Diarrheal diseases constitute a major public health problem, particularly in the developing world, where mortality and morbidity rates are still very high. Acute diarrhea is a common cause of death in developing countries and second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide. Diarrhea is a very common complication of infection with the HIV and often leads to wasting and malnutrition. In developing countries, up to 80% of children and 90% of adults with HIV infection develop diarrhea. Many o...
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is total or partial removal of external female genitalia for non-medical rationale. The practice is mostly common in sub Saharan Africa. An approximated number of between 100-140 million women have undergone FGM and 3 million girls yearly are perceived to be at risk globally. Somalia has the highest global prevalence (98%) of FGM. A number of studies demonstrate significant association between FGM and various gynecological and pregnancy complications. The mai...
The dietary supplements market is growing at an alarming rate despite dietary source being acknowledged as the primary and priority source of nutrients. Kenya’s dietary supplements market has experienced a steady growth since 2009 owing to increasingly busy lifestyles, growing health consciousness and disposable income among the general population. Little has been documented about use of dietary supplements in Kenya despite their increase in popularity. The purpose of this study was to dete...
Visual impairment is defined as a corrected visual acuity of less than 6/18 to 3/60 in the better eye. Blindness on the other hand is defined as corrected visual acuity in the better eye of less than 3/60 or a constricted visual field of less than 10 degrees from the point of central fixation. Visual loss in childhood has implications in all aspects of the child’s development. It posses educational, occupational and social challenges, with affected children being at risk of behavioral, psyc...
In the Coastal region of Kenya, Mombasa County has the highest HIV prevalence (11.1%) of the estimates based on Kenya AIDS Progress Report of 2014. Limited data exist on effective regimen strategies to manage HIV/AIDS among adults in Kenya. Safe alternative HAART regimens are not currently a viable option for many, especially infected patients in Sub-Saharan Africa. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of Efavirenz and Nevirapine based First-line HIV treatment in patie...
Land use and land cover change dynamics and associated human-induced transitions studies are very critical in the formulation of sustainable land management strategies, land use systems and policies. The study aimed at generating a characterized area estimate of Ombeyi wetland’s land use and land cover change schema for the period between 1990 and 2017, examining the spatial and temporal characteristics of anthropogenic impacts and their relationship with land use and land cover change in ...
H. pylori is a microaerophilic organism and a gram negative bacterium which is found in the alimentary canal. It causes chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers. It is also linked to the development of duodenal ulcers and stomach cancer, conditions that were not previously believed to have a microbial cause. The persons infected with H. pylori usually have a 10 to 20% danger of developing peptic ulcersand a 1 to 2% likelihood of acquiring stomach cancerin lifetime. Nearly 15% of infected persons ...
Cervical cancer is a major public health problem among adult women especially in developing countries and its control is of paramount importance. Organized screening programmes have led to a large decline in cervical cancer incidence and mortality in developed countries. In Kenya very few women at risk have regular repeat cervical cancer screening and there exists no effective recall mechanism to enhance scheduled screening. The Short Message Service (SMS) Text may be used as a recall tool to...
Globally, community case management of malaria (CCMM) has proved to be effective in the management of malaria as the community as health workers as they provide the necessary outreach in getting to the household and capturing the cases in the community. The access to healthcare in Kenya is riddled with cases of affordability, acceptability and availability especially in regions with limited resources, rural regions and those which are further from the urban areas. However, through CCMM, major...
Intestinal parasitic infections have been found to form at least a quarter of all human infections globally. School-going children are the worst affected by these infections as it impairs their growth and cognitive development. Following the WHO recommendation, the Government of Kenya rolled out a school deworming programme under the School Health Programme in 2009. The study was embedded in the School Health Programme. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effects of public...
Mutual health schemes are emerging as an important cornerstone in healthcare financing in Kirinyaga County, where they are providing a patchwork of protection to low-income groups faced by low financial access to healthcare. While the schemes continue to gain ground, the extent to which they are improving health care utilization remains unclear because of weak evidence. Only a handful number of inquiries have been conducted, a paucity that underlined the objective of this study. The cross-sec...
The Nyangores sub-catchment of the transboundary Mara Basin of Kenya and Tanzania is an important upstream area due to its ecological composition. Like many other sub-catchments in Kenya, Nyangores sub-catchment has undergone significant land cover changes arising from various socio-economic reasons. In the Nyangores sub-catchment, these changes are believed to be amplifying stream flows through increased runoff rates during rainfall seasons. Over the years, land use changes have been obser...
Non-adherence to Tuberculosis treatment is a major barrier for TB control programs because incomplete treatment may result in prolonged infectiousness, drug resistance, relapse and death. Successful treatment of TB involves taking anti TB drugs for at least six months as per the doctors advise. Currently, Tuberculosis has become a resurgent public Health problem in developing countries and is the leading cause of death from any single infectious agent. The purpose of the study was to identify...
School feeding programmes exist worldwide and provide only two thirds of undernourished children with a basic meal (WFP, 2009). Parents/ guardians are important to the long-term adoption of various health practices as they play a major role as primary caregivers. Primary caregivers need to understand the benefits of and reasons for various healthy eating practices, as well as the reasons for designing and implementing a School Feeding Programme in certain ways. The objectives of this study ...
The fight against HIV and AIDS in Kenya has been intensified to reduce the prevalence of HIV and AIDS across all populations. The National adult HIV prevalence rate in Kenya is 4.4%, with prevalence higher among women (5.7%) compared to that of men (3.1%). The prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs) is highest at 29.3% compared to all other populations, This implies that there is low uptake of HIV combination prevention strategies (HACPS) which are the recommended prevention intervention...