Sedentary Lifestyle Prevalence among Workers in Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization in Kenya (Published)
People who spend too much time being sedentary are more likely to develop musculoskeletal disorders and other non- communicable diseases (NCDs). This health risk is likely to increase with increasing sedentary office setting and lifestyle. In Kenya, the sedentary lifestyle is on the increase while its baseline data has not been documented appropriately. This study investigated sedentary lifestyle prevalence among workers in seven selected institutes within Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO). The study concentrated on a population of 820 office and laboratory workers in seven KALRO institutes located in the Nairobi Metropolitan. The sample size (n= 96), was calculated using Daniel’s formula for prevalence studies. A Cross-sectional survey was employed on respondents and objective questionnaires administered. Waist to height ratio (WHtR) and waist circumference (WC) was measured using a stretch resistant tape in accordance with WHO, 2008 guidelines. The WHtR (> 0.5) revealed that prevalence of overweight and central obesity was high in females, (92.6%) than in males (88%) while (90.38%) was for combined gender. The WHtR increased with income, (p = 0.516) and had an influence on ailments such as fatigue and muscle soreness after a day’s work (p=0.657). Factors influencing sedentary lifestyle most of which were outside the workplace setting were: use of motorized transport (73%) which increased with earnings and social economic status p<0.05 with no output for respondents earning less than Kenya shillings 15,000; screen time (64.7%); reliance on house help for domestic chores (56.5%) and occupational (78.4%) with p>0.5 for sitting for office and laboratory workers. The study concluded that there was a high prevalence of sedentary lifestyle among KALRO employees in the selected institutes. These findings provide a basis for management in KALRO to encourage physical activity among its workers by intervening at individual, environmental and policy level.
Keywords: KALRO, Obesity, Prevalence, musculosketal, policies, sedentary
ASSESSMENT OF MULTIDRUG RESISTANT ORGANISM RELATED PREVENTION AND CONTROL POLICIES AND ENVIRONMENT AT KFHH, SAUDI ARABIA (Published)
Worldwide, Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) and Multidrug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) cause a significant clinical and economic burden. One of the strategies that have been implemented to reduce antimicrobial resistance is the development of healthcare settings with specific MDROs control policies and guidelines. The aim of this study was to perform an audit in order to assess whether, at the time of writing, the relevant policies and procedures were in place at the King Fahad Hofuf Hospital. The Carter and colleagues’ model, which uses a matrix of acknowledging, auditing, stating of aims, and setting out of actions was used as a model for the assessment of the policies. The researchers conducted site visit rounds of the ICU and the general wards to report on the ratio of rooms for patient care, and the general areas in which hand washing sinks and alcohol-based hand rub products were available. Eight policies related to multidrug resistant organisms were analysed. Inappropriate scientific references were presented in the policies and there were no acknowledgements, auditing, or recommended actions in the majority of these policies according to the Carter and colleagues’ method. The sink to bed ratio was 1:6 in the ICU and 1:25 in the general ward. As well, the sinks were not equipped with non-manual control equipment. In conclusion, An audit of policies in the healthcare setting indicated a number of deficiencies regarding best standard policies and guidelines for infection control. Moreover, there were also inadequate environmental control measures for HAIs and MDROs, including hand hygiene facilities
Keywords: Environment, Infection control, KFHH, MDROs, Saudi Arabia, policies