School of Health Sciences

Knowledge of emergency preparedness among nurses in Machakos level five hospital in Machakos county, Kenya

2026-07-31T07:28:44Z

Knowledge of emergency preparedness among nurses in Machakos level five hospital in Machakos county, Kenya Muthiani, Alice N.; Kyalo, Mutisya; Mwenda, Catherine S. BACKGROUND An emergency is an unexpected event that disrupts normal operations within a health facility and requires immediate interventions to address it. Knowledge of emergency preparedness is an important role of clinical nursing to enhance patient outcomes. This study aimed to determine the types of emergencies received at Machakos Level 5 Hospital (ML5H) and to assess the nurses’ level of knowledge on emergency preparedness. MATERIALS AND METHOD This was a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The study was conducted at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Machakos County, Kenya. The sample included 132 nurses working at ML5H, who were randomly selected and consented to participate in the study. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and an observation checklist. Data were coded and entered into SPSS version 25 software and the analysis included descriptive statistical tests. RESULTS A little more than a half (56%) of the nurses were found to have adequate knowledge of emergency preparedness; 65% had attended training on emergency preparedness and 63% indicated that training had enhanced their competence. CONCLUSION A higher proportion of nurses reported not participating in emergency drills that could be used to improve their knowledge and skills in emergency preparedness. The results of the study indicate that there is a need to enhance the knowledge of nurses’ on emergency preparedness.

Emergency preparedness among nurses at Machakos level five hospital in Machakos County, Kenya

2025-07-10T10:01:10Z

Emergency preparedness among nurses at Machakos level five hospital in Machakos County, Kenya Muthiani, Alice N. The approach to handling emergencies has not been efficient in the practice area, which could be due to deficient knowledge or lack of competence by the responders. This therefore leads to an increase in mortality, morbidity, and calls for sufficient readiness by nurses to prevent against future events. The study aimed at assessing whether nurses at Machakos Level 5 Hospital (ML5H) were prepared for emergencies. The study also looked in to strategies that ML5H has put in place to prepare nurses for emergencies. This was a quantitative study using a cross- sectional descriptive design. The study involved 132 nurses sampled from 405 the total population of nurses at ML5H. Selection of participants was done using stratified random sampling coupled with systematic random sampling methods. Self -administered questionnaires were used to collect data and an observation checklist that measured on emergency preparedness. Data was coded and entered into SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was used to determine if it showed a significant relationship between variables. Majority (82%) of nurses dismissed the likelihood of natural disasters occurring at the hospital. More than a half (56%) of the nurses were found to have adequate knowledge on emergency preparedness; More than three quarters (76.5%) of respondents reported that the hospital did not carry out emergency drills. More than half (62%) of respondents reported of the availability of emergency training for all nurses. Knowledge and training, familiarity with procedures during emergencies, and familiarity with contents of emergency management plan significantly affected emergency preparedness at P=< 0.05. The study recommended that, the hospital should conduct regular trainings of nurses on emergency preparedness to enable them respond to emergencies effectively and efficiently.

Self medication with antibiotics prior to seeking treatment among adult patients attending outpatient department at Gatundu sub-county hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya

2023-12-01T07:28:25Z

Self medication with antibiotics prior to seeking treatment among adult patients attending outpatient department at Gatundu sub-county hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya Ngigi, Charles K. Self-medication encompasses the use of the medicines by the users for self perceived health problems or the continuing use of medications formally prescribed earlier. The scope of the definition includes treatment of family members especially to minors and elderly. Self-medication with antibiotics is a global problem, the prevalence rates are high all over the world, up to 68% in European countries while much higher in the developing countries with rates going as high as 92% in the adolescents of Kuwait. A study done at Kenyatta National Hospital showed that 53.5% of the respondents had practiced self-medication with antibiotics. Self-medication with antibiotics masks the signs and symptoms of underlying disease and hence complicates the problem, creating drug resistance and delaying diagnosis. The study explored the existence of SMA in the sub county and the antibiotics used. The study compares the prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics among patients in Gatundu Sub County with the results of other studies done elsewhere. The main objective of the study was to establish the extent of self-medication with antibiotics among patients seeking treatment at Gatundu Sub-County Hospital. The study was cross sectional. The sample size was 382 patients identified through stratified sampling, simple random and systematic random sampling technique drawn from the outpatient department. Data was collected from the outpatient department using an interview guide. Data was analyzed using SPSS (statistical package for social sciences). Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were used to analyze categorical data. Statistical significance level was set at 0.05. The data is presented in pie charts, tables and bar graphs. The prevalence of self-medication with antibiotics was 48% prevalence which was lower than other studies done in Northern Nigeria (50.3%), Sierra Leone (68.9%), Ghana (70%), Uganda (65.1%) Sudan (76%), India (62.67%), and in Kenya at Kenyatta National Hospital, 53.5%. Those aged between 18-24 years had a proportion of 45.8% and those who had college/university education (45%). Males (35%) had a higher proportion than females (30.9%). Self-medication with antibiotics was significantly associated with age (p=0.0005) and lack of medical insurance cover (p=0.0198). Only 20% of the respondents had a medical insurance cover. Sixty percent of the respondents gave the reason for self-medication as cost cutting measure. The source of antibiotic was from community pharmacy (81%). Amoxicillin (36%) was the most used drug in self-medication with antibiotics. In conclusion self-medication with antibiotics exists. Common source of antibiotics used in self-medication with antibiotics was community pharmacy. Respondents knew antibiotics dosage from pharmacy attendants. The study therefore recommends that health education interventions on self-medication with antibiotics practices should target people of all ages, sex, education and community at large. There is need to recruit more members to have a medical insurance cover. Community pharmacies should not dispense antibiotics without prescriptions to patients. Interventions to decrease self-medication with antibiotics should emphasize on reducing access in obtaining antibiotics without prescription. Masters in Public Health (Epidemiology and Disease Control), 2016

Adherence to covid-19 prevention protocols among adults residing in Kitui central sub-county, Kitui County, Kenya

2023-12-01T07:12:33Z

Adherence to covid-19 prevention protocols among adults residing in Kitui central sub-county, Kitui County, Kenya Ngui, Faith M. COVID -19 is an infectious respiratory disease caused by the newly discovered corona virus (SARS-CoV-2). In Kenya, the national government through the Ministry of Health in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) laid out behavioral and social mitigation approaches such as social distancing, wearing face mask in public, movement restrictions, working from home, hand washing with soap and sanitizers and vaccination among others in order to control the spread of COVID-19. The implementation of these measures was downscaled to all counties with more enforcement on the ones severely affected. Despite the government enforcement mechanisms to ensure adherence to these measures, non-adherence to some of the measures was reported. Additionally, hesitancy to uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine was widely reported in most parts of Kenya. This study aimed to determine community knowledge, attitude and practices on the adherence to COVID-19 mitigation measures among adults residing in Kitui Central Sub-County. The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional study design, with data collected using semistructured questionnaires. A sample of 384 respondents was calculated using Fishers formula. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 25.0software. On the knowledge about COVID-19, 96.6% had heard about COVID-19 with majority (53.7%) getting the information from Television. Majority of the respondents (52.5%) knew COVID-19 is a killer disease while 48.2% knew it is a highly infectious disease. Among the participants, 66.9% knew the signs of COVID-19 and 80.7% knew putting of facemask as a prevention method. On the attitude, 50.9% adhere to COVID-19 prevention protocols because they fear it is very infectious. On the practices, the results showed that 59.5% always adhered, 38.0% sometimes adhered while 2.5% never adhered to handwashing with soap and running water. About 51% of respondents were vaccinated for Covid-19. Those who reported to always adhere to wearing of face mask as recommended were 50.6%, while 38.0% reported to adhere sometimes to face mask wearing. Chi square was used to assess association and causation using SPSS for windows version 25. Results revealed a significant difference (p<.05) between respondents who had knowledge on the COVID- 19 prevention protocols and those who did not (χ2=0.10; df=1; p=.00). From the multiple regression analysis, knowledge, perception and practices were statistically significant (p<.05).From the principal component analysis on knowledge, attitude, or practises, the first component had the highest variance 4.284 explains with the highest Eigen value of 30.601%. This implies that the 30.601 of variation in attitude is influenced by hand washing as the first component and consequently adherence to COVID-19 protocols. Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology, 2023