Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya

Child undernutrition is a persistent challenge in arid and semi-arid areas due to low and erratic rainfall, recurrent droughts and food insecurity. In these settings, caregivers face several challenges in accessing health services for sick and/or malnourished children, including long distances to he...

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Autores principales: Wambui, Elizabeth, Wilunda, Calistus, Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre, Mwangi, Bonventure, Zerfu, Taddese Alemu, Daniel, Tewoldeberha, Agutu, Olivia, Samburu, Betty, Kavoo, Daniel, Karimurio, Lydia, Cuellar, Pilar Charle, Keane, Emily, Schofield, Lilly, Njiru, James, Chabi, Martin, Maina, Lucy Gathigi, Okoth, Peter F., Raburu, Judith, Gichohi, Grace, Mutua, Alex, Matanda, Charles, Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2024
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141898
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author Wambui, Elizabeth
Wilunda, Calistus
Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre
Mwangi, Bonventure
Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
Daniel, Tewoldeberha
Agutu, Olivia
Samburu, Betty
Kavoo, Daniel
Karimurio, Lydia
Cuellar, Pilar Charle
Keane, Emily
Schofield, Lilly
Njiru, James
Chabi, Martin
Maina, Lucy Gathigi
Okoth, Peter F.
Raburu, Judith
Gichohi, Grace
Mutua, Alex
Matanda, Charles
Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth
author_browse Agutu, Olivia
Chabi, Martin
Cuellar, Pilar Charle
Daniel, Tewoldeberha
Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre
Gichohi, Grace
Karimurio, Lydia
Kavoo, Daniel
Keane, Emily
Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth
Maina, Lucy Gathigi
Matanda, Charles
Mutua, Alex
Mwangi, Bonventure
Njiru, James
Okoth, Peter F.
Raburu, Judith
Samburu, Betty
Schofield, Lilly
Wambui, Elizabeth
Wilunda, Calistus
Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
author_facet Wambui, Elizabeth
Wilunda, Calistus
Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre
Mwangi, Bonventure
Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
Daniel, Tewoldeberha
Agutu, Olivia
Samburu, Betty
Kavoo, Daniel
Karimurio, Lydia
Cuellar, Pilar Charle
Keane, Emily
Schofield, Lilly
Njiru, James
Chabi, Martin
Maina, Lucy Gathigi
Okoth, Peter F.
Raburu, Judith
Gichohi, Grace
Mutua, Alex
Matanda, Charles
Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth
author_sort Wambui, Elizabeth
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Child undernutrition is a persistent challenge in arid and semi-arid areas due to low and erratic rainfall, recurrent droughts and food insecurity. In these settings, caregivers face several challenges in accessing health services for sick and/or malnourished children, including long distances to health facilities, harsh terrain, and lack of money to pay for transportation costs to the health facilities, leading to low service coverage and sub-optimal treatment outcomes. To address these challenges and optimize treatment outcomes, the World Health Organization recommends utilizing community health volunteers (CHVs) to manage acute malnutrition in the community. This study explored the perceptions of community members regarding acute malnutrition treatment by CHVs in Turkana and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The study utilized a cross-sectional study design and included a purposive sample of caregivers of children, CHVs, officers who trained and supervised CHVs and community leaders in the intervention area. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to explore perceptions towards the management of acute malnutrition by CHVs. Generally, caregivers and CHVs perceived the intervention to be beneficial as it readily addressed acute malnutrition treatment needs in the community. The intervention was perceived to be acceptable, effective, and easily accessible. The community health structure provided a platform for commodity supply and management and CHV support supervision. This was a major enabler in implementing the intervention. The intervention faced operational and systemic challenges that should be considered before scale-up.
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spelling CGSpace1418982025-10-26T13:02:00Z Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya Wambui, Elizabeth Wilunda, Calistus Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre Mwangi, Bonventure Zerfu, Taddese Alemu Daniel, Tewoldeberha Agutu, Olivia Samburu, Betty Kavoo, Daniel Karimurio, Lydia Cuellar, Pilar Charle Keane, Emily Schofield, Lilly Njiru, James Chabi, Martin Maina, Lucy Gathigi Okoth, Peter F. Raburu, Judith Gichohi, Grace Mutua, Alex Matanda, Charles Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth malnutrition food security health services transport children child care Child undernutrition is a persistent challenge in arid and semi-arid areas due to low and erratic rainfall, recurrent droughts and food insecurity. In these settings, caregivers face several challenges in accessing health services for sick and/or malnourished children, including long distances to health facilities, harsh terrain, and lack of money to pay for transportation costs to the health facilities, leading to low service coverage and sub-optimal treatment outcomes. To address these challenges and optimize treatment outcomes, the World Health Organization recommends utilizing community health volunteers (CHVs) to manage acute malnutrition in the community. This study explored the perceptions of community members regarding acute malnutrition treatment by CHVs in Turkana and Isiolo counties in Kenya. The study utilized a cross-sectional study design and included a purposive sample of caregivers of children, CHVs, officers who trained and supervised CHVs and community leaders in the intervention area. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were used to explore perceptions towards the management of acute malnutrition by CHVs. Generally, caregivers and CHVs perceived the intervention to be beneficial as it readily addressed acute malnutrition treatment needs in the community. The intervention was perceived to be acceptable, effective, and easily accessible. The community health structure provided a platform for commodity supply and management and CHV support supervision. This was a major enabler in implementing the intervention. The intervention faced operational and systemic challenges that should be considered before scale-up. 2024-05-16 2024-05-17T17:45:53Z 2024-05-17T17:45:53Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141898 en https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/KsFUzvq/ Open Access Wambui, Elizabeth; Wilunda, Calistus; Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre; Mwangi, Bonventure; Zerfu, Taddese Alemu; et al. 2024. Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya. PLOS Global Public Health 4(5). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0002564
spellingShingle malnutrition
food security
health services
transport
children
child care
Wambui, Elizabeth
Wilunda, Calistus
Donfouet, Hermann Pythagore Pierre
Mwangi, Bonventure
Zerfu, Taddese Alemu
Daniel, Tewoldeberha
Agutu, Olivia
Samburu, Betty
Kavoo, Daniel
Karimurio, Lydia
Cuellar, Pilar Charle
Keane, Emily
Schofield, Lilly
Njiru, James
Chabi, Martin
Maina, Lucy Gathigi
Okoth, Peter F.
Raburu, Judith
Gichohi, Grace
Mutua, Alex
Matanda, Charles
Kimani-Murage, Elizabeth
Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title_full Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title_fullStr Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title_short Perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern Kenya
title_sort perceptions towards management of acute malnutrition by community health volunteers in northern kenya
topic malnutrition
food security
health services
transport
children
child care
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141898
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