Abstract:

The nurses in Kenya have the numerical power because they form the highest population of the health care system in Kenya. Despite this, they have been unable to have a strong voice to champion their rights and influence health policy formulation at policy tables. In the hospital management and at national level, the nurses hold mostly subordinate roles compared to medical counterparts. No record exists for nurses who have made it to the Kenyan National Parliament and Senate. Literature on the participation of Nurses in national politics and health policy in Kenya is scanty. This makes the situation wanting because without nurses’ participation at legislative arena the nursing profession will retrogress. The purpose of the study therefore aims at determining the participation of nurses in national politics and health care policy development. The specific focus was to find out the knowledge, perception and participation in health policy development and national politics and health policy development. The study adopted a descriptive cross- sectional study design. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. The sample size was 49 registered nurses. Simple random sampling was used to select the respondents. Knowledge and perception were assessed using a set of questions that were scored on a Likert scale. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007. The findings revealed that nurses at Meru Level 5 General Hospital had limited participation in national politics and healthcare policy development, with political participation majorly limited to voting in the general elections and health policy implementation respectively. Very few nurses were engaged in agenda setting, policy formulation and policy evaluation stages. 92% reported that politics was good for the profession, with 65% expressing that political discussions have a direct impact on their salaries and working conditions. All participants (100%) reported that nurses have a responsibility to engage in health policy development because they are knowledgeable and direct healthcare providers.

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Abstract:

Antenatal and delivery care are essential maternal health services (MHS) for survival and wellbeing. Nigeria has the highest global burden of maternal mortality with low utilization antenatal and delivery services. Though early marriage is a strong predictor of early pregnancy and childbirth, it is not clear if it is associated with low use of MHS. This study assessed early marriage as a determinant of poor MHS utilization in Nigeria. This study used data from the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) which is based on descriptive cross-sectional survey design. The data was limited to ever married women aged 15-24 years. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20. This study indicates lower likelihood of women who marry early to use antenatal care (OR=0.25, 95%CI=0.21-0.31), receive minimum 4 ANC (OR=0.22, 95% CI=0.18-0.26), receive iron supplementation (OR=0.38, 95%CI=0.33-0.45) and IPTp for malaria prevention (OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.50-0.66). Conversely, Early marriage was found to be associated with higher likelihood of facility delivery (OR=4.6, 95%CI=4.02-5.26) and lower likelihood of delivery by unskilled attendant (OR=0.31, 95%CI=0.26-0.31). These associations disappear in the adjusted model. Nevertheless, the nuanced analysis showed association in the adjusted odd ratio for use of antenatal care (AOR=0.44, 95%CI=0.20-0.99) and number of antenatal care visits (AOR=0.37, 95%CI=0.14-0.95) among women who married at less than fourteen years. Early marriage below age 14 years negatively affect utilization of MHS. There is the need to strengthen legislation against early marriage below 14 years and address socioeconomic challenges that exacerbate vulnerability.

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Abstract:

The novel Coronavirus or Covid-19 infection is one of the infectious diseases that has covered the world like a storm and sent the scientific communities scrambling for a cure with the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) declaring it as a Pandemic on March 11^th, 2020. Nurses as frontline workers become overwhelmed with the large number of cases thereby affecting their physical, social, and psychological wellbeing. For this reason, this study will explore the psychological impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the performance of nursing staff at the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute, Bermuda. The study explored a qualitative research method utilizing purposive sampling technique adopted under the auspices of Husserl’s phenomenological philosophical theoretical framework. Twelve participants recruited for the study were Registered Nursing Staff at the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute, Bermuda. One on one interview used as a method of data collection using interview guide. The data was analyzed using Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method. Ethical approval obtained from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Bermuda Hospital Board. Three themes emerge: mental/psychological response to Covid 19, Psychological effect of Covid-19, and Impact of Covid 19 on staff performance. Covid 19 pandemic has affected the performance of Registered Nursing Staff of MAWI in Bermuda. Therefore, to forestall further effects, there is need for the MAWI Bermuda to provide adequate mental and psychological support to Registered Nurses affected by Covid 19 Pandemic.

References:

[1] World Health Organization. (2020). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): situation report, 72.

[2] World Health Organization. (2023). COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update, edition 127, 25 January 2023.

[3] Hayat, K., Arshed, M., Fiaz, I., Afreen, U., Khan, F. U., Khan, T. A., ... & Fang, Y. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers: a cross-sectional study from Pakistan. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 603602.

[4] Bermuda Department of Health (BDoH, 2023). Covid-19 Daily update. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.bm.

[5] Shreffler, J., Petrey, J., & Huecker, M. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on healthcare worker wellness: a scoping review. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(5), 1059.

[6] Serrano‐Alarcón, M., Kentikelenis, A., Mckee, M., & Stuckler, D. (2022). Impact of COVID‐19 lockdowns on mental health: Evidence from a quasi‐natural experiment in England and Scotland. Health economics, 31(2), 284-296.

[7] Mental Health America. (2020). The mental health of healthcare workers in COVID-19.

[8] National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2020). The Psychological Impact of Covid-19 and other Viral Epidemics on Frontline Healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7494453/.

[9] National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2020). The Psychological Impact of Covid-19 and other Viral Epidemics on Frontline Healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7494453/.

[10] Aiyer, A., Surani, S., Varon, J., Ali, M., & Sunesara, S. (2020). COVID-19 anxiety and stress survey (CASS) in healthcare workers due to coronavirus disease 2019. Chest, 158(4), A313.

[11] Benjamin, Y.Q. et al (2020). Psychological Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Healthcare workers in Singapore. Retrieved from: https://www.acpjjournals.org/doi/full/107326/M20-1083.

[12] Krishnamoorthy, Y., Nagarajan, R., Saya, G. K., & Menon, V. (2020). Prevalence of psychological morbidities among general population, healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry research, 293, 113382.

[13] Conti, C., Fontanesi, L., Lanzara, R., Rosa, I., & Porcelli, P. (2020). Fragile heroes. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health-care workers in Italy. PLoS One, 15(11), e0242538.

[14] Cabarkapa, S., Nadjidai, S. E., Murgier, J., & Ng, C. H. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Brain, behavior, & immunity-health, 8, 100144.

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[20] National Institutes of Health (NIH, 2020). The Psychological Impact of Covid-19 and other Viral Epidemics on Frontline Healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc7494453/.

[21] Aiyer, A., Surani, S., Varon, J., Ali, M., & Sunesara, S. (2020). COVID-19 anxiety and stress survey (CASS) in healthcare workers due to coronavirus disease 2019. Chest, 158(4), A313.

[22] Benjamin, Y.Q. et al (2020). Psychological Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Healthcare workers in Singapore. Retrieved from: https://www.acpjjournals.org/doi/full/107326/M20-1083.

[23] Krishnamoorthy, Y., Nagarajan, R., Saya, G. K., & Menon, V. (2020). Prevalence of psychological morbidities among general population, healthcare workers and COVID-19 patients amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychiatry research, 293, 113382.

[24] Conti, C., Fontanesi, L., Lanzara, R., Rosa, I., & Porcelli, P. (2020). Fragile heroes. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health-care workers in Italy. PLoS One, 15(11), e0242538.

[25] Cabarkapa, S., Nadjidai, S. E., Murgier, J., & Ng, C. H. (2020). The psychological impact of COVID-19 and other viral epidemics on frontline healthcare workers and ways to address it: A rapid systematic review. Brain, behavior, & immunity-health, 8, 100144.

[26] Carbajal, A. B., Boluarte, A. S., Boluarte, A. R., & Soto, C. M. (2020). Working conditions and
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Abstract:

Covid-19 is one of the most lethal infections, causing a global pandemic. An alternative serological test was developed in response to the increased demand for Covid 19 diagnosis. This study compared the diagnostic performance of Saytul and Global Access to the gold standard (Sars-COV-2) in Abuja, Nigeria. The diagnostic performance of Covid-19 serological assays was determined in a cross-sectional study (Saytul and Global access). All three tertiary health facilities in the FCT, as well as the Zankli Research Center, were purposefully chosen as Covid-19 referral laboratories, and all of the institutions selected provide medical student training. Quota sampling was used in the study. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0, with statistical significance set at p<0.005. Eight hundred and six respondents participated in the study. Most of the respondents (71%) were age 16-30 years. The positivity rate is higher SarCov2 compared to Saytul and Global Access. Saytul shows a sensitivity of 47.2% and specificity of 98.0% while Global access shows a sensitivity of 43.8% and specificity of 98.0%. There was a statistically significant difference in the results between SarCOV2 PCR and Saytul (p=0.001) and Global Access (p=0.001). We discovered that the serological tests have low sensitivity but high specificity. Low sensitivity has implications for missing cases, which could lead to further infection spread. With improved technology and understanding of the virus, highly accurate and effective tests to help prevent coronavirus infection can be made available.

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