ABSTRACT Global estimate shows that Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) comprise at least 15 percent of all children less than 15 years. In Kenya, approximately 2.6 million (12 percent), of children below 18 years of age are OVC, with majority being in western Kenya. A rapid assessment, analysis and action planning process (RAAAP) revealed that out of an estimated 10.6 million OVC in seventeen (17) countries in sub-Saharan Africa, only 8.6% were receiving one essential service as health car...
ABSTRACT The health system in Mombasa County, Kenya, has been experiencing challenges in meeting its primary health care facilities annual targets in service delivery. This could be partly explained by continued skewing of health budget allocation in favour of tertiary and secondary care facilities, which absorb 70% of health expenditures, than the primary care units that provide the bulk of health services. However, there are limited studies that have examined financing factors influencing p...
ABSTRACT Global, regional and national production of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) has faced challenges of low yields and lack of crucial culture information. Farmers in Teso North Sub County recorded lower yields than expected in 2009 despite having been provided with inputs. Factors responsible for the low production had not been established and water quality was suspected to be among them. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of water quality on the growth of Nile Til...
ABSTRACT Bacteria, intestinal epithelium, and host innate immune responses are among the most critical interacting factors that determine the fate of bacterial infections and disease outcomes. Recent studies have described multiple infections with evidence of more severe diarrhoea and molecular detection methods, suggesting the association of certain pathogens and commensal bacteria with more aggressive Shigella infection. However, the interaction between Shigella flexneri and human intestina...
ABSTRACT Exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of infants’ lives is a cost effective intervention which can avert 13-15% of the 9 million deaths of children under 5 years old in resource poor settings. In areas where HIV prevalence is high, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, EBF has the added advantage of reducing the risk of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. However, EBF rates have been shown to be lower in resource poor settings, than the World Health Organizatio...
ABSTRACT While cost, inadequate supplies and training remain the major barriers to manage Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) globally, the knowledge and skill of clinical officers (CO) to manage patients with hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (HTN&T2DM) remain poorly understood. This study investigated knowledge and skills of COs to care for patients with HTN&T2DM in rural healthcare facilities in Kisumu County, Kenya. The study determined ability to assess risk factors, examination, in...
ABSTRACT In Kenya knowledge of Family Planning (FP) is universal at 95% but this is not translating to utilization in Obunga slums. The rapid increase of population has got adverse effects on the economy as poverty levels are high at poverty incidence of 74% compared to 63% in Nyalenda A and B and 53% in Manyatta. Despite various strategies put by the government, in Obunga, unmet need is at 32% and Total Fertility Rate at 7%, the unplanned and unwanted pregnancies at 50% and 75% respectively....
ABSTRACT Serum electrolytes disorders in HIV patients in addition to resulting from disease induced fluids losses or accumulation could be attributed to a wide range of structural defects of cellular apparatus, tissue or organs of regulation. Most routine clinical investigation of impaired serum electrolytes in HIV infection limit attribution to body fluids charges and to primary organs of regulations. Such investigations do not address the likelihood of existence of multiple regulatory organ...
Objective: To determine the perinatal mortality rate in Lagos University Teaching Hospital at the close of the 20th century. Materials and Methods: Routinely collected data from the Departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Paediatrics from January 1996 to December 2000, were analysed. The data included total deliveries, stillbirths and early neonatal deaths. Results: A total of 6,759 deliveries, including 163 multiple pregnancies, occurred during the period. There were 573 perinatal deaths...
ABSTRACT In Kenya, maternal and under-five mortality rates are high at 510/100 000 live births and 74/1000 live births respectively. This is attributed to poor Maternal and Child Health (MCH) outcomes reported across the country. In Mwingi, 38% of women do not seek Focused Antenatal Care (FANC), 55% deliver without Skilled Birth Care (SBC), 47.3% do not ensure their children complete immunization program, and 55.5% of infants are not exclusively breastfed. Since inception of Community Health ...
ABSTRACT Little is known about cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CS-AKI) in children in developing regions of the world. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of CS- AKI, associated factors and its impact on mortality and utilization of hospital services. The hospital records of children aged 0–17 years who underwent CS at an Indian hospital were reviewed. CS-AKI was defined as a rise in serum creatinine of ≥0.3 mg/dL in any 48 h and or by urine output
ABSTRACT Clinicians are becoming increasingly interested in the use of exercise training to enhance functional outcomes and improve physiological parameters after stroke. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of exercise training on walking function and selected cardiovascular parameters of adult patients with stroke. Sixty-seven (67) stroke subjects comprising 36 men and 31 women participated in the study. They were randomly assigned to two exercise groups (A and B) and a co...
ABSTRACT Blood pressure is consistently higher in males compared with females from puberty onwards and men show an increased risk for hypertension compared to women. The gender disparity in cardiovascular functions and diseases has been linked to the effect of sex hormones on vascular reactivity. Although previous studies have suggested that the effect of chronic exposure to testosterone is an increase in vascular tone, it therefore implies that lack of testosterone should elicit vasorelaxat...
ABSTRACT Introduction: Prematurity is the major cause of neonatal death world-wide, Namibia included. In Namibia, the neonatal mortality has increased dramatically from 19 deaths per 1000 live births in 2000 to 30 deaths per 1000 live birth in 2014. Objectives: To determine the survival rate of premature and critically sick new-born babies and assess the risk factors associated with death of these babies (premature babies – are babies born before 37 weeks of gestation, counting from the fi...
ABSTRACT Transfusion transmissible infections (TTIs) especially, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and syphilis (Treponema pallidum) are a constant threat to blood safety for recipients. Globally, about 1.6 million blood units are destroyed annually owing to TTIs seropositivity, of which 10% is discarded in sub-Saharan Africa. In Kenya, despite of a series of safety improvements in blood donations among them rigorous pre-donation screening an...