CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN KENYA. CASE OF GARISSA LEVEL FIVE HOSPITAL

This study assessed the influence of conflict management as a strategy on performance of Garissa level five Hospital in Kenya while locking the knowledge gap. The specifically, the research was to; establish the relationship between conflict strategies; avoidance strategies, accommodating strategies dominating strategies as well as compromising strategies and performance of Garissa level five Hospital in Kenya. The underpinning theories included the Thomas Kilmann theory, the Human Relations theory, and the Expectancy theory. The study used mixed approach (quantitative and qualitative approaches) and employed the pragmatism philosophy while adopting descriptive research design. It used the 297 health workers of Garissa level five Hospital in Kenya as its target population. Using Yamane's formula, a sample of 168 participants was obtained and the participants was chosen using purposeful proportional random sampling. Data for this research were gathered from primary sources that used a questionnaire administered through a drop and pick method. The data was analyzed quantitatively for descriptive s and inferential statistics (correlation and multiple regression. The study found that each of avoidance strategies (r = 0.582; β= 0.193; p= 0.021), accommodating techniques ((r = 0.586; β= 0.093; p = 0.024), dominating strategies (r = 0.421, β= 0.167; p-= 0.035), and compromising strategies (r = 0.491; β= 0.065; . p< 0.01) had a moderately significant effect on the performance of Garissa level five hospital. The study recommends that the public hospitals in Kenya should; strengthen their conflict management policy to indicate usage ant of; avoidance strategies, accommodating strategies, dominating strategies as well as compromising strategies.