Awareness and utilization of contraceptives among female students in Eldoret national polytechnic in Uasin Gishu county, Kenya, a cross sectional study

Background: Good knowledge of contraceptives is a key component for contraceptive utilization by young women. There have been increased incidences of unwanted pregnancies and induced abortions in tertiary institutions. This study sought to assess the knowledge and pattern of utilization of contraceptives among female students in Eldoret National Polytechnic, Kenya (ENP). Objective: One of the specific objectives of the study was to assess Contraceptive literacy among female students of ENP in Kenya. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional one in form of self-administered closed ended and open-ended questionnaires. Study population was only female students of ENP, aged between 18 and 35 years. Stratified random sampling was applied to the selected sample of 360 from the study population of 5879. Results: Majority of the respondents affirmed the knowledge on contraceptive method for pills (88.0%) injections (83.4%) male condoms (82.2%), and e-pills (88.0 %) while affirming the use of alternate methods such as withdrawal (62.3%) and abstinence (77.3%). Regarding the sources of the family (FP) services, most respondents scored highly on the sources of the contraceptives with injectables, male condoms, E-pill and oral contraceptive pills at 82.8%, 80.7%, 80.4% and 73.6% respectively. Conclusion: Most participants reported good knowledge and source for short term family planning (FP) methods while long term reversible contraceptive methods are least understood. Majority of students get contraceptive information from social media and peers.

Factors associated with utilisation of post abortion care services among women of reproductive age in Nairobi county Kenya

Background: Complications of abortion are a major contributing factor to maternal mortality, especially in Africa. 31% of maternal deaths in Nairobi are attributed to abortions complications. While Post abortion Care (PAC) is a proven approach in addressing mortality and burden of abortion complications, determinants of use among women who need the service, PAC health seeking behaviours, the health systems capacity to provide PAC and experiences of women and providers on PAC is not well documented. This study sought to address this gap. Objective: To determine factors that influence utilization of PAC services among women of reproductive age in Nairobi County. Design: Cross-sectional survey design which employed a quantitative data collection approach. Setting: Mbagathi hospital and Mama Lucy Kibaki hospital. Subjects and Intervention: Women of reproductive age attending reproductive health services at selected health facilities. The intervention was post abortion care. Results: Single women are 62.5% (OR 0.375) less likely to seek PAC services than married women. Prior knowledge of post abortion care (PAC) services is a statistically significant determinant of seeking of PAC services (P <0.05). Women with prior knowledge about post abortion care (PAC) services are twice likely (O.R 2.318) to seek PAC services. Prior experiences, with Gender of health care provider while seeking PAC services (P-Value 0.044), waiting time (0.008) and service affordability (p<0.05) significantly determines whether one seeks PAC services or not. Conclusion: Utilization of PAC services in Nairobi County is determined by experiences, perceptions, as well as individual level factors such as marital status

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