Assessment of Preparedness among Nurses Approaching Retirement in a Tertiary Institution, North-Central, Nigeria (Published)
Retirement is a challenging transition for many nurses, often involving loss of identity, reduced sense of value, and concerns about financial security, social isolation, and routine changes, especially for those who are inadequately prepared.This study assesses retirement preparedness among nurses at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital by examining their knowledge, level of preparedness, perceptions of retirement life, factors influencing preparedness, and plans for life after retirement. The descriptive survey design was adopted to gather data from 346 nurses aged 50 years and above who are within ten years of the mandatory retirement age. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge of retirement preparedness, level of preparedness, perceptions, influencing factors, and retirement plans. Findings of the study shows that most nurses, despite being experienced and educated, have limited knowledge of retirement preparedness. While some plan financially, many lack clear strategies for health, well-being, and income. Perceptions are mixed, and preparedness is influenced by financial, personal, and institutional factors. Knowledge significantly affects preparedness, but gender does not. The study concludes that despite awareness of retirement planning; significant gaps remain among nurses. It recommends stronger institutional support through retirement education, financial literacy, and accessible pension advisory services to promote smoother transitions, improve well-being, and support sustainable workforce planning.
Keywords: Nurses, Perception, Preparedness, institutional support, pension scheme, retirement planning
Preparedness of County Referral Health Facilities in Implementing Adolescent Friendly Health Services: A Case of Mama Lucy Kibaki County Refferal Hospital, Kenya (Published)
Background: Health service delivery is a key pillar of health system management. However, there is limited peer reviewed literature on health services to adolescents necessitating assessment of whether the existing health facilities were prepared to implement the adolescent friendly health services. Staff capacity, health resources and health system factors were assessed in regards to health service delivery to adolescent cohort study. Methods: Cross-sectional research design was adopted, census, stratified random sampling and simple random sampling were used to establish study participants. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and focused group discussions for adolescents. Analysis was done using Statistical package for the social science Version 17.0 programme for data analysis and results were presented in tables and graphs. Results: The study established that there is limited adolescent friendly health services implementation in the facility. Even though 107 (73.3%) of the healthcare providers referred to the adolescent health services offered at the facility as friendly. Health workers capacity was limited in regards to adolescent friendly health service delivery. On the other hand 212 (100%) adolescents recommended specific health resources to be incorporated within the health system to improve the services rendered to them. Conclusion: The link between health care resources and adolescent health is not well understood by health workers and managers leading to inadequacy of services specific to adolescents. Laborious awareness drives to sensitize county referral health facilities to make a significant investment in the health system that supports adolescent friendly health service implementation. Similar studies need to be done in other county referral health facilities to generate more supportive evidence.
Keywords: Adolescent friendly Health Services, Health resources, Preparedness, Staff Capacity.