ABSTRACT Maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality are major public health concerns in most developing countries and in under resourced settings. Provision of safe motherhood is of utmost importance in the reduction of maternal mortality. Increasing the proportion of babies that are delivered in health facilities is an important factor in reducing the health risks to both the mother and the baby. The main objective of the study was to assess the level of health facility utilization for ch...
ABSTRACT The co-existence of under nutrition and over nutrition in the same country (double burden) is a global public health challenge that is becoming a problem in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, little information is available on this trend in Kenya and more so in the urban poor. The purpose of the study was to assess the nutritional status of children under-five years of age living in Mlolongo informal settlement and the caregiver feeding practices and Socio-economic factors that influence t...
ABSTRACT Malaria, a blood parasitic disease is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity particularly among children and pregnant women because they are most at risk in many developing countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the deaths due to malaria could be averted if care-takers recognized the signs and symptoms of malaria and instituted appropriate measures without delay. Early recognition followed by correct management is a key strategy for malaria control in endemic...
ABSTRACT Healthcare workers are at risk of medical sharps injuries, which according to the Kenya national policy on injection safety, 58% of healthcare workers have suffered these injuries. This study was conducted with the aim of establishing occupational risk factors contributing to injury by medical sharps among healthcare workers at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. The objectives of this study were to; determine the frequency and severity of injuries from medical sharps; assess...
ABSTRACT Prostatism refers to obstruction of the bladder neck due to an enlargement of the prostate as men age leading to urinary difficulties. Prostatism symptoms are majorly irritative and obstructive. The obstructive ones include hesitancy, the need to initiate micturition and a weakened urinary stream while the irritative ones which are usually more troublesome to patients includes urgency, frequency as well as nocturia. The study sought to assess the health seeking behavior with regards ...
ABSTRACT The use of complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) is increasing globally, especially in developing countries. Indeed, over 80% of the population in developing countries depends on traditional medicine. In Kenya, traditional medicine especially herbal medicine is widely used with over 70% of population having been reported to be dependent on it for primary health care. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that the growing use of traditional medicines, both in developed an...
ABSTRACT Globally, there are an estimated 247 million malaria cases and 3.3 billion people at risk. In Kenya an estimated 11.3 million malaria cases have been reported with 27,000 deaths due to malaria. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) are advocated by World Health Organisation (WHO) for protection against malaria. In Kenya the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) distributed 7.1 million insecticide treated nets (ITNs) in 2006, of which 6.3 million were LLINs. Within Kisumu di...
Abstract Adherence to treatment and satisfaction with the quality of services is crucial in achieving optimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes. However, available evidence indicated that in sub-Saharan Africa only 77% of clients adhered to the recommended level of at least 95% that is needed to keep the viral load in the body at undetectable levels. On the other hand, the challenges of health management, infrastructure and technology continued to compromise the quality of health in Kenya...
ABSTRACT Despite its many advantages, the benefits of breast milk have been widely unknown to mothers. In many of the world‟s developing countries, water and other liquids are added to the baby‟s diet in the first months of life risking infection from harmful bacteria and other pathogens. In Kenya only 13% of children below six months are exclusively breastfed. High infant mortality rates associated with diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections and poor responses to vaccinations result fro...
ABSTRACT Every year there are approximately 1.5 billion acute diarrhoea episodes and 4 million deaths in children less than five years of age (most from 6 months to 12 months). Acute diarrhoea accounts for approximately 7% of all paediatric admissions in the under 5 age group. Appropriate secondary prevention would reduce these deaths considerably however, studies done in resource rich and poor settings confirm that the management of this common illness by health professionals remains sub-opt...
ABSTRACT When implemented according to the set standards and guidelines, antenatal care (ANC) contributes greatly to better health outcomes for women and their infants. Despite the implementation of World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for focussed antenatal care (FANC) known to improve quality and high utilisation of antenatal care services in Kenya, maternal mortality rates remains unacceptably high at 414 per 100,000 live births. Only 42% of women deliver with a skilled provider indi...
ABSTRACT The Human Immune deficiency Virus(HIV) and the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) situation in Kenya has affected blood collection in the country leading to a decline from 150,000 units to about 70,000 units annually, yet the demand for blood in Kenya exceeds 300,000 units per year. Schools are major sources of blood in all counties of Kenya and more than 60% of blood in Kenya is collected from secondary school students but the data on HIV prevalence in this category of donor...
ABSTRACT Prostate cancer is the number one cancer afflicting men in Africa and a leading cancer killer among Kenyan men. Although there is scarcity of information on the disease in African men, higher awareness with concomitant low levels on knowledge, attitudes and perception of self-risk to the disease were established among urban men in West Africa. In addition, uptake of prostate cancer screening by African men has remained extremely low despite the fact that early screening and detection...
ABSTRACT Born before arrival (BBA) is a childbirth that occurs outside health facility. BBA constitute a high-risk newborn population and have increased perinatal mortality and morbidity. BBA neonatal adverse birth outcome prolong hospital stay. Tharaka Nithi was among Counties with the highest number of BBA (2 %) compared with national (0.9%). The objective of the study was to assess risk factors associated with BBA and birth outcome among postnatal women in Tharaka Nithi County. The study u...
ABSTRACT The study was occasioned by the resultant effect of poor quality service provision in most health institutions in Kenya. Patient satisfaction after physician consultation, health literacy and patient compliance to medication have been noted to be very low at