expectations; Stigma, Challenges with care; emotional and mental health impact, Experiences.