A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY FOR ANTENATAL CARE IN KENYA

The purpose of the study was to analyze nurse–client interaction processes in rural health facilities. This was an inductive, qualitative, grounded theory study. Constant comparative analysis of data was used to generate themes, concepts and theoretical statements. Six main concepts emerged from data: Willingness of mother to attend antenatal clinic, reciprocal exchange of information, nursing care and treatment, focused preparation of mother, evaluating readiness for delivery within the rural context and referral of client. These concepts were key to the generation of “Owino’s theory of nurse-client interactions for childbirth preparedness”. Nurse-client interaction processes in preparation for delivery by a skilled attendant is influenced by the complex rural context. High quality interaction should help the nurse and mother rise above contextual challenges

UPTAKE OF TASK SHIFTING AS A COMMUNITY STRATEGY IN KENYA

The objective of the study was to evaluate the uptake of task shifting as a community strategy in Kenya. This study adopted qualitative data collection methods in three different contexts; peri-urban, rural and arid Kenya. The results suggest that voluntary counselling and testing, community health education, hygiene, referrals and family planning services should be shifted to Community Health Workers (CHWs) and they should be trained to diagnose and treat some common childhood ailment. There is evidence that CHWs perform an important role in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for health, particularly for child survival and treatment of TB and HIV/AIDS. Effective task shifting requires appropriate utilization of primary health care services, effective training and incentives for health workers to provide services

DETERMINANTS DE LA SOUS-ALIMENTATION DES MENAGES EN CÔTE D’IVOIRE : CAS DES REGIONS CENTRE ET CENTRE-EST

Undernutrition is one of the major issues in the development agenda; the increase in food prices in recent years increases the vulnerability of households and climate change has adverse impacts on agricultural production.The objective of this study is to identify the determinants of undernutrition households in the Central and East-Central Côte d'Ivoire, ranked among the most deprived areas. Using data from the Survey of Household Living Standards (ENV 2002), Logit econometric models revealed that among these factors include household size, gender of household head, education level of the head household, the main occupation of the household head, the industry, living environment and the practice of farming. This analysis shows that the undernourished households are characterized in particular by high size, low level of education, the exercise of the profession of craftsman in the informal sector and are mostly headed by women. These determinants are levers that authorities may rely to reduce undernutrition. Therefore, it is desirable for the government to popularize family planning (reduction in household size), raising the level of education of the population at least at the secondary level, to promote the profession of craftsman by the capacity building and stakeholder access to microfinance to combat undernutrition

UPTAKE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH STRATEGY ON SERVICE DELIVERY AND UTILIZATION IN KENYA

Great Lakes University of Kisumu developed and tested a Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) model to facilitate the uptake of essential health services towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The model focused specifically on the principles of intersectoral collaboration, community participation and empowerment to enhance access to health care. A study was undertaken in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to assess the implementation of the components of the model in different socio-demographic contexts in Kenya, and their relationship with health outcomes. This was a comparative, descriptive study which engaged the end users, policymakers, managers and communities in the design and implementation of research to enhance the utilisation of results. The CPHC intervention elements included: establishment of Community Health Units, governance and linkage structures, training of the health workforce, establishment of Community Based Information system and using it for regular dialogue at community and health facility levels leading to decisions and health actions.Findings showed improvements in governance and management of the health system; service delivery and health outcomes such as immunization coverage, Antenatal Clinic attendance and health facility delivery

Influence of teacher characteristics on students' academic achievement among secondary schools

The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between teacher characteristics and students' academic achievement. The study was guided by Education Production Function theory (EPF) which connects student academic achievement to teacher characteristics. The study was conducted in Nandi District, Kenya and the target population comprised of teachers of all 26 public secondary schools. The study applied a causal comparative research design. A questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical techniques. The study findings suggest that there was no significant relationship between teacher qualification and student academic achievement