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Introduction: Magnesium Sulphate (MgSO4) is the first-line treatment for severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, conditions that contribute significantly to maternal and fetal mortality worldwide. Despite its availability in Zambia, gaps in knowledge and competency among healthcare providers may hinder its effective use. This study aimed to assess the competence of nurses and midwives at Kapiri Mposhi District Hospital in the administration of MgSO4. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study where 100 respondents participated in the study. Participants were randomly selected. A structured questionnaires and checklists were used to collect data. Statistics Package for Social Sciences computer software package version 23.0 was used to analyze data. Chi square tests was used to test the significance of the association between Knowledge on administration of MgSo4, Competence in MgSo4 administration, among nurses and midwives at Kapiri Mposhi District Hospital. A 95% confidence interval and P value of 0.05 were used to ascertain the degree of significance. Multivariate binary logistic regression model to determine predictors of practices and need for information was also used. Result: On analyzing the dependent variables, majority, 71% demonstrated competence in MgSo4 administration. More than half 69% of respondents had knowledge on MgSO4 administration and 58% were trained. However, 31% lacked knowledge, and 29% were either unskilled or had limited skills. Almost all (92%) of the respondents confirmed MgSO4 being readily available in the department while 73.9% of respondents actively used it. Associated barriers to utilization included fear of side effects and lack of mentorship. Conclusion: Lack of knowledge was the main reason associated with lack of competence in MgSo4 administration among 29% of nurses and midwives regardless of the period of being in service. Particular attention should therefore be given to ensuring that nurses and midwives undergo train

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Introduction: The World Health Organization (2023) has identified neonatal asphyxia as being the third leading cause of early newborn deaths globally, accounting for approximately 24% of neonatal mortality (Workineh et al., 2020) found out that 24% of African births are affected by asphyxia. In Kenya, birth asphyxia accounts for 29% of deaths of neonates, and Nakuru County has a perinatal death rate (15/1000 live births) that surpasses WHO recommendations ((Ngare et al., 2020). The WHO recommends a maximum of 12 fatalities per 1000 live births and suggests interventions such as drying, stimulating, and warming newborns with birth asphyxia (Moshiro et al., 2019) Objective: To identify primary factors contributing to neonatal birth asphyxia at Naivasha Sub-County Hospital. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study design, using secondary data collected from the hospital's Newborn Unit records was used with the target population of asphyxiated neonates with APGAR scoring < 7 within the first minute of extra uterine life. Results: The highest incidence was observed in those aged 13-25 years (38%), married (65%), with secondary education (60%), and who attended their first ANC visit (56%). Employment status also played a role, with unemployed mothers contributing to 37% of cases. Foetal factors, such as low birth weight (55.83%), premature gestation (57.5%), vertex presentation (63.33%), and male sex (60.42%), significantly increased the risk. Maternal-obstetric factors, including PROM (42%), meconium-stained liquor (53%), infections (33%), pre-eclampsia (44%), and prolonged labour (28%), were prevalent, though not significantly different in their impact. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences among socio-demographic and foetal factors, while maternal-obstetric factors showed no significant variation in their contribution to birth asphyxia. Conclusion: Birth asphyxia remains a significant concern, with key contributors identified as socio-demographic

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Introduction: Nursing students frequently experience high levels of stress, anxiety and depression, which can impact their mental health and academic performance (Yonca, 2023; Fauzi et al., 2021). At Levy Mwanawasa Medical University (LMMU), there is an urgent concern regarding the mental health of nursing students, despite available counselling services and academic support. Objective: This study aimed to determine the levels of stress, anxiety and depression among diploma nursing students at LMMU. Methodology: A descriptive cross- section design was utilized, involving 198 diploma nursing students selected through stratified simple random sampling. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire and analysed using SPSS version 27, employing binary logistic regression and Chi-Square tests to examine relationships between variables. Results: The participates ages (17- 36) were predominantly female (80.8%) and unmarried (92.9%). Moderate levels of stress, anxiety and depression were reported at 36.4%, 49% and 59.4%, respectively. The majority of the students (85.4%) stayed outside the campus while only 29 (14.7%) stayed within campus. The study found that factors such as age, gender, family history of mental illness, marital status, academic and financial pressures and living arrangements did not show statistically significant associations with moderate to high levels of depression among diploma nursing students at LMMU, despite some findings suggesting trends (e.g., younger age correlating with lower depression and living- off campus being linked to higher depression) Female students were observed to be 0.49 times less likely to develop moderate to high depression compared to males, whiles those from families with a history of mental illness were 1.22 times more likely to experience increased depression however, these associations were not statically significant (P>0.05).Notably, students who frequently experienced negatives thoughts were 1.82 times more

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Abstract: Introduction: Emotional distress among nurses has become a global health concern. Emotional issues associated with occupational stress have become a threat to the nursing profession. Emotional issues in the nursing profession results from the strenuous and demanding nature of the work. Therefore, the need to investigate the presence of and factors associated with emotional distress among nurses is fundamental to development of strategies that should address nurse’s plight with regards to the emotional toll that their work may have on them. The negative consequences of leaving emotional distress among nurses unaddressed motivated the need to undertake this study. Methodology: A cross sectional analytical study design was employed to conduct the present study at the University Teaching Hospitals in Zambia. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (UNZABREC) and permission to conduct the study was granted by the National Health Research authority (NHRA). The study involved 71 nurses working in Out-Patients Department who completed a self-administered structured questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20), while Chi-square was used to test the association between categorical variables. In addition, binary logistic regression analysis was used to ascertain the relationship between the dependent variable (emotional distress) and the independent variables. P-values less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Findings: Emotional distress was observed to be prevalent among 56.3 percent nurses and among the distressed, 25 percent showed high levels of distress. There was a strong association between emotional distress and coping among nurses (p-value < 0.001c) and as such it was found that nurses who employed adaptive coping strategies unlike maladaptive strategies proved to be less distressed. Occupational stressors showed

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The diagnosis of pediatric cancer is a traumatic event and a major source of psychological stress for parents. Objective: The aim of our study was to determine the impact of sociodemographic, psychological & financial factors among parents of children diagnosed with cancer. Methods: This study was a quantitative, randomized, cross-sectional study (30) participants were randomly selected from the population of parents whose children have cancer and treated in the department of medical oncology at the child's Hospital in Basrah governorate. The study began on September 2023. Participants were given a questionnaire form to complete at the hospital. Results: showed that mothers, brothers, or relatives were the most likely person to accompany the sick child, while fathers were less likely due to their work and living concerns. 90% of families had to adapt psychologically to the presence of the disease in their child, and this did not affect relations with society or between members of the same family. Financial factor was probably extremely harmful causing stress in families, especially those with low incomes, followed by long periods of hospitalization and the confining of treatments to painkiller. This led to the loss of most sick children to chances of completing their studies. Conclusions: Families of children with childhood cancer face substantial challenges. The present study explored the financial of the family and the impact of childhood cancer on these families. In addition, the domains of both tools were significantly associated with some demographic characteristics of the child and his parents. Recommendation: Based on these findings, increased psychosocial and emotional resources for patients and their families have to be facilitated and improved. Further research studies in this topic to investigate barriers and facilitators for family care.

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Background: Globally, maternal mortality rate (MMR) fell by nearly 44% from 385 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to an estimated 216 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015 (Wang, 2021).Most of the maternal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa accounting for 66 per cent of the maternal deaths (Onambele et al., 2022). Kenya saw a significant drop in MMR from of 605 in 2010 to 510 in 2015 while the deliveries by skilled birth attendants increased from 44% in 2008-09 to 62% in 2014. Besides, health facility deliveries increased from 43% to 61% (KDHS 2014). The improved maternal health indicators have been attributed to trainings of healthcare workers on maternal and newborn healthcare, improved in-service training, continuous supply of obstetric basic and emergency equipment and supplies, improved referral systems and periodic monitoring and evaluation among other interventions. However, MMR remains very high and there exists in-country disparities in the rate of maternal deaths. Kisumu and Vihiga counties are at 597 and 531 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, respectively. Objective: To explore the contextual factors influencing the retention of BEmONC knowledge and skills among skilled birth attendants in Western Kenya. Methods: The study employed a descriptive phenomenological approach to explore the contextual factors influencing the retention of BEmONC knowledge and skills among skilled birth attendants in Western Kenya. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 30 participants for two focused group discussion (FGDs) conducted between October and November 2021.The data were analyzed via inductive thematic analysis. Results: The thematic areas fell into six categories: The perspective of individual SBA, structural level perspective; sub-theme; infrastructure and facilities, human resource, logistic and supplies: Transportation and accessibility, financial barriers, information and awareness; cultural ...

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This is a prospective study on perceptions of actual and preferred hospital clinical learning environment of student nurses and midwives in Imo state university, Owerri. The study was guided by four objectives and four research questions. This research specifically assessed the student nurses view of their actual and preferred hospital CLE, determine if differences exist in student nurses view of their actual and preferred hospital CLE, establish the association between the actual and preferred hospital CLE and identify factors that influence student nurses opinion of their hospital CLE. The researcher reviewed and summarized related literatures in the study. The research design adopted was descriptive research design. The target population was 254 nursing and midwifery students in fourth and fifth year in the department of nursing science, Orlu campus. The sample size of 152 nursing students was purposively chosen for the study. Questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentages and mean were presented using tables for easy interpretation. The findings revealed that there is significant difference in the student nurses and midwives’ views of their actual and preferred hospital clinical learning environments (>2.50) in all the groups except personalization (<2.50). This implies that the student nurses’ view of the preferred hospital clinical learning environment is always higher than their view of the actual hospital clinical learning environment. They were agree to be the factors that influence student nurses’ opinion of their actual and preferred hospital clinical hospital environment (mean scores >2.50); except age of student (mean scores <2.50) and gender of student (mean scores >2.50). The importance of helping students feel valued and interpersonal relationships in the clinical area need to be highlighted in the preceptor preparation programmes. Recommendations ...