Books

Beyond the jab: Unravelling the complexities of vaccine adoption for East Coast Fever in rural Kenya

2025-01-30T07:24:00Z

Beyond the jab: Unravelling the complexities of vaccine adoption for East Coast Fever in rural Kenya Muema, Josphat; Muthiru, Ann W; Nyamai, Mutono; Thumbi, S M; Bukachi, Salome A East Coast Fever (ECF) is one of the leading causes of livestock mortality and reduced productivity across Eastern Africa, and while a live vaccine against it known as the Infection and Treatment Method has existed for three decades now, its adoption by affected communities remains low. This study sought to provide a detailed examination of the dynamics that shape Infection Treatment Method (ITM) vaccine adoption behaviours. The study examined individual, socio-cultural and ecological- level factors influencing ITM adoption using the socio-ecological model. Analyzing data obtained from 18 focus group discussions, 30 in-depth interviews with livestock keepers, and 25 key informant interviews conducted with community stakeholders, the study identified factors associated with vaccine adoption within pastoralist communities in rural Kenya. These factors included knowledge and awareness of the Infection Treatment Method vaccine, its cost, livestock keepers' perceptions of East Coast fever relative to other livestock diseases, wildlife-livestock interactions, climate as contributing factors, and wildlife-livestock interactions influencing ECF risk and severity. Overall, the study findings emphasize the need for multifaceted strategies to increase vaccine adoption among livestock keepers. Copyright: © 2025 Muthiru et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Quality assessment of clinical practice guidelines in Kenya using the AGREE II tool: a methodological review

2024-02-27T07:27:00Z

Quality assessment of clinical practice guidelines in Kenya using the AGREE II tool: a methodological review Sagam, Caleb K; Were, Lisa M; Otieno, Jenifer A; Mulaku, Mercy N; Kariuki, Simon; Ochodo, Eleanor Objective: To assess the quality of available and accessible national Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) in Kenya using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool. Methods: We searched the websites of the Kenyan Ministry of Health, professional associations and contacted experts in relevant organisations. Our scope was guidelines on maternal, neonatal, nutritional disorders, injuries, communicable and non-communicable diseases in Kenya published in the last 5 years until 30 June 2022. Study selection and data extraction were done by three independent reviewers with disagreements resolved via discussion or with a senior reviewer. We conducted a quality assessment using the online English version of AGREE II tool across six domains. Descriptive statistics were analysed using Stata software V.17. The primary outcome was the methodological quality of the included CPGs assessed by the AGREE II tool score. Results: We retrieved 95 CPGs and included 24 in the analysis after screening for eligibility. The CPGs scored best in clarity of presentation and least in the rigour of development. In descending order, the appraisal scores (mean and CI) per domain were as follows: Clarity of presentation 82.96% (95% CI 78.35% to 87.57%) with all guidelines scoring above 50%. Scope and purpose 61.75% (95% CI 54.19% to 69.31%) with seven guidelines scoring less than 50%. Stakeholder involvement 45.25% (95% CI 40.01% to 50.49%) with 16 CPGs scoring less than 50%. Applicability domain 19.88% (95% CI 13.32% to 26.43%) with only one CPG scoring above 50%. Editorial independence 6.92% (95% CI 3.47% to 10.37%) with no CPG scoring above 50% and rigour of development 3% (95% CI 0.61% to 5.39%) with no CPG scoring at least 50%. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the quality of CPGs in Kenya is limited mainly by the rigour of development, editorial independence, applicability and stakeholder involvement. Training initiatives on evidence-based methodology among guideline developers are needed to improve the overall quality of CPGs for better patient care.; Objective: To assess the quality of available and accessible national Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) in Kenya using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool. Methods: We searched the websites of the Kenyan Ministry of Health, professional associations and contacted experts in relevant organisations. Our scope was guidelines on maternal, neonatal, nutritional disorders, injuries, communicable and non-communicable diseases in Kenya published in the last 5 years until 30 June 2022. Study selection and data extraction were done by three independent reviewers with disagreements resolved via discussion or with a senior reviewer. We conducted a quality assessment using the online English version of AGREE II tool across six domains. Descriptive statistics were analysed using Stata software V.17. The primary outcome was the methodological quality of the included CPGs assessed by the AGREE II tool score. Results: We retrieved 95 CPGs and included 24 in the analysis after screening for eligibility. The CPGs scored best in clarity of presentation and least in the rigour of development. In descending order, the appraisal scores (mean and CI) per domain were as follows: Clarity of presentation 82.96% (95% CI 78.35% to 87.57%) with all guidelines scoring above 50%. Scope and purpose 61.75% (95% CI 54.19% to 69.31%) with seven guidelines scoring less than 50%. Stakeholder involvement 45.25% (95% CI 40.01% to 50.49%) with 16 CPGs scoring less than 50%. Applicability domain 19.88% (95% CI 13.32% to 26.43%) with only one CPG scoring above 50%. Editorial independence 6.92% (95% CI 3.47% to 10.37%) with no CPG scoring above 50% and rigour of development 3% (95% CI 0.61% to 5.39%) with no CPG scoring at least 50%. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the quality of CPGs in Kenya is limited mainly by the rigour of development, editorial independence, applicability and stakeholder involvement. Training initiatives on evidence-based methodology among guideline developers are needed to improve the overall quality of CPGs for better patient care.

Influence of Principals’ Management of Institutional Facilities on Implementation of 100 Percent Transition Policy in Public Secondary Schools in Hamisi Sub County, Kenya

2022-11-02T11:00:26Z

Influence of Principals’ Management of Institutional Facilities on Implementation of 100 Percent Transition Policy in Public Secondary Schools in Hamisi Sub County, Kenya Asamba, Violet L The drive for secondary school education to adapt to the highly dynamic and competitive environment, has led to refocusing of principals’ management of institutional facilities to improve performance in the schools. The number of students in public secondary schools has nearly tripled yet the physical and human facilities have stagnated. The sudden increase of form one enrollment in public secondary schools in Kenya demands that there should be a way of checking whether the institutional facilities are well and appropriately implemented and whether they address the demands of the students. Considering this, the study is therefore intended to explore the influence of principals’ management of institutional facilities on the implementation of 100 percent transition policy in public secondary schools in Hamisi Sub County, Kenya and to answer the main research question: What influence does the principals’ management of institutional facilities has on the implementation of 100 percent policy. The study focused on the following variables: Availability of teaching and learning space, availability of teaching and learning resources, culture influence and influence of resource allocation on implementation of the policy. The study is anchored on systems theory. This study adopted the descriptive research design. The target population consisted of all the 48 public secondary schools, 48 principals, 48 BOM chairpersons, 48 school committee representing parents, 96 teachers (heads of departments) and 1,920 form three students giving a target population of 2,161 from the public secondary schools in Hamisi Sub County. The study used stratified random sampling technique to select and distribute the 10 schools. Ten percent (10 %) of the students and 20% of the teachers were selected using simple random technique ten principals and 10 BOM chairpersons of the 10 schools and SCDE were purposely selected for interview. Questionnaires were used to collect data from school principals, BOM chairpersons, teachers (HODs), parents’ representatives and students. Interview schedules were used to collect in-depth information from the Sub-County Director of Education and from the principals. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the aid of (SPSS). The analyzed data was presented in Tables. The study found that the playing field, library, and classrooms conformed to the statutory regulations in terms of space and dimensions to a great extent. Moreover, the study established that the laboratory equipment was inadequate for carrying out successful practical sessions. The research established that it is the culture of the school to reward the staff and students reinforcing the behavior exhibited by them, and the school had traditions and routines build from shared values and norms that reinforce social standards. The research also found that improvement on learning environment that is provision of textbooks, classrooms, library, and playground, all created safe environments. The research also found that the government disbursement affects procurement of goods, budget implementation, and project inception and closure. The study concluded that schools with inadequate teaching and learning space faced serious challenges in running of the school programmes which had an influence on implementation of the 100 percent transition policy. The study recommends that the government should allocate more funds for addition infrastructure required in teaching and learning in public secondary school. This will ensure that all public schools have adequate teaching and learning resources, supportive culture of rewarding the staff and students and have prioritized allocation of resources for the implementation of 100% transition policy.

Resource Management and Implementation of Development Projects: a Case of Productive Sector Development Project in Mogadishu, Somalia

2022-11-02T06:54:26Z

Resource Management and Implementation of Development Projects: a Case of Productive Sector Development Project in Mogadishu, Somalia Yusuf, Jama Y When implementing development projects, the project resource manager is responsible for careful planning of finances, human resources, time and materials needed at every successive phase of the project. In Somalia, there seems to be a missing link in the way development projects are being implemented. The key problem seems to stem from the fact that the available resources have not been carefully planned for. The inquiry aimed at establishing the influence of resource management on implementation of development projects in Mogadishu, Somalia. More specifically, the inquiry explored financial resource management, human resource management, time resource management and physical resource management on implementation of development projects in Mogadishu, Somalia. The study was guided by resource based view. The study would important to policy makers, practitioners in the field of project management, the management of the respective development projects in addition to contributing towards existing theories and literature. Descriptive survey design was adopted targeting 1045 project coordinators, project technical advisors, staff and beneficiaries of Productive Sector Development Project. Stratified random sampling was adopted in selection of 289 participants as the study sample. The concerns of the respondents were gathered through questionnaire as the tool. Validity was ensured through the views of the supervisor and the experts while Cronbach Alpha coefficients were computed to establish reliability. The analysis of the views of the participants was done using descriptive and inferential means. The results of the study were expected to demonstrate the positive and significant role played by effective management of resources in implementation of development projects. The study established that financial resource management (β=.161, p<0.05), human resource management (β=.195, p<0.05), Time resource management (β=.144, p<0.05) and material resource management (β=0.164, p<0.05) were significant predictors of implementation of development projects in Mogadishu, Somalia. The study concludes that resource management significantly contributes towards implementation of development projects in Mogadishu, Somalia. The recommend that finance managers of the Productive Sector Development Project should diversify their sources of funds and reduce overreliance on external parties like donors. The project should always track and monitor the progress in execution of the Productive Sector Development Project to ensure the activities are carried out in time. All the existing assets and other physical facilities of Productive Sector Development Project should be utilized effectively while maintaining them regularly