Papers by Patrick Mburugu
Introduction: Half of Kenya's high infant and under five mortality rates is due to malnutrit... more Introduction: Half of Kenya's high infant and under five mortality rates is due to malnutrition. Proper implementation of World Health Organization's (WHO) Evidence Based Guidelines (EBG) in management of severe acute malnutrition can reduce mortality rates to less than 5%. The objectives were to establish the level of adherence to WHO guideline and the proportion of children appropriately managed for severe acute malnutrition (steps 1-8) as per the WHO protocol in the management of severe acute malnutrition. This was a short longitudinal study of 96 children, aged 6-59 months admitted to the pediatric ward with diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition. Methods: Data was extracted from
International Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing Practice
Purpose: The study assessed utilization of pain rating scales at a children’s hospital as a basis... more Purpose: The study assessed utilization of pain rating scales at a children’s hospital as a basis for making recommendation for their adoption by the ministry of health, Kenya. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches, conducted in a tertiary children’s hospital in Nairobi-Kenya. Data was collected using semi- structured self-administered questionnaire, key informant interview guide (KII) and observation check list from a sample size of 160 Health Professionals and 71 patients’ medical records sampled from a study population of 280 Health professionals and 88 patients’ medical records. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics where by data was summarized using frequency tables and presented using pie chart, and bar graphs. A content analysis was performed on qualitative data based on stages of qualitative data analysis.Results: The hospital was found to have adopted four pain rating scales whi...
European Respiratory Journal, 2020
International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 2021
Background Pain is the most common stimuli experienced by paediatric patients. It is mainly manag... more Background Pain is the most common stimuli experienced by paediatric patients. It is mainly managed based on intensity, determined through utilization of pain rating scales. Utilization of pain measurement tools in paediatric care is vital as they indicate the level and intensity of pain in the patients. Purpose of the study The study assessed utilization of pain rating scales in a children’s hospital as a basis for making recommendation for their adoption by the Ministry of Health, Kenya. Methodology This was a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing both quantitative and qualitative approaches. It was conducted in a children’s hospital in Nairobi-Kenya. The study population comprised of health professionals working at the hospital and patients medical records. Data was collected using semi- structured self-administered questionnaire, key informant interview guide (KII) and observation check list from a sample size of 158 Health Professionals, five key informants and 70 patient...
Paediatric asthma and allergy
Paediatric asthma and allergy
Objectives: This paper aims to depict unique perspectives and to compare and contrast three leade... more Objectives: This paper aims to depict unique perspectives and to compare and contrast three leadership programs for global health in order to enable other training institutions to design impactful curricula. Methods: We purposively selected three global health training programs. We used a six-step curriculum development framework to systematically compare the curriculum process across programs and to identify best practices and factors contributing to the impact of each of these programs. Findings: All three fellowship programs undertook an intentional and in-depth approach to curriculum development. Each identified competencies related to leadership and technical skills. Each defined goals, though the goals differed to align with the desired impact of the program, ranging from improving the impact of HIV programming, supporting stronger global health program implementation, and supporting the next generation of global health leaders. All programs implemented the curriculum through ...
Archives of Disease in Childhood
ObjectiveTo examine the availability of paediatricians in Kenya and plans for their development.D... more ObjectiveTo examine the availability of paediatricians in Kenya and plans for their development.DesignReview of policies and data from multiple sources combined with local expert insight.SettingKenya with a focus on the public, non-tertiary care sector as an example of a low-income and middle-income country aiming to improve the survival and long-term health of newborns, children and adolescents.ResultsThere are 305 practising paediatricians, 1.33 per 100 000 individuals of the population aged <19 years which in total numbers approximately 25 million. Only 94 are in public sector, non-tertiary county hospitals. There is either no paediatrician at all or only one paediatrician in 21/47 Kenyan counties that are home to over a quarter of a million under 19 years of age. Government policy is to achieve employment of 1416 paediatricians in the public sector by 2030, however this remains aspirational as there is no comprehensive training or financing plan to reach this target and healt...
African Health Sciences
Background: Limited data is available on the treatment outcomes of HIV infected adolescents and y... more Background: Limited data is available on the treatment outcomes of HIV infected adolescents and young adults (AYA) in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV-infected adolescents and young adults (AYA) are at high risk of developing antiretroviral treatment failure. Objective: To determine the clinical, immunological and virologic outcomes of AYA at a tertiary hospital in Kenya. Methodology: A longitudinal study was conducted among AYA age 10-24 years attending Kenyatta National Hospital comprehensive care center. Clinical data was abstracted from electronic medical records for study participants with at least 6 months of follow-up using a structured data abstraction sheet. Results: A total of 250 AYA age 10 to 24 years were included. The median age was 16 years. The median CD4 cell count was 650.6 cells/mm3 (IQR 350.7-884.0). More than half (60.6%) of AYA had a CD4 cell count higher than 500 cells/mm3. Overall, 76.9% of AYA had achieved viral suppression (viral load <1000 copies/ml). There was ...
African Health Sciences
Background: Kenya is home to an estimated 1.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. According to t... more Background: Kenya is home to an estimated 1.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the Kenya AIDS Indicator survey KAIS 2012, HIV prevalence in the age group 15-24 stood at 2.2%. Globally, young people aged 15-24 are a highly vulnerable population with respect to HIV/AIDS infection and transmission. HIV testing and counseling services play a critical role as an entry point to care and treatment. However, uptake of HIV testing and counseling services among the youth in Kenya has been reportedly low. Youths at Universities are among the priority populations in HIV/AIDS programs.Objectives: This study aimed to determine the barriers to uptake and utilization of institution-based voluntary counseling and testing VCT services among students aged 18-24 in selected public universities in Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the factors associated with uptake and utilization and the association between various socio-demographic factors and service uptake in institut...
Acta Paediatrica
Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic has had a huge impact on health and society, worldwide. While most... more Abstract The COVID‐19 pandemic has had a huge impact on health and society, worldwide. While most high income countries are felt to be reaching their COVID‐19 peak, most low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs), particularly sub‐Saharan countries, are anticipating an exponential growth of cases.(1) Overall it has been documented that children are less affected.(2) However, in this commentary we describe how in Kenya, a LMIC in sub‐Saharan Africa, COVID‐19 is likely to have far‐reaching direct and indirect implications on children.
African Health Sciences
Background: Identifying knowledge gaps in asthma self-management and identifying existing myths i... more Background: Identifying knowledge gaps in asthma self-management and identifying existing myths is an important step in determining appropriate health education and demystifying the myths so as to enhance asthma control. Objective: To identify existing knowledge gaps and perceptions among the caregivers of asthmatic children. Methods: A cross sectional study was done among caretakers of asthmatic children aged 6-11 years at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. Data on knowledge and perceptions among caretakers was collected using a questionnaire. Results: A total of 116 caretakers were recruited of whom 71.6% were mothers. Although 60% of the caretakers had asthma medications at home, only a third felt their children were asthmatic. Eighty four (72.4%) had basic asthma knowledge. Syrups were preferred to inhalers by 70.7%, with 64.7% believing that inhalers were for the very sick. Only 36 (31%) felt preventer medications in asthma were necessary. Acceptance of asthma as a diagnosis and presence of asthma drugs were significantly associated with better knowledge of asthma, p-values 0.015 and 0.009 respectively. Conclusion: Most caregivers perceive syrups to be better despite having good basic knowledge on asthma. There is need to address asthma perceptions among caretakers in resource poor settings which is likely to improve control.
Journal of Psychology & Psychotherapy, 2016
About 1.8 billion people in the world are aged 10 to 24 years; they have unique needs and face a ... more About 1.8 billion people in the world are aged 10 to 24 years; they have unique needs and face a threatening reality considering the high vulnerability to a myriad of health issues that must be addressed. Government led efforts are underway in a number of low and middle income countries including Kenya to make health services adolescent/ youth friendly. This study assessed the; availability of youth friendly services and the knowledge, attitude and practices of these services in Nairobi County with a view to support planning for these services Methods: This was a concurrent parallel mixed methods design that employed both quantitative and qualitative study methods. Results: Youth friendly health services were available only in the Comprehensive Care Clinic, majority (62.3%) of the youth were aged 20 – 24 years, 15 – 19 years (29.9 %) and 10 – 14 years (7.8%). Most (88.5%) youths said that the service provider was respectful. At the outpatient clinic youths were coming for the first ...
The Pan African medical journal, 2014
Half of Kenya's high infant and under five mortality rates is due to malnutrition. Proper imp... more Half of Kenya's high infant and under five mortality rates is due to malnutrition. Proper implementation of World Health Organization's (WHO) Evidence Based Guidelines (EBG) in management of severe acute malnutrition can reduce mortality rates to less than 5%. The objectives were to establish the level of adherence to WHO guideline and the proportion of children appropriately managed for severe acute malnutrition (steps 1-8) as per the WHO protocol in the management of severe acute malnutrition. This was a short longitudinal study of 96 children, aged 6-59 months admitted to the pediatric ward with diagnosis of severe acute malnutrition. Data was extracted from patients' medical files and recorded into an audit tool to compare care provided in this hospital with WHO guidelines. Non-edematous malnutrition was the commonest presentation (93.8%). A higher proportion (63.5%) of patients was male. Most (85.4%) of patients were younger than 2 years. Patients with non-edematous...
Annals of Global Health, 2016
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Papers by Patrick Mburugu