Assessment of malaria infection among pregnant women and children below five years of age attending rural health facilities of Kenya: A cross-sectional survey in two counties of Kenya.

Background: In Kenya, health service delivery and access to health care remains a challenge for vulnerable populations, particularly pregnant women and children below five years. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the positivity rate of Plasmodium falciparum parasites in pregnant women and children below five years of age seeking healthcare services at the rural health facilities of Kwale and Siaya counties as well as their access and uptake of malaria control integrated services, like antenatal care (ANC), offered in those facilities.

Methods: Cluster random sampling method was used to select pregnant women and children below five years receiving maternal and child health services using two cross-sectional surveys conducted in eleven rural health facilities in two malaria endemic counties in western and coastal regions of Kenya.

Effectiveness of an Electronic Partogram: A Mixed-Method, Quasi-Experimental Study Among Skilled Birth Attendants in Kenya.

Background: Timely identification and management of intrapartum complications could significantly reduce maternal deaths, intrapartum stillbirths, and newborn deaths due to hypoxia. The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies monitoring of labor using the paper partograph as a high-priority intervention for identifying abnormities in labor and fetal well-being. This article describes a mixed-method, quasi-experimental study to assess the effectiveness of an Android tablet-based electronic, labor clinical decision-support application (ePartogram) in limited-resource settings.

Exploring experiences in peer mentoring as a strategy for capacity building in sexual reproductive health and HIV service integration in Kenya.

Background: The Integra Initiative designed, tested, and adapted protocols for peer mentorship in order to improve service providers' skills, knowledge, and capacity to provide quality integrated HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services. This paper describes providers' experiences in mentoring as a method of capacity building. Service providers who were skilled in the provision of FP or PNC services were selected to undergo a mentorship training program and to subsequently build the capacity of their peers in SRH-HIV integration.