Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder and associated predictors among mothers of preterm infants in Western Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: mothers of preterm infants are exposed to stress leading to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Preterm births have increased lately with World Health Organization (WHO) reporting an estimated prevalence of up to 5-18% and Kenya reporting a prevalence of 18.3%. The current study sought to determine the prevalence of PTSD and its associated predictors among mothers with preterm infants. Methods: this was a hospital-based cross-sectional study among 182 mothers with preterm babies admitted in neonatal care units (NCUs) of two referral hospitals. A simple random sampling technique was used to select participants and data was collected using a semi-structured pretested questionnaire and an Impact of events scale-revised (IES-R). Analysis was done using STATA 15 and a significance level set at P≤ 0.05 and 95% confidence interval. Results: the majority of the respondents 67 (36.8%) were aged between 18-22 years and only 34 (18.7%) were above 34 years. Most of the respondents had attained secondary and tertiary level education at 86 (47.3%) and 51 (28.0%) respectively. Prevalence of PTSD was 78.6% at a confidence interval of 95% CI: 0.72-0.84. Mothers who had a previous preterm birth were 0.09 less likely to develop PTSD {AOR=0.09, 95% CI: 0.01-0.80, p=0.023} while those who underwent cesarean section were 11.1 times more likely to develop PTSD {AOR=11.1, 95% CI:1.1-114.8, p=0.043}. Conclusion: the prevalence of PTSD was 78.6%. Although mothers of preterm infants experience stress, the associated predictors included; cesarean section birth, having had a preterm birth before and staying in fair housing conditions.

Attitudes towards interprofessional education and associated factors among faculty at the college of health sciences in a public university in Kenya: a cross-sectional study.

Introduction: conforming health professional´s curricula and training to emerging needs and exponential growth in medical information and education is key. Interprofessional education is one such conformity. Faculty attitudes towards interprofessional education is a good predictor to their engagement. The study purpose is to determine attitudes of faculty and associated factors towards interprofessional education (IPE) at the College of Health Sciences of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Methods: a cross-sectional study among 71 faculty was conducted. A 5-point Likert scale with three attitude subscales on IPE were used to collect data using stratified sampling method. Attitude was dichotomized with >75% as cut-off for positive attitude. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 software at 95% confidence level. Logistic regression was used to identify relationship between bio-demographic characteristics and attitude of faculty. Results: there were more male faculty than females and the mean age was 42 years. The overall attitude score was positive (124.46 >75%), with attitudes of faculty towards IPE in academic settings subscale yielding negative attitude score (36.86 <75%). Age, gender, academic position, and expertise level were not significant in influencing faculty´s attitude. Application of interprofessional education was significant (P=0.036), with faculty who had applied Interprofessional education at the college more likely to have positive attitudes. Conclusion: faculty have overall positive attitudes towards interprofessional education but negative attitudes towards subscale 3-interprofessional education in academic settings. Behavior change training and IPE sensitization to avert negative attitudes among faculty is recommended.

Perinatal Outcomes of Newborns by Women Presenting with Maternal Complications in Pregnancy at a County Referral Hospital in Lower Eastern Kenya

BACKGROUND Maternal complications during pregnancy and labor have been the leading cause of maternal and neonatal death globally. The aim of the study was to observe and compare the differences in the perinatal outcomes of newborns born to women with maternal complications to those born to women without complications. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a prospective hospital-based paired cohort study. A total of 510 pregnant women were followed up and their newborns' outcomes recorded. 102 had complications and 408 did not have complications. RESULTS Thirteen percent (n=17) of women with complications and 9% (n=34) of women without complications were aged between 13 to 19 years. Forty five percent n=45 of the respondents were followed for maternal care related to fetus and amniotic cavity and possible delivery-related complications. CONCLUSION Teenagers and women aged above 34 years in pregnancy were at a higher risk of presenting with maternal complications. Women referred from hard to reach constituencies of the county were more likely to present with complications in pregnancy. Maternal care related to amniotic fluid cavity complications was the leading maternal complications in pregnancy followed by edema with proteinuria complications. RECOMMENDATIONS Governments and non-governmental organizations should put more emphasis on youth friendly services to reduce maternal complications associated with teenage pregnancy. There should also be more investment on infrastructure to make referral systems easy and avoid the second delay among women with maternal complications. African Journal of Health Sciences Volume 34, Issue No.4, July- August 2021 438 Moreover, women presenting with maternal complications in pregnancy at all levels of care should be closely followed up to avert cases of intra-uterine fetal deaths before and during labor.