Beacon of hope: Evaluation of the Kenya Girl Guides Association HIV/AIDS program for school children

This Horizons report presents findings from an evaluation of the Kenya Girl Guides Participatory Peer Education Program for HIV and AIDS Prevention. The objective of the program was to train Girl Guide patrol leaders as peer educators, who in turn would communicate key information and concepts about such topics as HIV prevention, relationships, and self-esteem to other Girl Guides, and ultimately to their school peers. The results demonstrate that peer education conducted by Girl Guides is a feasible strategy for imparting HIV and AIDS education to school-going youth; however, such a program would need to be branded, strengthened, and appropriately resourced to attain positive results that extend beyond the Girl Guides to include their peers. The results also demonstrate that school girls in this study are operating in an environment where their male counterparts are more than seven times as likely to be sexually experienced, and may be exerting considerable pressure to have sex even on the strongest of girls. HIV risk-reduction programs directed at school girls may be more successful if they also address the risk behavior of school boys

Delivery Practices and Associated Factors among Mothers Seeking Child Welfare Services in Selected Health Facilities in Nyandarua South District, Kenya

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A measure of the proportion of deliveries assisted by skilled attendants is one of the indicators of progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5, which aims at improving maternal health. This study aimed at establishing delivery practices and associated factors among mothers seeking child welfare services at selected health facilities in Nyandarua South district, Kenya to determine whether mothers were receiving appropriate delivery care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A hospital-based cross-sectional survey among women who had recently delivered while in the study area was carried out between August and October 2009. Binary Logistic regression was used to identify factors that predicted mothers' delivery practice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 409 mothers who participated in the study, 1170 deliveries were reported. Of all the deliveries reported, 51.8% were attended by unskilled birth attendants. Among the deliveries attended by unskilled birth attendants, 38.6% (452/1170) were by neighbors and/or relatives. Traditional Birth Attendants attended 1.5% (17/1170) of the deliveries while in 11.7% (137/1170) of the deliveries were self administered. Mothers who had unskilled birth attendance were more likely to have <3 years of education (Adjusted Odds ratio [AOR] 19.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.7 - 212.8) and with more than three deliveries in a life time (AOR 3.8, 95% CI 2.3 - 6.4). Mothers with perceived similarity in delivery attendance among skilled and unskilled delivery attendants were associated with unsafe delivery practice (AOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1 - 3.4). Mother's with lower knowledge score on safe delivery (%) were more likely to have unskilled delivery attendance (AOR 36.5, 95% CI 4.3 - 309.3).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Among the mothers interviewed, utilization of skilled delivery attendance services was still low with a high number of deliveries being attended by unqualified lay persons. There is need to implement cost effective and sustainable measures to improve the quality of maternal health services with an aim of promoting safe delivery and hence reducing maternal mortality.</p

Reproductive health knowledge among college students in Kenya

Abstract Background Reproductive health knowledge is vital in the growth and development of young people and this impact greatly on their educational and personal outcome as they proceed to adulthood. There has been an increasing occurrence of sexually transmitted infections in institutions of higher learning. The study sought out the strategies used by university students to prevent unplanned pregnancy and determined their knowledge of contraception methods and sexually transmitted infections in Mount Kenya University, main campus. Methods Stratified sampling was employed. After a signed consent was obtained, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were explored, analyzed and percentages used to quantify the level of knowledge. Pearson’s chi-square was used to measure associations between categorical variables and independent t-test used to measure the means and relationships of continuous variables. Results Condom use was established as the most prevalent strategy in prevention of unplanned pregnancy at 48.5 and 46.4% in prevention of STI and HIV/AIDS. Almost two thirds (58%) of respondents reported that they were conversant with only one method of contraception, 60% had knowledge of more than two types of STIs, and 62.4% indicated that they were conversant with only hospitals as facilities providing reproductive health services. Conclusion Young people in college require educational initiatives to sensitize them on STI, methods of contraception and positive social behaviors. There is need to improve the accessibility of reproductive health services through strengthening of services provided at campus health clinics

Remediation of degraded soils with hydrogels from domestic animal wastes

Abstract Introduction This study reports on water management in the fields found in arid areas by the improvement of the soil’s water retention capacity. This was done using hydrogels from animal wastes to mitigate the effects of climate change that lead to rapid evaporation of water hence increased desertification rates. Method The modification of the cow dung to hydrogels involves the oxidation of urea or uric acid from chicken dung to form compounds that can undergo a condensation reaction with cellulose in the cow dung. This formed a product with high water retention capacity. Results The materials were characterized using Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy and thermo-gravimetric analysis which confirmed the derivatization of some functional groups. The thermo-stability was improved, as the degradation temperatures for urea, glycerol, and chicken dung derivatives were 245, 220, and 228 °C, respectively, while the unmodified form was 198 °C. The UV–Vis analysis showed no evidence of starch in the modified material which was also confirmed by Lugol’s test. It was found out that modification had influence on the swelling ability giving it superabsorbent properties with swelling capacities (300 g g−1) within 5 min of moisture exposure plus a high water retention capacity of 90%. Conclusions The application of the modified materials in the growing of some selected plants showed that the moisture content could be sustained for a period of 6 weeks before the plants wilted. This confirms that the modified form of manure has potential application for hydration of plants in arid areas

Enhancing Green Networks and Fabric : Final Report Book 1 : UBC

This course introduced a comprehensive, landscape-based approach to long-range planning of the greens-pace structure of cities to enhance both ecosystem and human purposes. Green Networks are an interconnected network of green patches and corridors incorporating parks, natural areas, remnant green spaces, street trees, and other vegetated spaces of the city. The course investigated a proactive, long-term planning approach enabling these green networks to be considered in conjunction with growth and development planning. The course was interdisciplinary and included students in the Bachelor of Urban Forestry, Bachelor of Environmental Design, Master of Landscape Architecture, Master of Architecture, and Master of Community and Regional Planning. Additionally, one professional forester from Switzerland and one student from Simon Fraser University joined the class. The report submitted to SEEDS, entitled “Enhancing Green Networks and Fabric” represents the results from the major term project. The entire UBC campus plus an area covering the UEL and adjacent forest were divided into four study areas. Teams of four students were assigned to each study area. In this exercise the student teams de-laminated the green networks and fabric of their study area to reveal and diagnose its current order and condition. The class compiled a graphically evocative and informative spatial analysis of the UBC campus that highlights and evaluates important green systems in terms of key greenspace and livability metrics. Maps and diagrams accompanied by photos and other illustrations “tell the urban forest story” of the study area. The analysis method included GIS-based spatial analysis with accompanying metrics derived from the mapping. Spatial mapping of each study included: green vs. grey land cover; vegetative cover (forest, shrub, trees only, herbacious, sparse, water); all tree canopy cover (distinguish forest from urban); tree canopy categorized (deciduous/coniferous); vegetation naturalness (see Vancouver Biodiversity Strategy); habitat hot-spots and habitat sites; habitat types (start with class provided legend); industrial, commercial, mixed use, high density residential, moderate density residential, civic, greenspace, public lands. In response to their findings from this analysis, each student team then made site-wide propositions for how to make significant improvements to the green networks and fabric of their study area, specifically addressing: improving the quantity and quality of the urban forest; improving the connectivity between the green patches; improving the habitat quantity and quality and connectivity; improving rainwater management using green infrastructure. Additionally, detailed studies more clearly illustrate how the broad site-wide propositions may be implemented. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Applied Science, Faculty ofArchitecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School ofUnreviewedGraduat