Analyses of the operational performance of maternal and child health (MCH) services in Hong Kong

This study is based on the 35 full-time Maternal and Child Health (MCH) centres in Hong Kong. Cluster analysis is first applied to produce homogeneous groups of MCH centres with a similar level of workload by using hierarchical clustering techniques, followed by a non-hierarchical clustering technique for verification. Based on the results from the clustering analyses, operational performance of the MCH centres is evaluated by using performance indicators (PIs) as it is useful to compare the performance of centres between and within clusters with similar workload statistics. The nurses' strength of different ranks is also taken into account for operational reasons. This study is helpful for the management in identifying areas in need of in-depth study and possible improvement.