All-cause and cause-specific mortality rates for Kisumu County: a comparison with Kenya, low-and middle-income countries.

Background: Understanding the magnitude and causes of mortality at national and sub-national levels for countries is critical in facilitating evidence-based prioritization of public health response. We provide comparable cause of death data from Kisumu County, a high HIV and malaria-endemic county in Kenya, and compared them with Kenya and low-and-middle income countries (LMICs).

Methods: We analyzed data from a mortuary-based study at two of the largest hospital mortuaries in Kisumu.

Mortuary and hospital-based HIV mortality surveillance among decedents in a low-resource setting: lessons from Western Kenya.

Background: Lack of dependable morbidity and mortality data complicates efforts to measure the demographic or population-level impact of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mortuary-based mortality surveillance can address gaps in vital statistics in low-resource settings by improving accuracy of measuring HIV-associated mortality and indicators of access to treatment services among decedents. This paper describes the process and considerations taken in conducting mortuary and hospital-based HIV mortality surveillance among decedents in Kenya.

Environmental and Household-Based Spatial Risks for Tungiasis in an Endemic Area of Coastal Kenya.

Tungiasis is a cutaneous parasitosis caused by an embedded female sand flea. The distribution of cases can be spatially heterogeneous even in areas with similar risk profiles. This study assesses household and remotely sensed environmental factors that contribute to the geographic distribution of tungiasis cases in a rural area along the Southern Kenyan Coast.

Early impact of the DREAMS partnership on young women's knowledge of their HIV status: causal analysis of population-based surveys in Kenya and South Africa.

Background: Knowledge of one's HIV status is the gateway to treatment and prevention, but remains low among young people. We investigated the early impact (2016-2017) of Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe (DREAMS), a multisectoral HIV prevention package, on knowledge of HIV status among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW).

Methods: In 2017, randomly selected AGYW were enrolled into surveys, N=1081 aged 15-22 years in Nairobi slum settlements, and N=2174 aged 13-22 years in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Disability, violence, and mental health among Somali refugee women in a humanitarian setting.

Background: There is limited evidence on the relationship between disability, experiences of gender-based violence (GBV), and mental health among refugee women in humanitarian contexts.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was conducted of baseline data ( = 209) collected from women enrolled in a cohort study of refugee women accessing GBV response services in the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya. Women were surveyed about GBV experiences (past 12 months, before the last 12 months, before arriving in the refugee camps), functional disability status, and mental health (anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress), and we explored the inter-relationship of these factors.

Gender-based violence and its association with mental health among Somali women in a Kenyan refugee camp: a latent class analysis.

Background: In conflict-affected settings, women and girls are vulnerable to gender-based violence (GBV). GBV is associated with poor long-term mental health such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Understanding the interaction between current violence and past conflict-related violence with ongoing mental health is essential for improving mental health service provision in refugee camps.

Research challenges in evaluating gender-based violence response services in a refugee camp.

This article presents a case study of research in Dadaab, Kenya to highlight some of the relevant challenges encountered while conducting gender-based violence research in humanitarian settings. A longitudinal mixed-methods design was used to evaluate a comprehensive case-management intervention in the refugee complex near the border of Kenya and Somalia. We present an overview of both expected and unexpected challenges during preparation and implementation of the research, adaptations made to the research design, and lessons learned for future research in similar contexts.

Experiences of violence among adolescent girls and young women in Nairobi's informal settlements prior to scale-up of the DREAMS Partnership: Prevalence, severity and predictors.

Introduction: We sought to estimate the prevalence, severity and identify predictors of violence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in informal settlement areas of Nairobi, Kenya, selected for DREAMS (Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) investment.

Methods: Data were collected from 1687 AGYW aged 10-14 years (n = 606) and 15-22 years (n = 1081), randomly selected from a general population census in Korogocho and Viwandani in 2017, as part of an impact evaluation of the "DREAMS" Partnership. For 10-14 year-olds, we measured violence experienced either in the past 6 months or ever using a different set of questions from those used for 15-22 year-olds.

Barriers and facilitators to care-seeking among survivors of gender-based violence in the Dadaab refugee complex.

In humanitarian settings, timely access to care is essential for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV). Despite the existence of GBV support services, challenges still exist in maximising benefits for survivors. This study aimed to understand the characteristics of violence against women and explore barriers and facilitators to care-seeking for GBV by women in two camps within the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya.

Awareness and uptake of layered HIV prevention programming for young women: analysis of population-based surveys in three DREAMS settings in Kenya and South Africa.

Background: The DREAMS Partnership is an ambitious effort to deliver combinations of biomedical, behavioural and structural interventions to reduce HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). To inform multi-sectoral programming at scale, across diverse settings in Kenya and South Africa, we identified who the programme is reaching, with which interventions and in what combinations.

Methods: Randomly-selected cohorts of 606 AGYW aged 10-14 years and 1081 aged 15-22 years in Nairobi and 2184 AGYW aged 13-22 years in uMkhanyakude, KwaZulu-Natal, were enrolled in 2017, after ~ 1 year of DREAMS implementation.

Status of birth and pregnancy outcome capture in Health Demographic Surveillance Sites in 13 countries.

Objectives: We compared pregnancy identification methods and outcome capture across 31 Health Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) sites in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

Methods: From 2009 to 2014, details on the sites and surveillance systems including frequency of update rounds, characteristics of enumerators and interviewers, acceptable respondents were collected and compared across sites.

Results: The 31 HDSS had a combined population of over 2,905,602 with 165,820 births for the period.

Childhood vaccination in Kenya: socioeconomic determinants and disparities among the Somali ethnic community.

Objectives: Kenya has a significant refugee population, including large numbers of Somali migrants. This study examines the vaccination status of Kenyan children and sociodemographic predictors of vaccination, including Somali ethnicity.

Methods: Using the 2014 Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey, we calculated the proportion of non-vaccinated, under-vaccinated, and fully vaccinated children, defining full vaccination as one dose Bacille Calmette-Guerin, three doses polio, three doses pentavalent, and one dose measles.

Who are the male sexual partners of adolescent girls and young women? Comparative analysis of population data in three settings prior to DREAMS roll-out.

Background: The DREAMS (Determined Resilient Empowered AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe) Partnership aims to reduce HIV incidence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW,15-24y) with a core package of evidence-based interventions. Some interventions, including voluntary HIV counselling and testing and circumcision, will be targeted at the male sexual partners of AGYW. A priority of DREAMS is to characterise the male partners for effective targeting.