Influence Of Maternal Nurturing Capacity On Child Survival: A Case Of Compassion International Child Development Programs In Samburu County, Kenya

Abstract

This study examines the influence of maternal nurturing capacity on child survival in Samburu County in Northern Kenya. It utilized an ethnographic descriptive study design to examine the influence of maternal knowledge, practice and beliefs on child survival. This investigation pursued several related lines of inquiry in an effort to establish whether maternal nurturing capacity has any bearing on the under-five mortalities. The analysis explored multiple statistical methods to isolate the effect of maternal nurturing capacity on child survival from the confounding influence of household economic conditions. The objective of the study was to explore how the level of maternal nurturing capacity influences under-five child survival in Samburu County and recommend evidence-based interventions for the government and all the stakeholders in the field of early childhood development in the country. This study involved the use of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to investigate the research problem using the questionnaire as the key instrument for data collection. In this study purposive sampling technique was used to select 6 early childhood programs supported by Compassion International in Samburu County that had been operational for more than 5 years giving a sample frame of 1,474 families. A 10% of the 1,474 families (147 mothers) sample size was selected for the study while systematic random sampling technique was used to pick the sampling units upon whom the questionnaires were administered. Tables and figures have been used to summarize the responses for analysis, interpretation and comparison. The study revealed that Maternal nurturing knowledge, as an integral part of maternal nurturing capacity, had a significant influence on child survival relative to beliefs and practices on child rearing in Samburu County. However, provision of health care services, infrastructure to support the wider context of the child and further strengthening of awareness child nutrition and disease prevention by the government and the private sector can greatly enhance child survival in this region.