Tobacco Use and Risk Factors for Hypertensive Individuals in Kenya

Abstract: This study aimed to examine the association between hypertension and tobacco use as well as other known hypertensive risk factors (BMI, waist–hip ratio, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and socio-economic factors among adults) in Kenya. The study utilized the 2015 Kenya STEPs survey (adults aged 18–69) and investigated the association between tobacco use and hypertension. Descriptive statistics, correlation, frequencies, and regression (linear and logistic) analyses were used to execute the statistical analysis. The study results indicate a high prevalence of hypertension in association with certain risk factors—body mass index (BMI), alcohol, waist–hip ratio (WHR), and tobacco use—that were higher in males than females among the hypertensive group. Moreover, the findings noted an exceptionally low awareness level of hypertension in the general population. BMI, age, WHR, and alcohol use were prevalent risks of all three outcomes: hypertension, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure. Healthcare authorities and policymakers can employ these findings to lower the burden of hypertension by developing health promotion and intervention policies.publishedVersio

Exploring the Knowledge and Attitudes of Mothers on Utilisation of Maternity Services in Peri urban District of Central Uganda. A Cross-sectional Study.

Background In Mende sub-county, out of about 1904 pregnant women, only 316 (17%) institutional deliveries were done with 592 having had at least one antenatal care visit and only 225 reaching the fourth Antenatal care visit in Financial Year 2019/20. We, therefore, sought to explore the knowledge, and attitudes of women and how they influenced maternal health services utilization in a rural sub-county of Wakiso district in Uganda. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using quantitative methods. The study was conducted at Show Mercy International Health Centre in Mende sub-county - Wakiso District from March to April 2016. A total of 70 participants were enrolled in the study. We used open-ended questionnaires to collect data from the study participants, quantitative data were collected, coded, and analyzed using Microsoft excel windows 16, and SPSS version 16.0. Results Of the 70 mothers, the majority were aged 28-37 years (57.1%) with a mean age of 33.5 years, Majority (44.3%) had attained both Secondary followed by primary level education (34.3%). The majority of the women (45.7%) had some form of employment although a good number of them (28.6%) were peasants and casual labourers. We found out that 92.9% were knowledgeable about maternal health services. Furthermore, 46.9% of mothers preferred both Antenatal care and delivery services at the health facility. Conclusion The majority of the mothers were knowledgeable about health facility maternal health services and reported their willingness to use them. The motivating factors for health facility deliveries were (1) healthy baby and pregnancy, (2) getting Mama Kits and mosquito nets, and (3) accessing Prevention of Mother to Child treatment services and routine supplements. Recommendations: Further sensitization for HIV/AIDS testing during pregnancy but also maintain the supply of Mama Kits and mosquito nets for improved health facility deliveries

The dynamics of Household labor allocation to biogas production, farm and non-farm activities in central Uganda

This work was supported by funding from the African Union Commission to the Afri-flame network under the project: Adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa, grant number AURG/2/058/2012.Peer reviewedPostprin

Impact of health management information systems on service delivery among healthcare workers at Iten County Referral Hospital

Background: Decision-making process and effective planning within the health sector relies majorly on availability of reliable, accurate and prompt information. Most referral healthcare facilities in Kenya utilize health management information systems (HMIS) yet delivery of effective services remains relatively challenging. Against this backdrop, we assessed the impact of use of HMIS on service delivery among healthcare workers at Iten County Referral Hospital (ICRH).Methods: This study used a cross-sectional study design target population was all healthcare workers at ICRH. Closed and open-ended questionnaires were used to obtain data. Purposive and stratified sampling techniques were used to select study site and participants respectively. The sample size was 185 healthcare workers but 142 participants filled out the questionnaire.Results: Most respondents were nurses (37.4%). Least cohort were pharmacists (1.40%). About 62.7% were diploma-holders, 26.8% had a bachelor’s degree. Further, 66.9% of participants had <10 years working experience, 22.5% had 11-20 years while; 10.6% had 21-30 years. Participants (26.1-47.2%) agreed that using HMIS is efficient and effective for managing hospital data. Majority were undecided whether HMIS can be used for managing financial imperatives and providing epidemiological data. Participants (77.5%) rated HMIS as being user-friendly. Remarkably, 22.5% rated the HMIS as suitable for use as a centralized planning system for the hospital. Data also showed that HMIS is yet to be fully integrated into the hospital system.Conclusions: The use of HMIS has positively impacted service-delivery at ICRH. We therefore recommend that healthcare facilities integrate the use of HMIS in management of hospital data.

Economic potential of flexible balloon biogas digester among smallholder farmers: A case study from Uganda

This work was supported by the UK DFID grant on ‘The New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition (NET-RC) initiative (Grant No. DFID NET-RC A06502). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from DFID. We also extend our thanks to the households participated in the survey. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of DFID or the affiliated organizations. Our final thanks go to the two anonymousreviewers for their invaluable and critical comments that have remarkably improved the paper.Peer reviewedPostprin

Are smallholder farmers willing to pay for a flexible balloon biogas digester? Evidence from a case study in Uganda

This work was supported by the UK DFID grant on ‘The New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition (NET-RC) initiative (Grant No. DFID NET-RC A06502). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from DFID. We also extend our thanks to the households participated in the survey. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of DFID or the affiliated organizations.Peer reviewedPostprin

Oral contraceptives and intrauterine devices as risk factors for breast and cervical cancers: a systematic review

Breast and cervical cancers have commandingly become major public health threats across the world. While studies have reported on the nexus between the use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and intrauterine devices (IUDs) as risk factors for breast and cervical cancers, there exists a paucity of explicit data on the nature of the association. Authors report the effect of oral contraceptives and the use of IUDs on the development of breast and cervical cancers. Several databases (Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and PubMed) were searched using well-specified criteria and a total of 15 papers selected. Meta-analyses, systematic reviews and studies that used cross-sectional designs were excluded from the review. Three and twelve cohort and case-control studies were reviewed respectively. Four of these studies reported an increased association between oral contraceptives and the risk of cervical cancer while nine showed positive correlation between oral contraceptives and risk of breast cancer. One study showed association between levonogestrel IUDs and risk of breast cancer while the other study did not show association between both levonogestrel and copper IUDs with risk of breast cancer. Use of copper IUDs was associated with diminishing risk of cervical cancer. Overall, use of oral contraceptives upsurges risk of breast and cervical cancers especially when used for longer periods of time. Further studies should therefore be done to understand the mechanisms of action of oral contraceptives and IUDs on the development of both cancers

Dis-adoption of Household Biogas technologies in Central Uganda

This work was supported by funding from the African Union Commission to the Afri-flame network under the project: Adaptation of small-scale biogas digesters for use in rural households in SubSaharan Africa, grant number AURG/2/058/2012.Peer reviewedPostprin