The dietary supplements market is growing at an alarming rate despite dietary source being acknowledged as the primary and priority source of nutrients. Kenya’s dietary supplements market has experienced a steady growth since 2009 owing to increasingly busy lifestyles, growing health consciousness and disposable income among the general population. Little has been documented about use of dietary supplements in Kenya despite their increase in popularity. The purpose of this study was to dete...
Visual impairment is defined as a corrected visual acuity of less than 6/18 to 3/60 in the better eye. Blindness on the other hand is defined as corrected visual acuity in the better eye of less than 3/60 or a constricted visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of central fixation. Visual loss in childhood has implications in all aspects of the child’s development. It posses educational, occupational and social challenges, with affected children being at risk of behavioral, psyc...
In the Coastal region of Kenya, Mombasa County has the highest HIV prevalence (11.1%) of the estimates based on Kenya AIDS Progress Report of 2014. Limited data exist on effective regimen strategies to manage HIV/AIDS among adults in Kenya. Safe alternative HAART regimens are not currently a viable option for many, especially infected patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Efavirenz and Nevirapine based First-line HIV treatment in patie...
Cervical cancer is a major public health problem among adult women especially in developing countries and its control is of paramount importance. Organized screening programmes have led to a large decline in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in developed countries. In Kenya very few women at risk have regular repeat cervical cancer screening and there exists no effective recall mechanism to enhance scheduled screening. The Short Message Service (SMS) Text may be used as a recall tool to...
Intestinal parasitic infections have been found to form at least a quarter of all human infections globally. School-going children are the worst affected by these infections as it impairs their growth and cognitive development. Following the WHO recommendation, the Government of Kenya rolled out a school deworming programme under the School Health Programme in 2009. The study was embedded in the School Health Programme. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effects of public...
Mutual health schemes are emerging as an important cornerstone in healthcare financing in Kirinyaga County, where they are providing a patchwork of protection to low-income groups faced by low financial access to healthcare. While the schemes continue to gain ground, the extent to which they are improving health care utilization remains unclear because of weak evidence. Only a handful number of inquiries have been conducted, a paucity that underlined the objective of this study. The cross-sec...
Food borne diseases presents a widespread and growing public health problem both in developed and developing countries including Kenya. Diseases spread through food still remain a common and persistent problem resulting in appreciable morbidity and occasional mortality. Food hygiene in hospital poses peculiar problems, particularly given the presence of patients who could be more vulnerable than healthy individuals to microbiological risks. Kitchen environment and food handlers play an import...
Slums play many roles in city life. Slums, poverty and the informal sector are closely related, but are by no means congruent. As the place of residence of low-cost laborers, they keep the wheels of the city working in many different ways. They are adept at producing the services and commercial activities that the formal sector fails to provide through the mobilization of local enterprise and industry. They are the recipients of the city‟s externalities: noxious industry, waste materials,...
In Kenya, the high level of food insecurity is related to poverty and a reduction in agricultural production. HIV/AIDS reduces a household’s ability to produce and purchase food. Adults with HIV/AIDS are less able to work on their land or earn income from other livelihood activities. Increased healthcare costs decrease household food purchasing power and the coping mechanisms reduce household resilience. Kenya National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan 2005/6- 2009/10 has recommended for impa...
Young people aged between 15-24 years account for more than 50 percent of all HIV infections worldwide. More than 6,800 young people are newly infected with HIV and 5700 die each day throughout the world. Young people are particularly vulnerable to HIV because of social, cultural, biological, and economic reasons therefore VCT offers an important entry point to early prevention, care, and support of these youth. Research conducted in Kenya by the German Foundation for World Population estimat...
This study was about the determinants of unmet need for family planning in the era of the global gag rule at Family Health Options Kenya in Nairobi City County. Problem statement: This policy creates inhibitions on family planning programs and results in loss of US funding for reproductive health NGOs that depend on donor funding for their reproductive health activities such as family planning. FHOK has had to close down the Kitengela and Mombasa clinics. Objectives: The objective of the stud...
Health seeking behaviour refers to actions undertaken by a person who perceives self to be ill for the purpose of finding an appropriate remedy. Nurses as gate keepers of health are expected to seek formal treatment when they are taken ill because this is what they teach and expect of their patients. Their working conditions world over have been described as squalid with long working hours, often cited as accruing from workload and the general nature of nursing work, a scenario that predispos...
Preterm birth is a global health problem. It is the leading cause of child and neonatal mortality globally including Kenya. Preterm birth is the birth occurring before 37 completed weeks of gestation. In Kenya, preterm birth is the leading cause of neonatal mortality as it contributes to 35% of deaths among the neonates while Kisumu County is among the county’s leading with child under-five mortality rate at 133 deaths per 1000 live births. The main objective of this study was to identify ...
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 the youth c...
Each year road traffic accidents (RTAs) account for 1.24 million fatalities and 20 to 50 million injuries worldwide. Over (90%) of this fatalities occur in low and middle income countries (LMIC). In particular, Kenya losses at least ten people daily to road traffic accidents. Vulnerable road users including university students account for over half of these fatalities. Several strategies have been employed to curb the rising cases of RTAs; unfortunately they have lacked local input due to sca...