East African medical journal
-
Utilisation of antenatal and maternity services is an important maternal health indicator. Increasing the proportion of mothers who are cared for in health facilities during pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium reduces the health risks to mothers and their children. ⋯ Coverage for antenatal services was high among mothers during their last pregnancy. However, only about half of the mothers interviewed utilised health facilities for maternity services (labour and delivery). The major constraints experienced by the mothers as they sought for the services (as reported by individual respondents and through Focus Group Discussions) included lack of transport, lack of money for transport and hospital fee and delay in admission to health facility once mothers report in labour. Lack of satisfaction with quality of care given could be the major demotivating factor in the use of health facilities for maternity services.
-
Maternal mortality in developing countries remains high due to lack of appropriate emergency obstetric care. Major obstetric intervention (MOI) rate can be used as an indicator of unmet obstetric needs and quality of care. ⋯ Encamped refugee women in Kakuma have better obstetric care than those from the host population, and the level of unmet obstetric needs in the district is high. This imbalance could be reduced through resource sharing and integration of refugee health care services with that for the host population.
-
To evaluate the clinical and epidemiological data on automobile injuries and to assess the adequacy of road trauma documentation at the Nairobi Hospital. ⋯ The pre-hospital and initial care of the injured is not systematized. The study calls for re-orientation of trauma care departments to the care of the injured.
-
The diagnosis and effective treatment of benign breast disease still remains a clinical challenge and the need for surgical intervention has not been clearly defined. ⋯ Benign breast disease in this population occurs mainly in young women less than 30 years of age. Eighty per cent of breast biopsies done in patients with palpable lumps are for benign disease. The data support a more conservative approach to diagnosis and management of these patients.
-
To compare ventilatory capacity indices in healthy Malawian school children with those of other ethnic Africans and Caucasians. ⋯ Prediction equations calculated in this study should be used for interpretation of ventilatory capacity indices in Malawian children instead of reference values for Caucasians or ethnic scaling factors. Computation of regional reference values for ventilatory capacity indices shall be continued. It shall embrace additional factors contributing to variance in respiratory functions such as customary physical activity, local environmental conditions, altitude of residence, nutritional status and smoking.