Operationalising performance measurement in the New Zealand District Health Boards - An empirical study

Abstract

Irrespective of the sector to which the organisation belongs, performance measurement is important to any organisation for its survival and growth. An outcome-driven performance measurement (PM) framework is currently mandated by the New Zealand (NZ) Ministry of Health to monitor the performance of District Health Boards (DHBs). This measures DHB performance against national targets. Although such a framework is consistent and of value, it fails to address the systemic nature of operational performance. In the present research we developed a PM model and empirically tested it in the DHBs. Data were collected from senior executives who belong to the New Zealand DHBs to test the validity of the underlying constructs and the hypothesised relationships between the constructs using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results confirmed the theoretical validity of the PM model for New Zealand DHBs.