ABSTRACT Throughout the whole world, the unmet need for family planning data has become a very useful tool in measuring and predicting the contraceptive needs of a population. Access to family planning services and awareness has improved greatly, but the unmet need for family planning continues to remain high. Kenya is one of the fastest growing countries in population worldwide mainly due to low contraceptive use and high unmet need for family planning. In this study, the proportion of unmet...
ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan African countries largely are characterized by high fertility and correspondingly high rates of population growth for the foreseeable future. In most countries, the majority of women want around five children and more than one-third of population growth is attributable to the effect of wanted fertility. Kenya fertility level has declined over the years to the current level of approximately five children per woman, which is still high. According to KAIS study by Kenya gove...
ABSTRACT Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) is the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended way of feeding children. There is a lot that has been done on IYCF but there still remains a dearth of information in areas related to the application of IYCF recommendations in various regions. In the nations all around the globe, national IYCF recommendations and programs are in place. However, various studies reveal low incidences of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF); a major indicator of ...
ABSTRACT Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is not only a major public health challenge, but also a huge threat to global security, stability, and economic growth. One in five organizations currently engaged in HIV and AIDS programming is faith-based. Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs) have a wide reach and capacity to mobilize communities to respond to the HIV and AIDS crisis. The current study sought to establish the barriers which directly affec...
ABSTRACT Cervical cancer is a disease with tremendous public health significance. It is the leading cause of cancer morbidity and mortality among women in Kenya. Although curable through regular screening and treatment of precancerous lesions, its incidence is on the rise in Eastern Africa and many women are presenting with advanced disease leading to low survival rates. In Western Kenya, it is the most common type of cancer affecting women. Patient delay accounts for a large proportion of t...
ABSTRACT Adolescent’s pregnancy is on the increase. This consequently has led to high morbidity, mortality among the born child. Appropriate mother’s nutrition status during pregnancy is essential for both the mother and the fetus. Dietary intake among pregnant adolescents is a key factor that influences their nutrition status and the birth outcome. Nutrition knowledge of the mothers has been shown to affect the dietary practices of the children. However, nutrition knowledge among pregnan...
ABSTRACT Focused Antenatal Care is antenatal care that provides individualized counseling, targeted assessment and provides safe, cost effective, and evidence-based intervention. The noted public health major problem has been maternal mortality in developing countries. Majority of maternal deaths occur due to complication during pregnancy and eventual child delivery. The rate of maternal mortality was estimated at 686/100,000 live births in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya maternal mortality rate...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a public health problem in more than 90 countries inhabited by over 2.4 billion people. Currently the cheapest drugs for treatment of malaria are becoming ineffective as malarial parasites develop resistance. Historically, local communities have used local flora for prophylaxis and treatment of malaria for centuries. The objective of the study was to determine the plant sources of anti malarial herbs and factors influencing their use in Boro Division, Siaya County. The spe...
ABSTRACT A shallow well is a hole dug, bored or drilled less than 50M deep to extract water. Contamination of shallow wells with fecal matter presents a grave public health threat in developing countries, such as Kenya, where large numbers of households lack access to clean and safe water supplies and rely on untreated surface water sources or shallow unprotected groundwater for domestic utilization. A report by WHO shows that 1 billion people practice open defecation with nine out of ten of ...
ABSTRACT Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat to public health and is driven by various factors including the overuse or misuse of antibiotics in poultry production which could lead to development of resistant bacteria that can be transferred to humans and hence compromise human medicine. The use of antibiotics in poultry production could be for vaccination/prophylaxis, treatment or growth promotion. This study was a cross-sectional study in Bungoma county that sought to establish the...
ABSTRACT Sexual abstinence is an important pillar for HIV prevention amongst adolescents. However, according to 2009 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) almost one in every four men under age 24 had their sexual intercourse before age 15. Comparing with the 2003 KDHS, there was small increase in age at first sex, with median age at first sex among women and men increasing from 17.8 to 18.2 years and 17.1 to 17.6 years respectively. This precisely indicates that school-going adolescents...
ABSTRACT Drug abuse is a major public health problem among the youth worldwide especially in developing countries. The accessibility, affordability, and consumption of abused drugs by the youths have attracted great concern among public health personnel. The impact of drug abuse in human health and well-being is substantial and its contribution ranges from medical, social, family, legal and economic problems which are created by its uncontrolled use. Thus, drug abuse-related problems among th...
ABSTRACT The major purpose of this study was to analyze the adequacy and utilization of instructional resources for learners with mental retardation in special schools in Nyanza Province. The study also aimed at finding out the type of instructional resources available in the schools and how they were acquired. The study was guided by five research objectives which were to find out the types of instructional resources that are available for learners with mental retardation; to determine teach...
ABSTRACT Fish is a worldwide distributed food commodity regarded a cheap source of protein especially in the developing countries like Kenya. It provides a good balance of protein, vitamins and minerals. However, bacteria occur naturally on the skin, in the gut and in the slime of living fish, even though they do no harm to the, the microorganisms may cause harm to consumers. Also, some of the microorganisms associated with fish may carry genes of antibiotic resistance that can be passed to p...
ABSTRACT Laboratories are potentially dangerous work environment, often containing a wide variety of toxic, flammable, corrosive, and reactive compounds that can cause harm or injury if safety standards are not adhered to. Although several studies show laboratory safety is a growing concern for schools, little national data exist on the current safety of facilities, equipment, and practices. There is an exponential rise in student population in secondary schools in Kenya that leads to safety ...