School of Health Sciences

Differentiated effects of sources of malaria messages on mosquito bed net use among women of reproductive age in Uganda: a propensity score matched analysis

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Differentiated effects of sources of malaria messages on mosquito bed net use among women of reproductive age in Uganda: a propensity score matched analysis Agasa, Lameck Malaria remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in high-burden settings such as Uganda. Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) interventions play a vital role in influencing knowl- edge, attitudes, and practices related to malaria prevention. However, despite the widespread promotion of mosquito bed net (MBN) use, there is limited evidence on the comparative effectiveness of different media platforms in encour- aging their adoption. This study estimated the effect of exposure to malaria messages from different media platforms on MBN use among women of reproductive age in Uganda using propensity score–matched analysis.

Effect of exposure to malaria messages on insecticide‐treated net use among women and under‐five children in Uganda: a propensity score matched analysis

Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Effect of exposure to malaria messages on insecticide‐treated net use among women and under‐five children in Uganda: a propensity score matched analysis Agasa, Lameck Malaria remains a global public health issue, with almost 2.5 million cases and more than 0.6 million deaths each year, of which women and children remain disproportionately affected. Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are a cornerstone of malaria prevention in endemic malaria regions. Malaria messages (MM) are intended for positive and measurable social, attitude, and behavioural change towards malaria prevention uptake. However, their impact on insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) use has not been sufficiently investigated through rigorous statistical approaches. This study investigated the effect of MM on ITN use among women and children under five years in Uganda using Propensity Score Matched Analysis (PSMA).

Biochemical changes in whole blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Biochemical changes in whole blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, Kenya Marabi, Phidelis M.; Musyoki, Stanslaus; Amayo, Angela Background: During storage, transfusion blood may undergo a series of biochemical changes that could pose risks to patients when used. It is important therefore to monitor biochemical changes that may reduce survival or function of stored blood cells. Objective: This study assessed biochemical changes in whole blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma County Referral Hospital in the western region of Kenya between February 2019 and August 2019. Methods: A prospective study design involving 20 randomly selected donor blood units in citrate phosphate dextrose adenine anticoagulant was employed. Biochemical changes were evaluated for 35 days. Potassium and sodium levels were tested using the HumaLyte Plus5 analyser. Blood pH level was estimated using the Hanna pH meter. Results: At the end of the 35 days of storage under blood bank conditions, the mean potassium level significantly increased from 7.31 mmol/L at baseline to 20.14 mmol/L at week 5 (p < 0.0001), and the mean sodium level significantly decreased from 150.72 mmol/L at baseline to 121.56 mmol/L at week 5 (p < 0.0001). The pH level decreased insignificantly from 7.48 at baseline to 7.38 at the end of week 1 (p = 0.0757) but decreased significantly to 6.15 at the end of week 5 (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Potassium increased and sodium concentrations decreased significantly from the first week of blood storage. The pH decreased significantly from the second week of storage. Therefore, aged blood should be avoided to circumvent potential adverse outcomes from biochemical changes and stored blood should be tested before use

Evaluation of cellular changes in blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, Kenya

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT

Evaluation of cellular changes in blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, Kenya Marabi, Phidelis Maruti; Musyoki, Stanslaus Kiilu; Amayo, Angela Introduction: during the storage of transfusion blood, it may undergo a series of cellular changes that in speculation could be the reason behind the risk of using prolonged stored blood. It's important therefore to monitor the cellular changes that may reduce its survival and function. The objective was to assess the cellular changes in whole blood stored for transfusion at Bungoma county referral hospital. Methods: a single center, prospective and observational study design involving 20 randomly selected donor blood units in citrate phosphate dextrose adenine (CPDA-1) anticoagulant was employed, cellular changes were evaluated for 35 days. The changes were tested using the Celtac F Haematology analyzer. Statistical Analysis of variance was employed in the descriptive statistics. All the investigation was executed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS V.23). Results were regarded as significant at P<0.05. Results were presented in tables and charts. Results: at the end of the 35 days blood storage at blood bank conditions, WBC, RBC, platelets counts and MCHC decreased significantly (P<0.0001, =0.0182, <0.0001, =0.0035). The MCV, HCT and MCH increased significantly (P <0.0001, =0.0003, =0.0115) while HGB had insignificant variance (P =0.4185). Conclusion: platelets, WBC, RBC counts, and indices are significantly altered in stored blood especially when stored over two weeks based on most of the cellular components analyzed in this study. The study, therefore, recommends the utilization of fresh blood to avoid the adverse outcome of cellular changes of reserved blood.