RESUMO
Background: Insufficient contraceptive use among 15–25-year-olds leads to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, disabilities, infant mortality, and high teen pregnancy rates, with Kenya's high rate of teen pregnancies despite efforts. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional study design was used and 361 teenage girls between 15-19 years in the selected electoral wards at Kuria West Sub County in Migori County, Kenya. Data was collected using administered structured questionnaire, and key informant interview. Quantitative data analysis was conducted using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) version 26.0 and involved univariate and bivariate analysis. Bivariate analysis was done through logistic regression was used to test the significance of the association between the dependent and independent variables (p<0.05). Qualitative data was analyzed by thematic content analysis. Results: More than two third 249 (69.0%) of respondents had utilized contraceptives such as condoms (33.3%), injection (25.3%), implants (22.9%), and pills (15.7%). Religious affiliation (?2=5.576, df=1, p=0.018) was significantly associated with utilization of the contraceptives. Additionally, religion supports the use of contraceptives (?2=0.061, df=1, p=0.804), culture prohibits the use of contraceptives (?2=1.496, df=2, p=0.473), discuss contraceptive methods with family (?2=1.423, df=2, p=0.491), and difficult to engage in sexual discussions with my parents/guardian (?2=2.707, df=2, p=0.258) had no statistical relationship with utilization of the contraceptives. Conclusions: Central and county government, stakeholders and NGOs should organize health education targeting parents, community and the society which should include, schedules and benefits/importance of utilization of FP services to counter the cultural beliefs.
RESUMO
Background: Globally, diseases that can be prevented through immunization claim the lives of more than 3 million individuals in the population, 1.5 million of whom are typically children under the age of five. Furthermore, vaccine-preventable diseases are to blame for about 3.5 million with disability worldwide. Only 86% of children worldwide have had vaccinations, making millions of youngsters susceptible to diseases that can be treated or prevented by administering vaccines. Immunization is the only effective way to prevent or treat certain disorders. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Semi-structured questionnaires given by interviewers to mothers and other caretakers in particular households were used to gather the necessary data. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select the questionnaire respondents the study area, a sample size of 384 eligible participants was used to collect quantitative data. Results: The study’s findings showed that Makueni county had an 82% vaccination coverage rate. This was a sign that the county had fallen short of the goal set by the WHO. From the inferential statistics analysis, there were significant association between vaccine uptake and immunization in all the four objectives examined i.e., p?0.05. Conclusions: The study established that immunization coverage is high for children 23 months and below in Makueni County, with socio-demographic characteristics being the most important factor. It is advised that additional efforts be made to increase the uptake of immunization services. Along with improving their knowledge of child immunization, prenatal clinics should focus on improving the mothers’ health-seeking behaviour.
RESUMO
Background: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) health financing systems has been dependent on out-of-pocket payments (OOP). This type of payment is thought to increase income to finance health care but it抯 unaffordable to economically disadvantaged persons. Health insurance was introduced in order to reduce catastrophic health expenditure caused by OOP but its implementation to informal sector workers is a challenge. Therefore, this study examines the coping strategies for managing health care costs among informal sector workers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between September and December 2020 to 889 informal sector workers. The study respondents were randomly selected and questionnaire was used to collect data. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze data through the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. Results: The findings showed that the mean age of the respondents was 34.8 years (SD�.4) and majority, (90.1%) of the respondents were uninsured. The methods to carter for medical expenditures were cash payments (p=0.297; 95%CI=0.195-0.452), selling assets (p=0.672, 95%CI=0.507-0.891) and borrowing money (p=0.578, 95%CI=0.412-0.811). Conclusions: The health care financing methods that the informal sector workers use in order to access health services are effective in reducing short run problems of health care accessibility but it contributes to impoverishment. Designing an affordable insurance scheme with consideration of the social economic aspects of individuals will improve uptake to insurance schemes and hence achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).