Publications

Background: Christian mission hospitals in India are still grappling with rising service needs, rising expenses, and inefficiencies in service design, including antiquated care models. In this situation, the competencies of governing board members, the governing board's effectiveness, and their profile demands attention. Objectives: The objectives were to assess the profile, competencies and the effectiveness of governing boards of the selected Christian mission hospitals, using the Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ). Methods: A sample size of 30 Christian mission hospitals in India were selected using the purposive sampling method. The data were collected from the governing board members using the profile details form and the Board Self-Assessment Questionnaire (BSAQ). Results: The findings of this study revealed that the representation of female governing board members was very high (89.8%) and the representation of external members was extremely low (11.4%). The representation of younger board members aged below 40 years (12%) was also very low. The educational level of the board members was high, with the majority (67.1%) holding undergraduate or postgraduate degrees in healthcare and other fields. The study revealed that a significant number of board members had management degrees or short-term training, providing an added advantage for effectiveness. Conclusion: The demographic variables of governing board members like age, education and experience in current organization did not have a significant association with their competencies. The study found that the overall effectiveness of the governing boards of 30 hospitals was 0.62, indicating a positive level of effectiveness