The Role of human resource management practices on motivation of health care workers in Machakos County

A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Management at Strathmore Business SchoolWork settings are the focal determining factor for the motivation of workers. As the public health care segment in Kenya suffers from problems of professionalization with human resource, the private healthcare sector is expanding fast with the emphasis on management of human resource lying at the centre of the success of private health facilities. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of human resource management practices on the healthcare workers motivation in Machakos County. The specific objectives of the study were to establish the effect of recruitment on motivation of healthcare workers, determine the effect of training on motivation of healthcare workers, examine the effect of performance management on healthcare workers’ motivation and assess the effect of reward management on motivation of healthcare workers in Machakos County. The study adopted a descriptive research design in which the target population was 1179 healthcare employees in Machakos County. Disproportionate stratified sampling and simple random sampling was used to sample 299 respondents. The questionnaire was the selected tool for data collection. Trained research assistants were utilized to oversee the issuance of questionnaires to the participants of this study. Quantitative data collected was analysed by the use of descriptive statistics. The study also used inferential statistics namely correlation and regression analysis to test the relationship between the dependent and the independent variables. The findings are presented in figures and tables. The findings revealed that recruitment, training, and reward management positively influenced healthcare workers motivation. There was however a negative relationship between performance management and employee motivation. The study recommended that first, healthcare facilities should enhance the use recruitment in order to attract the best talents. Secondly, they should embrace the use of training to enhance employee skills and thirdly, embrace performance management with the goal of enhancing employee motivation. Finally, that the health care organizations should use more of rewards to motivate their employees

An assessment of the effects of financial inter mediation on business performance: a case study of women owned micro and small enterprises in Kisii municipality – Kenya

Women as micro and small entrepreneurs have increasingly become the key target group for financial intermediaries. Consequently providing access to financial and non-financial services is not only considered a precondition for poverty alleviation but also considered as a strategy for empowering women. The micro and small enterprises play an important role in the Kenyan economy. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of financial intermediation on business performance. The study was carried out on women owned micro and small enterprises in Kisii Municipality. Descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The study sought to : assess the extent to which financial intermediaries intermediates between savers and borrowers, to assess the level of business performance of micro and small women owned enterprises and ; to assess whether financial intermediation has an effect on business performance on women owned MSEs in Kisii Municipality. The target population of the study was 150 women owned enterprises in Kisii Municipality (Equity Bank, Kenya Women Finance Trust and Kenya Rural Enterprise-Loan Programme beneficiaries).Random sampling procedure was adopted to sample 108 respondents who participated in the study. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics techniques which include frequency tables, percentages and summated averages. A likert scale was used to identify the extent to which financial intermediation influences business performance on women owned MSEs in Kisii Municipality. Microfinance loans, bank loans and co-operative loans were the most preferred sources of finance by the women entrepreneurs. The study findings can be useful to the women entrepreneurs in planning and managing their businesses effectively. The study can also help financial intermediaries and policy makers to formulate appropriate policy framework to guide in the management of registered micro and small women owned enterprises and women entrepreneurship in the country. It can also contribute to the already existing literature on financial intermediation

Effects of malaria/helminthic coinfections on cervical cancer progression among sub Saharan African women on highly active antiretroviral therapy : a scoping review

In Africa, the HIV prevalence in rural areas has begun to reach levels estimated within urban settings, where women are also more at risk for both malaria and intestinal parasitic infections. The objective of this review is to assess whether concomitant infections with malaria and/or helminthic diseases have an impact on cervical disease progression in women on HAART. This scoping review was conducted in August 2018. To conduct this scoping review, we searched the relevant studies in electronic databases such as PUBMED, Global Health, EMBASE, CINAHL and SCOPUS published in the year between 1960 and 2018 using the following search terms HAART AND malaria OR Helminth and Female OR women. Eight studies qualified for this review. The literature underscores the need for women on HAART with multiple co-infections to use adjuncts to retain immune recovery and undetectable HIV viral load, to reduce risk of cervical disease progression. A trend for higher risk of CIN3+ in HIV+ women reporting recent malarial infection was observed in one study. Given the public health impact of synergistic interactions between malaria and helminthic infections in HIV/HPV co-infected women on HAART, it is urgent that these interactions are elucidated

Status of the mud crab fishery in Kenya: A review

Most indigenous coastal populations (70%) have a high dependency on, and preference for, marine fisheries. However, most fishers are financially handicapped and thus do not invest in the fisheries that require relatively high financial capital (to purchase fishing gears and vessels). A higher proportion of fishers depend on near shore fisheries that are easily accessed by foot or dugout canoes. In Kenya, mud crabs are fished mainly by men and to a lesser extent by women and children due to the accessibility of the fishing areas by foot. This makes mud crabs a key fishery that is easily accessible for exploitation by most coastal artisanal fishers for subsistence and commercial purposes. Mud crabs have been a delicacy in the local tourist hotels for a number of years. In addition, the previously minimal export market for mud crabs from Kenya has increased drastically over the last two decades. The requirement for wild mud crab seed in aquaculture has also increased over the last decade. The demand for all sizes of mud crab to meet the requirements of the different market chains in Kenya require effective management approaches to guide exploitation of the fishery. The development of Beach Management Units (BMUs) as outlined in the National Oceans and Fisheries Policy of 2008 and the Fisheries Management and Development Act of 2016, if well implemented, enhance management of the fishery. Further, adoption of the new Constitution (2010) and establishment of county and national governments calls for harmonization of roles to address localised management issues such as for the mud crab fishery, that is currently declining in small mangrove creeks.

Intertidal mangrove boundary zones as nursery grounds for the mud crab Scylla serrata

The demand for mud crab Scylla serrata (Forsskål 1775) in the global market has increased, hence there is growing momentum to farm the species in Africa.  Aquaculture production in Kenya and elsewhere in East Africa currently relies on juvenile seeds sourced from the wild. Wild-seed collection calls for management of the juvenile crab industry founded on knowledge of the species’ ecology, so as to achieve a sustainable seed supply and recruitment to the capture fishery. This study investigated the tidal, diurnal and seasonal occurrence of juvenile crabs in three habitats (intertidal-flat boundary zones, inside the mangroves, and in channels) in small creeks (Mida, Kilifi and Mtwapa) and Gazi Bay, on the coast of Kenya. Sampling was done with scoop nets and seining at receding tides and via burrow searches at low spring tides (day and night). Juveniles in the mangrove/intertidal-flat boundary zone were found sheltered under mangrove leaves or debris, or in shallow burrows during low spring tides, whereas at receding tides they could be seen moving out with the tide or searching for sheltering substrate or burrows. Catch per unit effort at high-abundance sites varied between 59 and 68 crabs fisher−1 day–1. More juvenile crabs, sized 10–80 mm internal carapace width (ICW), occurred at night during the receding tide. Net-seining was effective in the collection of juvenile mud crabs <30 mm ICW, whereas burrow sampling was effective for gathering larger crabs. However, collection of juveniles by seining reduced the quality of the crabs caught due to frequent loss of chelipeds, as compared with retrieving individual crabs by searching burrows. Some juveniles collected in the intertidal-flat boundary-zone habitat were either in the process of moulting or had just moulted, indicating the significance of this habitat for mud crabs at this physically delicate life stage.Keywords: burrows, CPUE, habitat preference, juvenile occurrence, Kenya, seasonal influence, seining, tide

Small-scale milkfish (Chanos chanos) farming in Kenya: An overview of the trends and dynamics of production

A number of donor-funded projects by NGOs, government departments and faith-based organizations have piloted milkfish farming along the coast of Kenya at different scales with the aim of addressing poverty and food security at the community level. This paper provides an overview of the history of milkfish farming, organisation of operations, funding, farmers trends, and production dynamics, using both secondary and primary data. Primary data were obtained from quantitative and qualitative assessments covering 26 community milkfish farming groups, while secondary data were obtained from the grey literature and donor-funded project reports. Additional primary data were obtained through 9 key informant interviews covering three coastal Counties, and focus group discussions (8-10 members) at all the community milkfish farms. The study established that milkfish farming could be traced back to the early 1980’s as a by-product of the prawn farming intervention by FAO, and later in other private farms that practised prawn farming. Community/village based small-scale milkfish farming was initiated about two decades ago using organised community groups (OCGs) as the entry point. The number of OCGs undertaking milkfish farming fluctuated with availability of donor funds and increased significantly between 2007 and 2015 with an increase in earthen pond farming area from 0.9ha to 6.8ha over this period. However, the scale of production remained low. Annual milkfish production increased from less than 50kg in 2005 to a maximum of 3.2 tons in 2015. Milkfish farming has not attained production levels that can address poverty and food security issues; a fact that was associated with the lack of reliable milkfish seed for stocking culture facilities. Harvests from existing farms are sold at the farm gate and in nearby market centres with a few communities venturing into opening fish shop outlets to sell their produce.

ETHICAL SUPPLY CHAIN FOR MINERAL ORES IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO USING BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

T he Democratic Republic of Congo in short DRC which has been blessed with a flurry of minerals has been suffering from the paradoxical “resource curse” showing worse economic development than countries with fewer resources, this has been due to weak democratic development, corruption, and civil war. Increased levels of corruption in the mining sector resulted in great political instability because whoever controls the assets usually those with political might use them for their own benefit, the increase in importance of minerals like cobalt and coltan due to the ubiquity and necessity of mobile phones which heavily rely on these materials has resulted in warlords and armies in DRC converting ASMs (Artisan and small miners) into slave laborers, soaring prices of materials like coltan are said to have brought militias more than 20 million dollars (about twice the cost of a celebrity mansion) a month. With increasing demand from buyers to purchase ethically sourced materials there is an increasing need to reform the mining industry in DRC and one of the propositions is through ethical supply chain management using blockchain technology. One of the major benefits of blockchain technology is accountability according to UN surveys military occupation by Ugandan and Rwandese soldiers plus other foreign military forces as well as many bands of Congo military factions fighting there was massive looting of Congolese natural resources and the fighters were enriching themselves by mining and smuggling out coltan, Copper, gold, diamonds etc. This could have been averted if there was an accountability measure in the purchase and resale of these materials that is in the supply chain of these ores. Accountability or lack thereof which has led to unspeakable evils like slave labor is not the only malevolent act that has been a result of these mining expeditions soil erosion and other environmental concerns like pollution of rivers and the increasing reduction of eastern mountain gorillas is just another example. This paper will talk about how blockchain can be integrated into this supply chain network to enhance traceability, increase efficiency and speed of supply, improve financing, contracting, and international transactions and how a workable technology can be created

Personal and Contextual Factors That May Influence Compassion Fatigue As Experienced By Counselors Practicing In Nairobi, Kenya

A Thesis submitted to the School of Humanities & social sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in Counselling PsychologyCompassion fatigue occurs when counsellorsamong other health professionals begin to experience the pain and suffering of the people whom they serve. Although there is substantial literature supporting that, people who work with trauma clients are impacted positively and negatively, most of the studies have focused on the positive impact of work and the qualitative evidence is inconsistent. Further, most research has been conducted outside Kenya and most of the research has been carried out immediately after a traumatic event. This research study sought to investigate the presence of compassion fatigue and identify the personal and contextual factors that may influence compassion fatigue as experienced by a group of counsellors working in different environments in Nairobi, Kenya. A sample of 106 counsellors with different levels of training and working in diverse settings participated voluntarily. The research used the professional quality of life (Proqol) model to provide a theoretical understanding of the development of compassion fatigue. A self-administered questionnaire developed using The Professional Quality of Life Scale (version 5) to assess compassion fatigue, collect demographics and other pertinent information was used. The results show that 50.2 % of the counsellors surveyed were satisfied with their work, while 25.5 % had compassion fatigue. Female counsellorshad slightly elevated levels of compassion fatigue compared to the males. This study therefore, shows that it is normal for counsellors to have negative feelings towards their clients but it does not in any way minimize the satisfaction they also experience from helping

Capture-based mud crab (Scylla serrata) aquaculture and artisanal fishery in East Africa- Practical and ecological perspectives : Mud crab ecology and aquaculture

Mud crab Scylla serrata is a crustacean that spends most of its life cycle in the mangrove environment throughout its range. Fishery and aquaculture of this crab are significant economic activities in coastal areas in the tropics and sub-tropics because of the meat quality and nutritional value. However there is a significant shortage of information on the ecology, fishery and aquaculture of these crabs in sub-Saharan Africa. This impacts the development of a sustainable aquaculture and fishery for the benefit of coastal communities. The present study analyses various aspects of mud crab ecology, fishery, aquaculture and social economics in East Africa using multidisciplinary approaches. The results are given in seven papers based on field and laboratory studies. The study established for the first time that high intertidal mangrove back-flats constitute a key habitat for the earliest instars of S. serrata (4 -30 mm CW). It also showed that diurnal tidal migration behaviour occurs in small juveniles that migrate to sub-tidal habitats during the day, possibly due to variable predation risks. Monthly sampling of juveniles in Kenya and Tanzania indicated continuous recruitment throughout the year. The large numbers of juvenile crabs along mangrove fringes indicate that these habitats could serve as sites suitable for collection of juvenile crabs for aquaculture. However, these areas must also be managed and protected to support the recruitment to the wild crab populations. An assessment of the crab fishery indicated that artisanal crab fishers possess significant traditional knowledge mainly inherited from their parents that enabled them to exploit the resource. Such knowledge could be useful for the development of the aquaculture and in management of the fishery. Mud crab fishing was found to be a male dominated activity, and fishers on foot practiced fishing in burrows at spring low tides. Interviews indicated that the average size of marketable crabs has declined over the years and a weak management system was observed with most fishers operating without a license. Due to the knowledge required regarding the local conditions, fishers are unable to shift to new areas. Furthermore fishers and could not fish at neap tides. Such limitations provide a “natural closure” of the fishery. Also foot fishers cover fairly limited distances in their daily operations, an aspect that can be utilized to effect site-specific management for the fishery if necessary. Laboratory and field experiments indicated that cannibalistic interactions are heavily influenced both by size differences of crabs and the availability of shelter but no significant effect was found for different stocking densities. Such information is of direct importance for crab farmers in East Africa, where seed from the wild are of multiple sizes and there is a need to grade juvenile crabs and provide shelter at stocking to ensure maximum survival. Experimental studies in earthen pond and mangrove pen cultures indicated high mortality rates. Comparing growth in earthen pond and mangrove pen systems indicated that growth rates were generally high in both systems, but significantly lower in pen systems without shelter, suggesting that shelter may have a stronger effect on growth than has been previously thought. Similar to artisanal mud crab fishery, an assessment of small-scale mud crab farming by organized community groups in Kenya indicated low level of women participation. A good knowledge of the market existed among the mud crab farming groups where hotels and exporters offered the highest prices. However there is a need for national policies to be directed to support small-scale aquaculture development by ensuring training and capacity building for women, operation and management of groups, data management and provision of user rights for communities working in the mangrove environment. Market analyses showed that the common market size of crabs in East Africa ranged between 500-1000 g and are thus larger than in Southeast Asia where the average size is reported at 300 g. Prices for mud crabs were over 50 % lower in Tanzania than in other East African countries and most of the profit was earned by middlemen and exporters. Cost revenue analysis showed that it would be more profitable to farm smaller commercial crabs, and develop a market for 300 g crabs to increase the profitability of crab farming in East Africa. Also, the same analyses found that farming large crabs in individual cages, which is the dominant culture form in East Africa today, had very low profitability due to high labor costs and low growth rates. Using a step-wise function of natural growth it was shown that growth rates of S. serrata cultured in cages was 40 % of the growth rates obtained in experimental pond and pen cultures, which were similar to natural growth. Therefore the good performance of grow-out cultures of juvenile mud crabs in earthen ponds and mangrove pens showed a potential to develop into a profitable and sustainable intervention. However, more work is needed to improve survival in culture systems and address the identified limitations of crab seeds and feed to enable development of sustainable mud crab aquaculture in East Africa