Knowledge of emergency preparedness among nurses in Machakos level five Hospital in Machakos County, Kenya

BACKGROUND An emergency is an unexpected event that disrupts normal operations within a health facility and requires immediate interventions to address it. Knowledge of emergency preparedness is an important role of clinical nursing to enhance patient outcomes. This study aimed to determine the types of emergencies received at Machakos Level 5 Hospital (ML5H) and to assess the nurses' level of knowledge on emergency preparedness. MATERIALS AND METHOD This was a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The study was conducted at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Machakos County, Kenya. The sample included 132 nurses working at ML5H, who were randomly selected and consented to participate in the study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and an observation checklist. Data were coded and entered into SPSS version 25 software and the analysis included descriptive statistical tests. RESULTS A little more than a half (56%) of the nurses were found to have adequate knowledge of emergency preparedness; 65% had attended training on emergency preparedness and 63% indicated that training had enhanced their competence. CONCLUSION A higher proportion of nurses reported not participating in emergency drills that could be used to improve their knowledge and skills in emergency preparedness. The results of the study indicate that there is a need to enhance the knowledge of nurses' on emergency preparedness.

Sufficient informed consent to medical treatment of adults legal and ethical perspectives from Malawi

This special communication discusses the current legal and ethical requirements for informed consent to medical treatment of adults in Malawi. It analyzes the scope of the laws and code of ethics on professional discipline, including criminal privilege for surgeries and clarifies when insufficient disclosures entitle patients to compensation under civil law. Inconsistencies and uncertainties in the law are made apparent. It evaluates to which degree disclosure standards of other Commonwealth jurisdictions (e.g. the case of Montgomery) would be suitable for the health care setting of a country like Malawi that is characterized by shortages of resources, high illiteracy rates and a communitarian cultural context. Doctor-patient communication is not alien to African culture and part of sufficient informed consent. In order to balance the need for efficiency in health care delivery, accountability for quality care, fairness and effective patient-doctor communication the authors suggest to adopt the reasonable patient test only, if a defence of heavy workload on case-to-case basis is introduced at the same time. This does not dispense the need for organisational diligence on part of the institutional health care provider within its capacity

Lesotho COVID-19 emergency preparedness and response project (P173939) - Mafeteng hospital operations: environmental and social management plan (ESMP) operations phase

An outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been spreading rapidly across the world since December 2019, following the diagnosis of the initial cases in Wuhan, China. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic. As of January 6, 2021, the outbreak has resulted in more than 86 million global cases and more than 1.8 million global deaths.1 and 3206 cases in Lesotho with 65 deaths. In order to respond to this global pandemic, the Government of Lesotho (GoL) will implement a Lesotho COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project (EPRP), with World Bank (WB) financial support. The Lesotho COVID-19 Emergency Preparedness and Response Project (EPRP), with US$ 7.5 million total budget, comprises of two main components, Emergency COVID-19 Response (US$6.675 million), and Project Implementation and Monitoring & Evaluation (US$0.825 million).