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Psychological Care of Looked-After Children in Kenya: Approaches in Context of Attachment Theory
Get PDFMany looked-after children have endured traumatic experiences. Provision of psychological based care approaches are implemented to promote their resilience within care setting and to optimize quality of life for those affected by chronic mental health conditions like post stress disorders. However, several prospects remain underutilised on how to best enhance the psychological well-being of children in care contexts in Kenya and globally. This paper situates contemporary approaches to psychological care within the context of attachment theory. The theory will be reviewed highlighting its practical implications for care givers providing psychological care to children and youth in care set up. An approach to integrating attachment theory with practice when working with looked after youth is illustrated using empirical literature on caring the looked after youth, and author’s experience in working with looked after youth. Finally, the article concludes with suggestions for intensification of psychological care research and enhancement of initiatives to improve mental health of looked after children
The Joint Effect of Creative Problem Solving and Perseverance on Micro and Small Enterprise Survivability in Wakiso District, Uganda
Get PDFThis study examined the joint effect of creative problem solving (CPS) and perseverance on Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) survivability in Wakiso district, Uganda. Multiple sampling methods were used to derive a sample of 306 MSEs from the accessible population of 1,500 MSEs and a cross-sectional survey research design using a positivist approach were used. Questionnaires were filled out by owners/managers as units of enquiry whereas the firm was the unit of analysis. Correlation and regression analysis were used. Results revealed that CPS, perseverance and MSE survivability were significant and positively related and equally accounted for 7% variance in MSE survivability. Policies/programs to improve MSE owner/managers’ skills in perseverance and CPS abilities be implemented; government to provide capacity building and training in areas of skill/competency development; design programs involving learners to apply CPS skills and perseverance. MSE owner/managers also need to enhance their CPS and perseverance abilities
Nurse\u27s Knowledge Aspects of Enhancing Haemoglobin Level and Safety through Delayed Cord Clamping Time in a Semi-urban Hospital in South Rift Region, Kenya
Get PDFBackground: The clamping of the umbilical cord can be done at different times after delivery, although delaying the clamping of the cord for ≥ 1 minute after birth improves the haemoglobin levels for newborn and variation may lead to safety issues and influence of the haemoglobin status of the infants. There is limited literature on the knowledge of health care providers on the optimal time to clamp the umblical cord after delivery.
Objective: To assess the nurse’s knowledge aspect on enhancing haemoglobin levels through delayed cord clamping in a semi urban Hospital in South Rift Region, Kenya
Methods: The Participants nurses in the study were enrolled through simple random sampling in maternity and delivery rooms and the aspect of knowledge was assessed using Pre-test questionnaire.
Results: Half of the nurses (50%) had knowledge that delayed clamping is recommended. However, 69% had knowledge that delayed cord clamping should be performed for those infants requiring essential care under maximum safety conditions while 94% reported that delayed cord clamping is beneficial to the infant and does not interfere assessment of the baby and administration of uterotonic drugs. A bout 31% had incorrect knowledge that delayed umblical cord clamping increases the infant’s risk of acquiring HIV. Half of the nurses (50%) of nurses had knowledge that the World Health Organization (WHO) 2014 guidelines recommended delayed cord clamping for all infants without medical complications including infants of women who are HIV positive.
Conclusion: The nurse’s knowledge on the optimal time to clamp the umblical cord after delivery was not uniform. Majority of the nurses had knowledge that delayed cord clamping increases the risk of mother to child HIV transmission and aspect of knowledge affected the safety level of infant haemoglobin levels.
Recommendation: Relevant stakeholders should consider developing national guideline and standard operational procedures on Umblical Cord Clamping after delivery
Role of Counseling Services in Mitigating Risky Sexual Behaviors among Undergraduate Students: A case of Kabarak and Egerton Main Campuses in Nakuru County, Kenya
No full textThis study’s purpose was to identify the role of counselling services in mitigating risky sexual behaviours among undergraduate students of main campuses in Nakuru County. Social Learning Theory by Albert Bandura and Person-Centred Theory by Carl Rogers guided the study. The study was carried out among 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year undergraduate students from main campuses in Nakuru County. The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population was 18570 undergraduate students. The accessible population was 8456 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th year undergraduate students whose sample was 367. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. The study included a sample of 10 peer counsellors and 2 student counsellors from the Egerton University and Kabarak University main campuses who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were obtained using questionnaire for undergraduate students, focus group discussions guide for peer counsellors and interview schedule for student counsellors. Validation of research instruments was done through peer and expert review and also through pilot testing which was done in Mount Kenya University (MKU) - Nakuru Campus. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse quantitative data using SPSS Version 25 whereas the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The analysed data was presented in tables, graphs, and narratives. The researcher considered ethics of confidentiality and informed consent. The findings indicated that counselling services play a key role in universities in mitigating risky sexual behaviours among undergraduate students
Pattern of Antibiotic Prescription for Upper Respiratory Tract Infections among Under-Fives in Outpatient Clinics in Tharaka-Nithi County
Get PDFThe World Health Organization (WHO) qualified antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the principal threats to public health globally and inappropriate antibiotic prescription is its modifiable contributor. Therefore assessing antibiotic prescriptions for URTI is an acceptable way to analyze the appropriateness of the prescriptions. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the pattern of antibiotic prescriptions in rural hospitals in Kenya. This study seeks to profile the pattern of antibiotic prescriptions among under-fives with URTI in Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya.
This was a retrospective charts review of under-fives treated from November 2018 to December 2019 for URTI in outpatient clinics in Chogoria and Chuka hospitals. A systematic sampling of 385 charts was carried out using the table of Robert and Morgan based on the total of 5000 URTI cases recorded. Charts of children with suspected bacterial infections were excluded, and for cases of tonsillitis, only children with a modified Centor score ≤3 were included. The binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between variables with the calculation of Odd ratio with a CI of 95% using SPSS 24.
This study found that 70.4% of under-fives with URTI were prescribed antibiotics. The prescriptions were associated with the diagnosis of tonsillitis as part of the URTI, OR 21(95%CI 4.52-99.3); the level of education of the prescriber with clinical officers prescribing more than medical officers, OR 15.9(95%CI 6.98-36.2) and the patient’s proximity to the hospital, OR 1.77(95%CI 1.22-2.77).
Antibiotics were prescribed to 70.4% of URTI cases. This percentage was higher than the 30% expected by WHO and was significantly associated with the diagnosis of tonsillitis, the level of education of the prescriber and hospital accessibility. There is a need to train clinicians about the indications of antibiotic prescriptions and to implement antimicrobial stewardship programs in rural facilities
EFFECT OF MICROFINANCE SERVICES ON FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN ARID AND SEMI-ARID LANDS IN KENYA: A CASE STUDY OF BARINGO COUNTY, KENYA
Get PDFMicro-Finance Institutions (MFIs) have been known to offer various financial services that include savings mobilization, micro-credits, money transfers and financial education to its clients which are important to financial inclusion. However, there is uncertainty over the effect of microfinance services on financial inclusion in Arid and Semi-arid lands in Kenya such as Baringo County where currently 14 MFIs are operating. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to determine the effect of savings products and lending services provided by microfinance institutions on financial inclusion in Baringo County grounded on the Financial Intermediation theory. The study adopted descriptive research study method targeting 14 microfinance institutions operating in the area from which the accessible population was 476 individuals comprising 56 MFIs managers and credit officers and 420 clients of the MFIs. A total sample size of 254 respondents was used. Data was collected using pretested structured questionnaires and was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that both savings products and lending services significantly affected financial inclusion in the area with lending services having a more significant effect than savings products. Cumulative savings were the most important assessment tools for loans qualification compared to guarantors and ability to pay. Low access to savings impeded savings mobilization. most of the loans were processed within one month. Majority of the microfinance institutions offered standardized products and services. All the microfinance institutions respondents indicated that the considered client’s ability to pay and a considerable percentage indicated to consider cumulative savings and guarantors when awarding loans. A significance level of 95% (α=0.05) was used in the analysis of the effect of microfinance institutions services on financial inclusion. The probability values for the variables; lending services, savings products, payment services and financial education were 0.037, 0.000, 0.016 and 0.024 respectively. The probability values of the independent variable were less than α=0.05 thus implies that the predictor variables were significant to influence financial inclusion
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG DAY SCHOOL GOING GIRLS IN HOMA BAY COUNTY, KENYA
Get PDFBACKGROUND: Their sexual and reproductive health decision making is greatly influenced by their knowledge. This study, therefore, aimed to determine sexual and reproductive health knowledge among secondary school-going girls in Homabay County, Kenya.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional analytical study design that used quantitative approaches to determine factors associated with sexual and reproductive health knowledge among day school-going girls. A sample size of 491 participants were proportionately distributed in the selected 28 school. Data was entered, cleaned, and managed in the SPSS software version 17. Descriptive analysis was conducted to determine the level of sexual and reproductive health knowledge while logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with sexual and reproductive health knowledge.
RESULTS: The study reported 39.4%, 40.4% and 82.9% of participants to be having good overall knowledge of risky sexual behavior, pregnancy related issues and HIV/AIDS transmission and prevention. From the participants 207(42.1%),203(41.3%),230 (46.7%),188(38.2%),173(35.2%) correctly identified risky sexual behavior as sexual intercourse without a condom, starting sexual activities before age 14, multiple sexual partners, more frequent sexual activities and having sex under influence of alcohols respectively. On pregnancy, 303(61.6%),416(84.6 %),315(64.0%) of the participants correctly answered that a girl has the greatest chance of becoming pregnant in the middle of her menstrual cycle, Abstinence is the safest method to prevent pregnancy and Adolescent pregnancy is a risk for maternal complication respectively. Participant with catholic religion background were less likely to have good sexual and reproductive health knowledge (OR 0.18, CI 0.318-0.84, P 0.0080).
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR TRANSLATION: This study concludes that most girls have good knowledge on HIV but poor knowledge of risky sexual behavior and pregnancy-related issues and also identify role of religion in improving sexual and reproductive health knowledge. The study, therefore, recommends upscaling of school-based sexual and reproductive health education
An Analysis of Optimal Government Size for Growth: Application of Scully Model in Kenyan Counties
Get PDFThis study, assuming a balanced budget, attempts to estimate the optimal devolved government size in Kenya using the panel ARDL regression and Scully (2008) model for the period 2013-2017. The optimal devolved government size is determined to be around 9.7 percent of the GCP (Gross County Product). The estimated threshold size is higher than the current size of county government which stands at 5.4% of GCP. The panel analysis suggests that the optimal size of government is higher than the current size of government (9.7 > 5.4) and there is a scope of 4.3% increase in county public expenditures. Therefore, the study recommends increase of devolved government spending to arrive at the growth, maximizing level of the government size. This can be possible via increased national government budget allocation to the 47 county government and improved county revenue collection
OPTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CO:ZNO FILMS FABRICATED BY ANODIZATION FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC WATER PURIFICATION
Get PDFWhile the sixth sustainable development goal to be achieved by 2030 is clean water and sanitation, there is still a global challenge in the supply of adequate clean water due to population growth and urbanization. This necessitates coming up with more affordable approaches of managing waste water. Photocatalytic degradation of pollutants has proved to be one of the promising ways of purifying water. This study aimed at preparing Cobalt doped ZnO films to be used in photocatalytic water purification. ZnO films were fabricated by anodization and Cobalt incorporated. Heat treatment was done at 2500C. Optical characterization was done using a UV-VIS NIR spectrophotometer to obtain reflectance data which aided in determining the optical properties of the films. Data analysis showed a decrease in ZnO reflectance and optical band gap on incorporation of Cobalt. This implied an increase in the absorption of the films which is a fundamental property in photocatalytic water purification. Hence Cobalt doped ZnO films have good photocatalytic properties and can be used for photocatalytic water purification
Effects of solvent polarity on the absorption and fluorescence spectra of 3-cyano-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin: Determination of the dipole moments.
Get PDFThe Absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of 3-cyano-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin (3C7H4M) were studied in solvents of different dielectric constant ε and refractive index n. Experimental ground and excited state dipole moments were established by means of solvatochromic shift method. Both the ground state and excited state dipole moments were established. Results revealed that the excited state dipole moments of 3C7H4M were higher than those of the ground state. Further it is evident from these results that, the changes in the dipole moments on electronic excitation are small