Abstract/Overview Chastity is central value in sustaining moral standards related to sexual actions and maintaining family constancy to facilitate societal perpetuation. Most traditional societies value virginity for girls, and fidelity in marriage, as men uphold self-control. Each community deals with chastity issues, in the form of taboos and chastisement for the deviants. Studies divulge that failure to observe key sexual values, has affected an enormous number of families internationa...
Abstract/Overview This paper is on a study that was carried out in the year 2017 on an evaluation of how the SDA Christian faithful conceptualize the changing value of chastity in Nyamira County, Kenya. This study was guided by Utilitarian Ethical Theory. The pragmatic paradigm was adopted in the study.The study used mixed methods research approach. These involved integrating the qualitative and the quantitative approaches. Under this design both the qualitative and the quantitative data ...
Abstract/Overview Factors that mostly affected household garbage management were; inadequate garbage disposal facilities in town and residential areas whereby 87% agreed and 13% disagreed (M=3.41, SD, 0.965), lack of enough damp sites whereby 86% agreed while only 14% disagreed (M=3.27, SD, 0.965), unsustainable collection, transportation and disposal systems whereby 83% agreed and 17% disagreed(M=3.07, SD,0.873), and recycling of domestic waste whereby 81% of the respondents agreed and 1...
Abstract/Overview Globally, the proportions of women of reproductive age living with HIV vary between regions, with significantly higher proportions in sub-Saharan Africa. The scale-up of multiple-drug antiretroviral therapy in Africa has changed childbearing dynamics for HIV-positive women, with an impact on pregnancy incidence, although there is little understanding of the factors associated with pregnancy incidence among these women. This descriptive cross-sectional study investigated ...
Abstract/Overview 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. This study explored maternal healthcare choices of expectant mothers in Lunga Lu...
Abstract/Overview Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important health outcome in the holistic management of patients especially those suffering from life limiting conditions such as cervical cancer. In Kenya, Cervical cancer is the most frequent cancer among women. However, little is known and documented on HRQoL of cervical cancer patients. This study assessed HRQoL of cervical cancer patients in western Kenya. A cross-sectional study involving 334 cervical cancer patients was ...
Abstract/Overview 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. This study explored maternal healthcare choices of expectant mothers in Lunga Lu...
Abstract/Overview Iron deficiency (ID) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection frequently coexist. Little data exist on ID in HIV-infected individuals, partly because the iron marker ferritin is altered by inflammation common in HIV infection. We measured iron biomarkers (ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor [sTfR], hepcidin) and red cell indices (hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume [MCV]) in newly diagnosed, antiretroviral therapy-naive, HIV-infected (N = 138) and uninfected (...
Abstract/Overview Health workers competency is very critical in realization of quality health care which is a major pillar of Universal Health Coverage. This study assessed the influence of healthcare provider competency on Universal Health Coverage utilization in Seme Sub County, Kisumu County. The study targeted community households and health facility managers. The health facilities were stratified according to their tiers and randomly sampled. The catchment population was stratified b...
Abstract/Overview In Kenya, no studies have attempted to model alternative scenarios of the cost-implications of reaching universal coverage (i.e. 95% population coverage) of the existing maternity health services network at the ward administrative level. A cross-sectional study design used publicly available geospatial data in combination with routine data from the web-based district health information software (DHIS2) platform. AccessMod (version 5) was used for scaling up analysis. Arc...
Abstract/Overview Brucellosis is a common bacterial zoonotic infection but data on the prevalence among humans and animals is limited in Kenya. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three counties practicing different livestock production systems to simultaneously assess the seroprevalence of, and risk factors for brucellosis among humans and their livestock (cattle, sheep, camels, and goats). A two-stage cluster sampling method with random selection of sublocations and households was...
Abstract/Overview We conducted serological surveys for Coxiella burnetii in archived sera from patients that visited a rural clinic in western Kenya from 2007 to 2008 and in cattle, sheep, and goats from the same area in 2009. We also conducted serological and polymerase chain reaction-based surveillance for the pathogen in 2009–2010, in human patients with acute lower respiratory illness, in ruminants following parturition, and in ticks collected from ruminants and domestic dogs. Antib...
Abstract/Overview There are many successful global health research partnerships, but little information is available about what makes them successful. We asked 14 research colleagues from Uganda, Kenya, and the United States who have extensive global health research experience about what they considered the top three factors that led to or impeded successful international research collaborations. Four key factors were identified: 1) mutual respect and benefit, 2) trust, 3) good communicat...
Abstract/Overview Background Multiplex cytometric bead assay (CBA) have a number of advantages over ELISA for antibody testing, but little information is available on standardization and validation of antibody CBA to multiple Plasmodium falciparum antigens. The present study was set to determine optimal parameters for multiplex testing of antibodies to P. falciparum antigens, and to compare results of multiplex CBA to ELISA. Methods Antibodies to ten recombinant P. falciparum antigens wer...
Abstract/Overview Background: An estimated 200 million children suffer from developmental delays, most in developing countries. Early diagnosis through screening is key to timely intervention. However, screening tools have not been assessed in developing countries. Objective: This study therefore assesses parental screening tool for evaluating developmental delays (PEDS; DM) in children under 5 years. Method: Across-sectional survey of randomly selected 870 caregivers to test sensitivity ...