Abstract/Overview Infants exposed to HIV are more vulnerable to infections compared to those not HIV exposed. The occurrence and risks of infections among these infants are less understood. High maternal viral load can result in advanced disease, low maternal survival rates and puts the infant at higher risk of having early T- cell abnormality. This study aimed at characterizing the infections among HIV Exposed Infants (HEI) and establishing the risk factors associated with infections for...
Abstract/Overview Rift Valley Fever and malaria are zoonotic and human diseases respectively that pose major production and health challenges to pastoralists. This study aimed to determine the spatiotemporal distribution of mosquito vectors of these two diseases in Baringo County, Kenya. A longitudinal study design was used to collect mosquitoes from twenty-four sites. Rainfall seasonality was determined using rainfall data from the WorldClim database. Negative binomial and zero-inflated ...
Abstract/Overview Client satisfaction is considered as one of the desired outcomes of health care and it is directly related to the utilization of health services. It reflects the gap between the expected and the experience of the service from the client's point of view. Currently, one of the most significant challenges in healthcare institutions is client retention as this problem has been largely attributed to the inherent lack of enough and satisfactory service to clients. It is agains...
Abstract/Overview Globally, malaria remains a major public health problem. In 2019 an estimated 229 million cases of malaria were reported, WHO African region accounted for 94% of total cases. In Kenya, malaria is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children under five years living in malaria endemic zones. This study investigated the factors that are associated with malaria prevalence among children under-five years living in North West Kisumu Ward, Kisumu County. This cross...
Abstract/Overview With the widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy, the epidemic of HIV has evolved into a chronic disease. HIV is extremely stigmatizing, resulting in highly emotionally charged responses to disclosure. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children should be informed of their HIV status at ages of 6 to 12 years and full disclosure at about 8 to 10 years. Disclosure process is much more difficult when the person being disclosed to is an adolescent...
Abstract/Overview Over the past decade, Kenya has made tremendous efforts to enhance maternal and child health. Secure maternity policies such as free maternity care are one of the initiatives that have enhanced maternal and child health in all public health facilities. Despite these attempts, public health facilities for maternal and child health are still underused. This study employed a cross-sectional descriptive study design to identify determinants of free maternal health services b...
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 Introduction Point-of-care molecular diagnostics offer solutions to the limited diagnostic availability and accessibility in resource-limited settings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, molecular diagnostics became essential tools for accurate detection and monitoring of SARS-CoV-2. The unprecedented demand for molecular diagnostics presented challenges and catalyzed innovations which may provide lessons for the future selection of point-of-care molecular diagnostics. Areas Covered We s...
Abstract/Overview Annually, 125.2 million pregnant women worldwide risk contracting malaria, including 30.3 million and 1.5 million in Sub-Saharan Africa and Kenya respectively. At least three doses of sulphadoxine pyrimethamine for intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp-SP) is recommended for optimal benefit. Kenya recorded low IPTp-SP optimal uptake in 2015. This study investigated the prevalence of and factors influencing IPTp-SP optimal uptake in Sabatia Sub C...
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 Breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple, low-cost, and non-invasive method that women use to detect breast cancer at early stages. BSE is recommended for teenage and adult women as it helps to detect unusual swelling and lumps. The early intervention reduces the spread of cancer cells and improves health outcomes. This study assessed the knowledge and practices of BSE for early detection of breast cancer among women attending maternal health clinic at Jaramogi Oginga T...
Abstract/Overview HIV-1 genetic diversity results into the development of widespread drug-resistant mutations (DRMs) for the first-line retroviral therapy. Nevertheless, few studies have investigated the relationship between DRMs and HIV-1 subtypes among HIV-positive injecting drug users (IDUs). This study therefore determined the association between HIV-1 genotypes and DRMs among the 200 IDUs. Stanford HIV Drug Resistance Database was used to interpret DRMs. The five HIV-1 genotypes circ...
Abstract/Overview One-third of people with pre-diabetic condition progress to type 2 diabetes within five years. However, with adequate knowledge on diabetes risk reduction behaviors, progression to diabetes can be controlled. We therefore recruited 220 suspected cases of pre-diabetic patients at Busia County Referral Hospital assessed their knowledge, and adaption of risk reduction behavior. A cross-sectional study design and a systematic sampling approach were used. The findings show th...