ABSTRACT
This study aimed to determine the perceptions of the respondents on the leadership practices of administrator on provincial medical center and rural health unit in Tuy, Batangas. The respondents of the study composed of 65 medical practitioners of the hospital and 35 medical practitioners from the rural health unit with a total of 100 healthcare providers.
The researcher used descriptive methods of research on this study by using the purposive. A researcher - made questionnaire based on various references and from the statement of the problem that utilized in this study with the guidance of research adviser and validated by the selected medical practitioners in Hospital and Rural Health Unit.
The findings of this study showed that Hospital and rural health unit administrators demonstrate consistently excellent leadership practices in terms of planning, organizing, controlling, and evaluating within the midwifery profession. These practices indicate a high level of managerial competence and effectiveness in healthcare service delivery. The leadership practices of hospital and rural health unit administrators are consistently manifested regardless of the respondents’ profile variables such as position, age, sex, civil status, highest educational attainment, and length of service. This implies that leadership effectiveness is not influenced by demographic or professional characteristics. Among the challenges identified, workload overload remains the primary concern experienced by administrators due to multiple responsibilities inside and outside the health facilities. However, other potential challenges related to instructional support, guidance, incentives, and professional advancement are not considered significant by the respondents. The study further concludes that there is no significant relationship between leadership practices and the challenges experienced by the respondents. This indicates that the presence of challenges does not adversely affect the administrators’ ability to practice effective leadership. Overall, hospital and rural health unit administrators play a vital role in strengthening the midwifery profession through effective leadership, which contributes to organizational efficiency, accountability, and improved maternal and child healthcare services. The linear equation model is designed by the research to validate the significant difference on the responses of respondents when it comes to highest educational attainment.
Keywords: leadership practices, administrators, provincial medical center, rural health unit