BackgroundNomadic lifestyle has been shown to be a significant factor in low immunization coverage. However, other factors which might aggravate vaccination uptake in nomadic pastoralists are poorly understood. Our study aimed at establishing the relative influence of social demographics, missed opportunities, and geographical mobility on severe under vaccination in children aged less than two years living in a nomadic pastoralist community of Kenya.MethodsWe used cross-sectional analytical study design. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data from 515 mothers with children aged less than two years. Under vaccination was the sum the total number of days a delayed vaccine was given after the recommended age range for each vaccine. Severe under vaccination was defined as those children who remained under-vaccinated for more than six months. Geographical mobility was assessed as household members who had gone to live or herd elsewhere in the previous 12 months, missed opportunity included questions on whether a child visiting a health facility had missed being vaccinated, while social demographic data included household size and mothers social demographics.ResultsThree-quarters of the mothers had no formal education. One-third of the children had been taken to a health facility and missed being vaccinated. Forty percent of the households had moved in the previous 12 months. Prevalence of missed opportunity was 30.1%; 42.2% of children had not received any vaccines by their first birthday, and 24.1% of children were severely under vaccinated.No significant association was found between social demographics and under-vaccination. Variables associated with under-vaccination were; movement of the whole family, (p = .015), missed opportunity, (p = <.001), lack of vaccines, (p = (.002), and location of health facility, (p = <.001). Movement of women and children made a significant contribution (p = 0.006) to severe under-vaccination. Children in households where women and children had moved were nine times more likely to be severely under-vaccinated than in those households where there was no movement.ConclusionGeographic mobility of women and children was a key determinant of severe under vaccination among nomadic pastoralists in Kenya.

Background: Children from nomadic pastoralist communities might not receive all the recommended doses of vaccines at age-appropriate times due to limited access to immunization services.  Skipped, delayed or missed vaccination doses result in under vaccination which in turn make children vulnerable to preventable diseases.  The purpose of present study was to establish completion timeliness and under-vaccination of all the recommended childhood vaccinations in a nomadic pastoralist community.Methods: Authors used a cluster sampling technique to identify children aged 0 to 24 months at the household level.  Vaccine completion was the accumulation of the required number of doses by infants irrespective of the timing. Timeliness was vaccines administered within the recommended age range. Under vaccination was the sum total of days a delayed vaccine was given after the recommended age range.Results: Completion of all individual antigens did not meet the target of 90%. The mean number of days a child remained under-vaccinated in days was: OPV0, 20 days; BCG, 39 days; measles vaccine, 47 days; PVC3, 121 days; pentavalent, 117 days, and rotavirus, 103 days.  Approximately 42% were severely under-vaccinated for more than six months. Vaccine-specific under-vaccination of more than six months was:  pentavalent 3, 20%; PCV 3, 14%; OPV 3, 9.5%; BCG, 3%, and measles vaccine 20%. Overall children remained under-vaccinated for 185 days.Conclusions: A significant proportion of children remained under vaccinated for extended periods leaving them at risk during a vulnerable period of their life.

Back Background ground Transnational family support as a resource for migrants is understudied, particularly from the perspective of those providing support from a distance. This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting transnational research and gathering data from family members back home using communication technology. Preliminary data on the experience of providing transnational support to migrant family members living abroad, were also collected. Methods Methods We conducted a small, qualitative descriptive study in Kisumu, Kenya. A convenience, purposive sample of six men and three women, who self-identified as providing support to migrant family members living in another country were recruited. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews through Skype phone calls with a researcher in Canada. R Results esults Participants had various relationships (sibling, spouse, parent, uncle, cousin) to those who migrated; family members lived in the UK, US and Canada. Gathering data virtually was feasible, although there were some practical challenges and communication barriers. Interviews revealed that participants were open to share and highlighted the importance of obtaining perspectives from different family members and asking a variety of questions to elicit both positive and negative experiences. The risk of sensitive topics causing distress, raises some ethical concerns about how researchers may adequately respond and provide support from a distance. The preliminary data collected on the experiences of providing transnational family support showed that participants provided financial, emotional, spiritual and practical support. Support varied with time, with help being more intense during early resettlement and in times of financial difficulty; gender, relationship and closeness seemed to shape the nature and extent of support given. Participants mostly felt positive about their family members' migration although they also disclosed experiences of conflict and tension, which were in part due to the support-giving context. C Conclusions onclusions Family members back home are willing to engage in transnational research and using communication technology is an efficient and logistically feasible approach for gathering data from these participants. Including family members' back home in research yields informative data on transnational family support. It is widely recognized that migrants maintain connections to their home countries, including social, economic, cultural, political, and familial ties. 1 It is also known that these transnational connections have impacts, both positive and negative, for the migrants and the families and societies in the sending countries. 1 One area of research that has received significant attention in this field is transnational family support, defined as the exchange of goods, money and information, and social and emotional interactions, between families across borders. 2-3 This research, however, has primarily focused on support giving by migrants toward...

Back Background ground Transnational family support as a resource for migrants is understudied, particularly from the perspective of those providing support from a distance. This pilot study aimed to determine the feasibility of conducting transnational research and gathering data from family members back home using communication technology. Preliminary data on the experience of providing transnational support to migrant family members living abroad, were also collected. Methods Methods We conducted a small, qualitative descriptive study in Kisumu, Kenya. A convenience, purposive sample of six men and three women, who self-identified as providing support to migrant family members living in another country were recruited. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews through Skype phone calls with a researcher in Canada. R Results esults Participants had various relationships (sibling, spouse, parent, uncle, cousin) to those who migrated; family members lived in the UK, US and Canada. Gathering data virtually was feasible, although there were some practical challenges and communication barriers. Interviews revealed that participants were open to share and highlighted the importance of obtaining perspectives from different family members and asking a variety of questions to elicit both positive and negative experiences. The risk of sensitive topics causing distress, raises some ethical concerns about how researchers may adequately respond and provide support from a distance. The preliminary data collected on the experiences of providing transnational family support showed that participants provided financial, emotional, spiritual and practical support. Support varied with time, with help being more intense during early resettlement and in times of financial difficulty; gender, relationship and closeness seemed to shape the nature and extent of support given. Participants mostly felt positive about their family members' migration although they also disclosed experiences of conflict and tension, which were in part due to the support-giving context. C Conclusions onclusions Family members back home are willing to engage in transnational research and using communication technology is an efficient and logistically feasible approach for gathering data from these participants. Including family members' back home in research yields informative data on transnational family support. It is widely recognized that migrants maintain connections to their home countries, including social, economic, cultural, political, and familial ties. 1 It is also known that these transnational connections have impacts, both positive and negative, for the migrants and the families and societies in the sending countries. 1 One area of research that has received significant attention in this field is transnational family support, defined as the exchange of goods, money and information, and social and emotional interactions, between families across borders. 2-3 This research, however, has primarily focused on support giving by migrants toward...

Introduction: This was a nested study in which 2011 data from a baseline study conducted by Great Lakes University of Kisumu, supported with funds from UNICEF Kenya, findings was analyzed and used to assess the role of demographic and personal characteristic associated with exclusive breast feeding as a way of checking the high mortality of under-5 children in Nyanza province. Methods: A multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to select 3,200 households. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the coverage of exclusive breastfeeding practice. Frequencies were run using SPSS and Chi -square test was used to determine the association. Findings: The practice of exclusive breastfeeding in Siaya County is found at 29.9%; with unemployed mothers presenting at 36.1%, while working class mothers performed poorly at 21.4%. On demographic factors, marital status reported that polygamous had 33.0%. Single mothers reported 36.0%.On personal characteristics, the time taken to initiate breast milk to a baby had an association with exclusive breast feeding. Conclusion: Marital status, putting the child on breast milk has an association with exclusive breastfeeding.