Browsing by Author "Njogu, Eunice"

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    Assessment of Nutrition Status and Dietary Diversity among Children 6-59 Months in Mathare Valley, Nairobi County, Kenya
    (2014-02-19) Mutakaa, Lisbeth Kageni; Akunga, Daniel; Njogu, Eunice
    Under nutrition is the underlying cause of more than half of all deaths in children aged less than five years worldwide. There are 143 million children under five who are underweight in the developing world. In Kenya, severe acute malnutrition is responsible for 82,000 deaths annually with a significant percentage being from urban slums. The purpose of this study was to assess nutritional status children aged 6-59 months in Mathare valley, a low income settlement in Nairobi. A cross-sectional study design was used. Data was collected using structured and non structured questionnaires. A total of 246 children aged 6-59 months were taken the anthropometric measurements to determine their nutritional status and their caregivers interviewed. Two focus group discussions and 6 Key informant interviews were conducted. The dependent variable was nutritional status of children below five years and independent variables included socioeconomic attributes, dietary intake, and dietary diversity. Descriptive analysis was done using IBM SPSS software version 19 and anthropometry analysis by ENA for SMART. Severe malnutrition measured by MUAC was observed in 6.5% of the children. Severe stunting, wasting and underweight measured using HAZ, WHZ and WAZ.was observed in 5.7%, 4.1% and 4.5% respectively. Among the 246 children, 39.0 had fallen ill within the previous two weeks and several had fallen ill more than once within the same period. The major symptoms included diarrhea, cough and vomiting by 50%, 47.9% and 40.6% respectively. Dietary score for 104(42.1%) households was low. There is need to regularly monitor nutrition status of children below five years and to have up to date data for informed decision making.
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    Caregivers’ Level of Knowledge on Indoor Air Pollution and Acute Respiratory Infections among Under-Fives In Informal Settlement: Makadara, Nairobi County
    (international Peer Reviewed Journal and Book Publishing, 2020) Muro, Maximillah Bitutu; Njogu, Eunice; Orinda, George
    Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the caregivers’ level of knowledge on indoor air pollution and risk of ARIs among 393 children below five years who live at Makadara Sub-County, Nairobi City County. Methodology: Descriptive, cross-sectional study design was employed in this study. Semi-Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from the caregivers of children suffering from ARIs. The questionnaires contained both closed and open-ended questions, which helped participants to provide explanations about the infection, and the perceived risk factors. Closed ended questions were utilized to gather data such as income levels, age ranges, and religion. Quantitative data was cleaned, coded and analysed using the SSPS version 22. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the caregivers’ socio-economic and demographic characteristics, knowledge and practices. Chi-square and ordered logistic regression was used to determine relationships and associations between the dependent variable (ARIs) and independent variables (socio-economic and demographic factors, knowledge level, and IAP). Findings:The findings of the study will be used in the improvement of the caregivers’ level of knowledge on IAP and the risk of ARIs among children below five years. There was significant statistical differences between ARIs among children below five years and cigarette smoke exposure (P=0.005), use of charcoal in cooking (P=0.002), room occupancy P=0.013), lack of ventilation (P=0.001). The mean for particulate matter in the households was 50.1556 while the S.D for those who use charcoal was 13.372, kerosene, 16.860 and gas was 10.388. The mean knowledge level was 5.39, 95% CI; 5.07-5.72. Therefore, a mean of 5.39 out of 14 represent lower knowledge level on IAP and the risk of ARIs. There was significant statistical difference between availability of windows in the house and caregivers’ level of knowledge on risk factors of IAP, χ2 (2) = 11.09, P= 0.004. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy:The study recommended that there is need to ensure implementation and compliance of the existing government policies on environmental pollution especially on indoor air pollution that can lead to reduction of risk factors of acute respiratory infections. This can be achieved through regular awareness creation through trainings and counselling of caregivers on the sources of indoor air pollution and risk factors associated with acute respiratory infections among children below five years.
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    Dietary practices and nutrition status of adult pulmonary tuberculosis patients attending Nyeri County Referral Hospital, Kenya
    (Scholars Middle East Publishers, 2017-11) Mwendia, Agnes Wangari; Chege, Peter; Njogu, Eunice
    The purpose of this study was to assess the dietary practices and nutrition status of adult pulmonary TB patients attending Nyeri County Referral Hospital, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional analytical design. A sample of 135 participants was calculated using the modified Fisher Formula. The study targeted adult pulmonary TB patients attending TB Clinic. A structured questionnaire and a focus group discussion guide were used to collect data. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences. About 48.1% of the participants were underweight while 45.9% were normal and 3.7% were overweight. Chi-square tests showed significant relationships between gender (χ2 = 10.917, p=0.012), age (χ2 = 12.261, p=0.046) and income (χ2 15.584, = p=0.036) were significant to nutrition status among the socio-demographic characteristics. Pearson correlation analysis showed a weak relationship (r=0.173, p=0.045) between number of meals per day and nutrition status of TB patients. The study concluded that adult pulmonary TB patients attending Nyeri county referral hospital had poor dietary practices, which led to poor nutrition status. The study recommended that food assistance programs should be strengthened by the government in conjunction with non-governmental organizations to help in mitigating increased vulnerability to food insecurity among TB-affected households. Keywords: Dietary Practices, Extra Pulmonary T.B, Nutrition Status, TB Patient and Pulmonary T.B
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    Prevalence of Exclusive Breastfeeding and the Associated Socio-Cultural Beliefs and Practices among Mothers of Children Aged 0-5 Months in Garissa County, Kenya
    (Stratford Peer Reviewed Journals and Book Publishing, 2026-03) Galgalo, Abdi Ibrahim; Oyore, John Paul; Njogu, Eunice
    Breastfeeding is a method in which the infant obtains milk from the mother’s breast. On the other hand, exclusive breastfeeding is defined as a way of feeding an infant with just breast milk not even water is allowed, apart from prescribed medicines, immunization, mineral and vitamin supplementation. Breastfeeding exclusively is an important child health and existence intervention that makes it possible to prevent 14% of all < 5 years of age deaths every twelve months and this decode preventing almost 11,000 deaths in Kenya per year. The study aimed to inaugurate the cultural beliefs practices and misconceptions around exclusive breastfeeding. The research was carried out in Garissa County; the County is one of the ASAL counties/areas in Kenya. Simple random sampling was used in selecting the wards and households per village to be visited. The study design was a cross-sectional descriptive investigation conducted among 365 mothers with children under 6 months of age. The study utilized questionnaires and focus group discussion guides as data collection tools, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative data. Data analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 22.0. The results indicated that among the infants studied, 51.5% were boys, and 48.4% were girls. Furthermore, approximately 10.3% of the infants were less than a month old, 27.6% were aged 1-2 months, 33.9% were aged 3-4 months, and 27.9% were aged 5-6 months. A significant majority of the mothers, approximately 94%, were married. Additionally, 51.55% of the mothers had received formal education, while 48.4% had not attended school. Among the participating mothers, 88.2% had breastfed their infants in the last 24 hours. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) based on 24-hour recall was 50.8%. Nearly half of the mothers had supplemented their infants' diets with other foods or fluids at the time of the study. Approximately 80% of the mothers demonstrated knowledge about breastfeeding. The study established a significant relationship between social-cultural beliefs and breastfeeding practices (p=0.005). In conclusion, the study found that cultural and social beliefs in Garissa County had a substantial influence on breastfeeding practices. Consequently, it is recommended that both governmental and private organizations design and implement behavior change interventions aimed at improving breastfeeding practices. Furthermore, community involvement in nutrition interventions should be emphasized to promote optimal breastfeeding.