Health facilities preparedness to deliver maternal and newborn health care in Kilifi and Kisii Counties, Kenya

Published: 2024
Topic: Maternal and newborn health care
Author(s): James Orwa, Marleen Temmerman, Lucy Nyaga, Kennedy Mulama & Stanley Luchters

Health facility preparedness is essential for delivering quality maternal and newborn care, minimizing morbidity and mortality by addressing delays in seeking skilled care, reaching appropriate facilities, and receiving emergency care. A rapid assessment of 23 government health facilities in Kilifi and Kisii counties identified poor maternal and newborn indicators in 16 facilities. The Access to Quality Care through Extending and Strengthening Health Systems (AQCESS) project supported these facilities with training, equipment, and referral linkages. This study focuses on facility preparedness of the 16 facilities to deliver maternal and newborn health services, specifically delays two and three at the end of the project implementation.

Psychometric evaluation of PHQ–9 and GAD–7 among community health volunteers and nurses/midwives in Kenya following a nation-wide telephonic survey

Published: 2024
Topic: Psychometric evaluation of PHQ–9 and GAD–7 among community health volunteers and nurses/midwives
Author(s): Sabina Adhiambo Odero, Paul Mwangi, Rachel Odhiambo, Brenda Mumbua Nzioka, Constance Shumba, Eunice Ndirangu-Mugo, and Amina Abubakar

Nurses/midwives and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) are exposed to chronic stressors putting them at risk of developing mental health problems. This has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. There is limited empirical evidence of the burden of mental health problems among health care workers partly due to the lack of adequately standardized and validated measures for use among health care workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to perform the psychometric evaluation of the PHQ-9 and GAD-7 administered to nurses/midwives and CHVs across 47 counties in Kenya.

Psychometric evaluation of the computerized battery for neuropsychological evaluation of children (BENCI) among school aged children in the context of HIV in an urban Kenyan setting

Published: 2024
Topic: Psychometric evaluation of the computerized battery for neuropsychological evaluation of children (BENCI)
Author(s): Maina Rachel, He Jia, Abubakar Amina, Miguel Perez-Garcia, Manasi Kumar & Jelte M. Wicherts

Culturally validated neurocognitive measures for children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries are important in the timely and correct identification of neurocognitive impairments. Such measures can inform development of interventions for children exposed to additional vulnerabilities like HIV infection. The Battery for Neuropsychological Evaluation of Children (BENCI) is an openly available, computerized neuropsychological battery specifically developed to evaluate neurocognitive impairment. This study adapted the BENCI and evaluated its reliability and validity in Kenya.

A Scoping Review of Preterm Births in Sub-Saharan Africa: Burden, Risk Factors and Outcomes

Published: 2024
Topic: Preterm Births in SSA
Author(s): Adam Mabrouk, Amina Abubakar, Ezra Kipngetich Too, Esther Chongwo, and Ifedayo M. Adetifa

Preterm births (PTB) are the leading cause of neonatal deaths, the majority of which occur in low- and middle-income countries, particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Understanding the epidemiology of prematurity is an essential step towards tackling the challenge of PTB in the sub-continent. We performed a scoping review of the burden, predictors and outcomes of PTB in SSA.

Use of mobile technology to identify behavioral mechanisms linked to mental health outcomes in Kenya: protocol for development and validation of a predictive model

Published: 2024
Topic: Mental Health
Author(s): Willie Njoroge, Rachel Maina, Elena Frank, Lukoye Atwoli, Zhenke Wu, Anthony K Ngugi, Srijan Sen, JianLi Wang, Stephen Wong, Jessica A Baker, Eileen M Weinheimer-Haus, Linda Khakali, Andrew Aballa, James Orwa, Moses K Nyongesa, Jasmit Shah, Akbar K Waljee, Amina Abubakar & Zul Merali

This study proposes to identify and validate weighted sensor stream signatures that predict near-term risk of a major depressive episode and future mood among healthcare workers in Kenya.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among non-refugees and refugees in Kenya

Published: 2023
Topic: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
Author(s): Ryan T. Rego, Anthony K. Ngugi, Antonia Johanna Sophie Delius, Stanley Luchters, Joseph C. Kolars, Furqan B. Irfan, Eileen Weinheimer-Haus, Amina Abubakar, Reena Shah, Ji Zhu, Matthew L. Boulton, Timothy Hofer, Akbar K. Waljee

Factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (which we define as refusal to be vaccinated when asked, resulting in delayed or non- vaccination) are poorly studied in sub-Saharan Africa and among refugees, particularly in Kenya. Using survey data from wave five (March to June 2021) of the Kenya Rapid Response Phone Survey (RRPS), a household survey representative of the population of Kenya, we estimated the self-reported rates and factors associated with vaccine hesitancy among non-refugees and refugees in Kenya.