Determinants of HIV positive status at first PCR test among toddlers seeking early infant diagnosis (EID) services in selected hospitals in Nairobi County, Kenya

Introduction: Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) is the practice of testing infants for HIV within the first 4­6 weeks of life or at the earliest opportunity possible so as to promptly link HIV-infected infants to healthcare and treatment. In the absence of timely HIV testing and Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) initiation, one-third of infants living with HIV die before their first birthday and more than half die before 2 years. Worldwide, Mother To Child Transmission (MTCT) rates accounted for 8.9% of all HIV infections by the end of 2015, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 12% of these infections. In Kenya, MTCT infection rates were at 14%, accounting for 7% of all new infant infections globally by the same period. Objection: The objectives of this study was to establish the determinants of HIV positive status at first PCR Test among infants seeking EID services in some selected hospitals in the Nairobi County, Kenya. Materials and Methodology: A longitudinal cohort study employing a mixed-method approach was used. Quantitative data was collected from pairs of 163 mother-infant using interviewer administered, pre-tested, and semi-structured questionnaires. While qualitative data was collected using Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) guides, it was coded, cleaned and analyzed using STATA Version 14. Quantitative data was analyzed using Fisher's exact test (p= 0.1) and Poisson Regression (p= 0.05) at bivariate and multivariable levels respectively. Thematic analysis was undertaken for qualitative data. Results: The findings from the adjusted parsimonious model revealed that, three variables influenced the infant HIV status at first PCR test. The study participants who had been administered with ART during pregnancy had a lower risk (RR= 0.06) of getting HIV positive infants relative to those who hadn't received ARVs during pregnancy (95% CI 0.014, 0.213 p= 0.000). Respondents who had been initiated on ART during the first trimester had lower risk (RR= 0.1) of getting an HIV positive infant than respondents who were administered with ARVs in the third trimester (95% CI 0.014, 0.021, p= 0.001). Respondents on first-line regimen had a lower risk (RR= 0.04) of getting HIV infected infants compared to those who were on the second line regimen (95% CI 0.012, 0.114, p= 0.000) confirming all the three significant variables as protective factors. Conclusion: The study corroborate that, first line ART regimen administered before pregnancy or during the first trimester of pregnancy was effective in lowering the risk of getting an HIV positive infant. Pediatric HIV infection, disease progression is quite rapid and without prompt treatment, most infants might not survive their second birthday

Uptake of antenatal care services among women of reproductive age in Mandera County, Kenya

Background: Antenatal care is an opportunity for prevention and management of existing and potential causes of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity. The new WHO antenatal care model, stipulates that, the first antenatal care visit takes place within the first trimester (gestational age of <12 weeks) and then, additional seven visits. Only 37% of women in Mandera County had utilized the recommended minimum four ANC visits. Objectives: There was need to assess the critical factors influencing the uptake of ANC in Mandera County Kenya, in order to enlighten stakeholders on the development of appropriate ANC Service Provision Program. This study took the intiative of bridging the gap. Methodology: The study adopted cross-sectional design using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Stratified and Sample random sampling were used to get a quantity of 348 respondents. Data was collected using questionnaire, FGDs and KIIs guides and Pearson's Chi-square test. Multivariate analysis using logistic regression was summarized to establish the strengths of the association. Odds Ratio (OR) and 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were used and threshold for statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed thematically. Results: The proportion of women who utilized ANC was 83.0% and only 60.3% had attended recommended visits. Individual factors that influenced ANC uptake were; age, level of education, monthly income, gravida, parity and complications during pregnancy. Contextual factors that influenced ANC were; time taken to reach health facilities, source of maternal information and local discouragements. There was no significant relationship between Religion, marital status, age at first pregnancy with ANC uptake. Conclusion: The negative perception can change by; improving culturally sensitive ANC services accessibility by; increasing the number of female skilled health workers and reducing traveling time to the health facilities by conducting regular outreach services targeting villages with no close facility to pastoral communities. It will be important to strengthen CHVs' capacity to emphasize primary health care and accelerate progress towards UHC in the County. Provide health education and promotion targeting older mothers with high parity, women inclined to harmful cultural practices and their partners. In spite of a wide range of literature on ANC topics in most parts of Kenya, it was limited pertaining Mandera County. Recomandations: Meticulous understanding of local barriers and facilitating factors of ANC utilization is prerequisite for designing and implementing interventions that aim to improve ANC uptake. Well developed infrastructure is a basic need that falls in the category of basic wants for Mandera County

Effects of mother related factors on perinatal outcomes-a study of mothers seeking antenatal care at public and non-public health facilities in Kisii County, Kenya

The study sought to determine client level and facility-level factors that affect perinatal outcomes among women attending comparable public (government owned) and non-public health facilities (non-government owned) in Kisii County-Kenya in the context of free maternity care. A total of 365 pregnant mothers recruited in 4 health facilities during their ANC visit and followed up to 2 weeks post-delivery but only 287 attended all follow-up visits. Study subjects were recruited proportionate to number of deliveries each of the facilities had conducted in the preceding 6 months. The dependent variable was perinatal outcome; independent variables were demographic and clinical factors. Analysis was done using χ2, logistic regression, paired t and McNemar's tests. Maternal BMI and a mother's parity were statistically correlated with perinatal outcome (χ2= 8.900, d.f =3, P=0.031 and (χ2= 13.232, d.f =4, P=0.039) respectively. Mothers with 1 parity were 4.5 times more likely to have normal perinatal outcomes (OR =4.5, 95% CI 2.25-14.29, P=0.012). There was a significant relationship between a mother's knowledge of pregnancy-related issues and the baby's weight (t=-67.8 d.f. 213 P<0.001). Mothers' knowledge on pregnancy issues and spousal involvement influences perinatal outcomes. Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) of a mother does not have a direct influence on the outcome of a pregnancy. There is need to focus on maternal factors that affect perinatal outcomes besides free maternity care