Browsing by Author "Warutere, Peterson Njogu"

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    Determination of Menopausal Influence on Work Productivity among Health Workers in Public Hospitals in Kiambu County, Kenya
    (JOCAMR, 2024-08) Warutere, Peterson Njogu
    Aims: Menopause is a normal process in women marked by a reduction in estrogen and progesterone levels and eventual cessation of menstruation. Despite many studies on menopause, influence of menopause on work productivity and performance are poorly documented. The study sought to established the influence of menopause on work productivity among health workers. In this study, menopausal women refer to those in either of the four stages associated with menopause. Study Design: The study adopted case-control study design. Methodology: A total of 478 women working in public hospitals in the study area and aged between 40-60 years were selected for study where 239 were the case study group with menopause related symptoms and the control group was 239 women who were in same age but had no menopause related symptoms. In total, those aged 40-45 were 139, while those aged 45-50 and 50-55 were each 124 in number and those aged 55-60 were 91 in number The study used mixed-methods approach; Simple random sampling was used to select study respondents while purposive sampling was employed in selecting 20 key informants. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect data from the study respondents while an interview guide was used to interview key informants. SPSS version 20 was used to analyze quantitative data. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation, chi-square and regression analysis were used to analyze the quantitative data collected while thematic analysis of qualitative data using NVIVO software. Results: The findings show that menopause was associated with work absenteeism (χ2=21.549, p=0.001) and productivity impairment (χ2=76.979, p=0.001). Regression analysis showed that nervousness (p=0.005, df=1, OR=7.909), lack of concentration (p=.032, df=1, OR=4.608), breathing difficulties (p=0.010, df=1, OR=6.587) and anorexia (p=0.09, df=1, OR=6.880) increased work productivity impairment. Conclusion: Menopause impairs work productivity and increases work absenteeism. There is need for work places to adopt measures for supporting menopausal women to improve work productivity and to mitigate its adverse effects particularly, recognizing menopause as a workplace issue. This requires organizations to develop and institutionalize appropriate policies and staff support programs to support women during menopause transition and improve their work productivity.
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    Levels of ionizing radiations in selected quarries in Nyamira County, Kenya
    (Elsevier, 2020) Makori, Kerubo Ruth; Warutere, Peterson Njogu; Nyamari, Jackim; Arika, Wycliffe
    It has been shown through a survey by World Health Organization and International Commission on Radiological Protection that certain materials (stones) sourced from quarries and used for the building are radioactive. In Kenya, underground stones which are sourced from embedded rocks are used in construction of most of the permanent buildings, yet Kenya has not adequately radio-profiled sources of building materials to determine whether the construction materials contain radionuclides that emit ionizing radiations yet are used for building. Consequently, Kenyans could be at risk of exposure to high levels of ionizing radiations by living in stone houses that are not radio-profiled. Health problems arise due to subjection to ionizing radiations. The study determined the levels of ionizing radiations in sampled quarries in Nyamira County by using Radiological survey dosimeters to show the radiation readings in milliRoentgen/hr then converted to milliSievert per year and the Global Positioning System device took note of the quarries' geographical positions. The study used Minitab version 17.0 software to establish the statistical differences of degree of exposure in sampled quarries. The sample size for the study was 40 quarries. It was revealed that Q-073 and Q-075 both had the lowest radiation readings of 0.64mSv while Q-079 had the highest reading of 3.46mSv equal to a deviation from WHO approved threshold of -35.71%,- 36.29% and 245.7%, respectively. The results indicated that 89% of the sampled quarries had radiation emissions above the ICRP and WHO standard. However, within Borabu Sub County, only 5 and within Manga Sub-County 4 of the sampled quarries had radiation readings below ICRP and WHO recommended standards of 1mSv/yr. It was exhibited from the study results that there are higher levels of ionizing radiations in quarries going past recommended standards per year hence causing health risk to quarry workers and general public. Therefore, these results could guide in formation of the national construction policies by including regular surveying for the levels of ionizing radiation in building materials as well as in practicing appropriate mitigation strategies.