ABSTRACT Tungiasis is high in many resource-poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Tunga penetrans is an ecto-parasite which thrives well in sandy and dirty environments and it causes a skin disease called tungiasis. This study assessed tungiasis risk factors in rural community in Murang’a East Sub county. Murang’a East Sub county is one of the twenty Sub counties which are considered to have high prevalence of tungiasis by the Ministry of Health. The Sub...
ABSTRACT Devolution has been seen by its proponents as a way of improving access and efficiency in the delivery of services to the people since the decisions are made close to the people, hence decision makers are more accountable to them. With the onset of Kenya’s devolution in March 2013 as provided for in the Constitution of Kenya of 2010, healthcare resources have been at the dispensation of the counties together with all the devolved functions. However, there is no assurance of any eff...
ABSTRACT The Sustainable Development Goals targets a global maternal mortality ratio not greater than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births by 2030. In Kenya, the maternal mortality ratio is high at 362 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Focused ante natal care approach recommends four targeted visits commencing before 16 weeks and until delivery. The utilization of focused ante natal care in Kenya, Tharaka Nithi County and Tharaka sub-county is 58%, 56% and 40% respectively....
ABSTRACT Male partner involvement in contraceptive uptake is an important aspect of public health worldwide in the control of the upsurge of populations. Decisions about contraceptive use and childbearing may be confounded by unequal power relations, especially in more patriarchal societies as in the Somali community which emphasizes on male dominance in the culture. Male partner involvement in contraceptive uptake has been shown to greatly influence uptake and continuation rates. Accord...
ABSTRACT Retention is critical to HIV-infected women for the prevention of mother to child infection, reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality. Treatment drop out is a major challenge that hinders the success of elimination of mother to child transmission (EMTCT) of HIV in Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa. Although all pregnant human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected women in Kenya are initiated on lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART) irrespective of CD4 count or WHO staging, not all ...
ABSTRACT Wildlife induced injuries are a major but neglected emerging public health problem which contributes significantly to high mortality and morbidity among cattle herders. The objectives of the study were to determine the health burden of wildlife induced injuries, to identify the risk factors and establish the risk indices associated with wildlife induced injuries and to determine the protective measures adopted to mitigate wildlife induced injuries among the Maasai cattle herders in K...
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 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 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 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...