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
ABSTRACT The four fixed dose combination (FDC) anti-Tuberculosis (TB) drugs that the Kenyan government supplies through the National Leprosy and Tuberculosis Programme (NLTP) to the health facilities must be of high quality and effective in order to ensure success in TB treatment. According to Global Drug Facility (GDF), treatment of TB with poor quality anti-TB drugs could result in treatment failures as well as leading to drug resistance to Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It also has deleteriou...
ABSTRACT Family planning (FP) is one of the fundamental pillars of safe motherhood and a reproductive health right. However, the Northern arid lands of Kenya, where Moyale Sub- County lies, have continued to record low levels of family planning services uptake. This situation has led to poor health outcomes among women, children and the general population thus poor progress towards achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Consequently, this study set out to determine the modern con...
ABSTRACT In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Detailed knowledge of spatial variation of malaria epidemiology and associated risk factors is important for planning and evaluating malaria-control measures. This study therefore investigated an approach in the development and application of a GIS-based healthcare management system with abilities to incorporate climate-based risk predicators of malaria transmission in Nyanza Province. Two sites, Siaya...
ABSTRACT Anti-retroviral therapy (ART) has been successful in dramatically decreasing the morbidity and mortality caused by HIV infection. Levels of adherence in excess of 95% are required to ensure treatment success, adequate viral load suppression, improved immune status and slowing of the disease progression. It has also been reported that a lot of complacency during ART and feeling of reduced infectivity by the patients on ART could lead to high risk sexual behaviour and enhance transmiss...
ABSTRACT Advocacy of the female condom emerged in the context of growing evidence that heterosexual intercourse was placing women at increased risk of HIV infection. Since the approval of the Female Condom (FC) in the United Kingdom and the United States of America in 1992 and 1993 respectively more than 90 developing countries have introduced the FC to the public. The study objectives were to identify the perceptions of the women in Kiambaa Division towards use of the FC, to establish their ...
ABSTRACT HIV and AIDS has become the world’s most devastating epidemic in developing countries. More than 25 million people have died has a result of AIDS related illness since the disease was first diagnosed in 1981. A total of 33.2 million people were living with HIV worldwide in 2007. Everyday, over 6800 persons become infected with HIV and over 5700 persons die from AIDS related illnesses, mostly because of inadequate access to HIV prevention, care and support services. The HIV epidemi...
ABSTRACT Adolescents’ health is a great determinant of a country’s development since adolescents contribute a large proportion of the population. Sexual and reproductive health problems have been identified in several studies to be a major cause of ill health and even death among young people. These problems demand specialized attention which can be achieved through unlocking access to sexual and reproductive health services to young people through adolescent friendly health services. Des...
ABSTRACT Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most significant infections to appear in the recent times. Worldwide it is estimated that 33.4 million people are living with the syndrome 68% of whom are in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are 4 million people worldwide on treatment although another 5 million eligible for treatment do not have access to life prolonging treatment and care. Antiretroviral drugs are used to prolong and improve the quality of life for those infected. T...