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 Malaria in pregnancy has been linked to utero-placental vascular insufficiency and fetal fatalities. The immunity to placental malaria may be mediated in part by monocytes and T cells that accumulate in the placenta intervillous space. The immunological basis for retention of anti-malarial effector cells in the intervillous space and the role of leucocyte integrins in the intervillous space is not well understood. Leucocytes use surface receptors to mediate binding on endothelial vil...
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...
ABSTRACT The under- fives mortality continues to rise globally at an annual rate of 24% despite efforts to counteract it through vertical programmes. Seven out of ten child deaths are due to diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, measles and malnutrition. Malnutrition and diarrhea morbidity continues to be a public health problem of considerable magnitude in most developing countries. Efforts to combat it focus primarily on preventive and curative health services. The main objective of this ...
ABSTRACT The purpose of the study was to evaluate the contributions of conservation education centres in creating awareness to promote sustainable environmental conservation in schools. In this regard, public education is critical in raising levels of awareness in environmental conservation. The results of this study will contribute to future review and improvement of environmental education and awareness programmes offered by other conservation education centres. A descriptive survey design...
ABSTRACT Food borne infections are an important public health concern worldwide with most being caused by pathogens that are zoonotic in nature. Among the most common food borne infection is listeriosis, caused by Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium that is widely distributed in nature and which has been isolated in a wide array of foods. It mainly affects immunocompromised individuals including pregnant women, neonates and the elderly. Currently, in Kenya, there is no published data on the ...
ABSTRACT The prevalence of timely initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth is 43% globally, 48% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 62% in Kenya, and 69.4% in Rift Valley province. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations International Children‟s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) recommends initiation of breastfeeding within 30-60 minutes of birth, giving colostrum, not giving pre and post-lacteals and also exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for first six months. Early breastfeeding practices a...
ABSTRACT Ailments such as malaria, measles, pneumonia, common cold and HIV/AIDS are the major cause of death in infants and children. worldwide, it was estimated that 1.8 million children below 15 years were HIV infected by 2017. Over 90% were infected through mother to child transmission (MTCT) during pregnancy, at birth and during breast-feeding. During that period, Kenya had about 12,940 children who had the infection and 1,480 of these were from Kirinyaga County. The Kenyan government ha...
ABSTRACT This study sought to establish male partner involvement in preconception care utilization among men in Embakasi East Sub-county, Nairobi City County, Kenya. The study specifically sought to determine the proportion of men involved in preconception care, their knowledge levels, attitude, existence of spousal communication and challenges affecting male partner involvement in preconception care utilization. Most men are the bread winners of their families and sole decision makers; this ...
ABSTRACT The recent irregular trends in weather patterns have brought about challenges and opportunities in key sectors of the economy especially in developing countries. Agriculture and tourism are just but examples of these sectors that have been widely impacted by climate variability. Countries as Kenya where agriculture and tourism are the leading earners of the economy has seen a downhill scale in the recent years and climate variability is one of the factors that can held responsible. ...
ABSTRACT There has been an increased effort globally to sensitize consumers to read and utilize nutrition information on processed foods in order to reduce cases of diet related diseases. Manufacturers are required to provide adequate and easy to read nutrition information on the label of their products. High consumption of processed meat products has been associated with non-communicable diseases such as cancer, obesity and cardiovascular diseases among others. The economic effects of NCDs a...
ABSTRACT Syphilis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Treponema palladium. Globally, about 12 million people, majority of whom come from sub-saharan Africa and Asia have suffered from syphilis infections. This study therefore determined the prevalence and the risk factors for occurrence of syphilis among men who sex with men in SWOP/MSM clinic in Nairobi City County. The study adopted l crossectional study design which encompassed use of qualitative and quantitave data collection...
ABSTRACT Public open spaces form an important part of urban life, giving services to people and protect urban environment. In effective regulations and standards for establishment, setting, management and maintenance of public open spaces have always been a stumbling block in ensuring their sustainability, hence the existence of poorly performing, unplanned, and poorly distributed public open spaces. This study sought to establish why the public open spaces in Machakos municipality, Machakos...
A BSTRACT Quality of care in government public facilities is important for ehnancing patients satisfaction and hence retention of patients in care especially in cases where treatment is life long such as HIV/AIDS. The Kenya Quality Model (KQM) was developed to improve quality and patients satisfaction with care in public hospitals. The purpose of this study was to assess patients‟ satisfaction with HIV/AIDS services at the level 5 comprehensive care centres (CCC). The specific objectives in...