Habari from kenya

Hi, subsequent to the recruitment of cohort members last year, 244 members have done and passed their Nursing Council Examinations and are registered nurses. Congratulations! 203(81%) are currently working as nurses while 41 are looking for employment. These are some of the comments they expressed:

Greetings from Kenya:

Hi to all of you- Rose Muriuki, Nairobi.

Hi, continue working hard- Evelyn Mathenge, Muranga.

Hi, work hard- Purity Muthoni, Muranga.

Hope you are continuing well, keep in touch- Milcah Mbaluka, Nairobi.

How are you all doing and keep in touch, remember the purpose of the research we were doing- Dorcas Maiyo, Nairobi.

I miss them all- Elizabeth Wanjiru, Kakamega.

I wish them all the best in life and encourage them to work hard- Gloria Zalo, Muranga.

I wish them all the best in life and to get good jobs- Catherine Mwaniki, Nairobi.

I wish them all the best in their job search- Huka Wako, Meru.
I wish you the best in life- Gladys Kimondo, Nairobi.

Greetings all, I wish you the best in your job search- Grace Musenya, Nairobi.
Expectations for the future:

A lot of things have changed since we left school; the expectations that I had have been lowered, I never thought I would find myself working in a rural health centre, but I am here, doing my best- Margaret Kimathi, Nairobi.

Aim higher to further your studies- Catherine Galgitele, Meru.

Be innovative in your profession it is one of the ways to succeed- James Kibugi, Kakamega.

Be strong, even when times are hard- Dorcas Wanyonyi, Muranga.
Encouraging thoughts:

Congratulations on passing the examinations and keep working hard- Hebert Ochieng’ Kakamega.

Congratulations to those who have jobs, and don’t give up- Meridah Mwania, Muranga.

Continue working hard- Judy Gisemba, Muranga.

Continue doing the best that we can as nurses and our labor will be rewarded- Emmanuel Ng’etich, Kakamega.

Continue doing the good things you do- Joachim Mutunga, Nairobi.

Continue to work hard and go back to further your studies- Rachel Gakii, Meru.

Continue to work hard even when circumstances are difficult- Lucy Kamina, Nairobi.

Continue with the nursing practice but for those who are young, go outside the country to see what happening there- Gaudencia Onyango, Nairobi.

Continue working hard- Edwin Rutto, Kakamega.

Continue working hard and keep in touch- Dennis Ndeile, Meru.

Don’t give up, apply for all jobs and keep working hard- Comfort Maina, Nairobi.

Encourage them to continue participating- Duba Guyo, Nairobi.

Encourage them to continue working hard- Henry Muriithi, Nairobi.

Encourage them to work hard to achieve their very best- Lillian Kaphidher, Kakamega.

Encourage them to work hard, and inform them that I have not been employed yet so if they hear of any vacancies to inform me- Catherine Naliaka, Nairobi. Keep on trying and make the best of your opportunities- Elijah Oduor, Kakamega.

Keep working within the nursing career because that is what we applied for- Abel Arumba, Muranga.

Let’s gear towards the goal of serving our patients to the best of our ability- Symon Shitemi, Nairobi.

Have a positive attitude towards work and struggle for patient satisfaction- Belliah Atemba, Kakamega.

Have an open mind and strive to get further than we are at the moment as nurses- Elisabeth Opee, Nairobi.

If they have a job they should continue attending to patients’ well- Magdalene Muli, Muranga.

Enthusiasm for the Cohort study:

Encourage them to participate positively and tell of their situations because you never know what can happen- Roselyne Asiko, Kakamega.

It is good to be in a group like this one where we explore issues and encourage one another- Nicholas Ng’etich.

Keep checking the website to see what is going on- Peter Muiruri, Muranga.

Keep helping our patients and keep in touch- Mildred Juma, Kakamega.

Keep in touch- Cynthia Ndumbu, Nairobi.

Keep in touch and keep working in the nursing profession- Ann Warui, Muranga.

Keep in touch I would like to know the challenges you are facing at your work place- Maxwell Wakarindi, Muranga.

Keep in touch- Mary Mueni, Muranga.

Meet all of you at the October meeting- John Nyabera, Kakamega.

Nothing is impossible if you work hard, it is good to participate in programs such as this- Emmanuel Sigei, Kakamega.

Words of wisdom:

Nursing is the best profession ever- Nancy Muskoyo, Kakamega.

To achieve your dreams you have to work hard; we should also remember that we did nursing and it is our calling to alleviate human suffering- Emily Ayanga, Kakamega.

We have not yet reached the top; this is just a stepping stone to put more effort and get degrees- Elisabeth Kibaara, Muranga.

Birthday celebrations for SA Cohort!

You filled in the questionnaires and took part in the focus group discussions.
You have updated your contact details and answered questions about your job.
Now is the time to find out what it all means!

In June/July 2009, the CREHS Cohort in South Africa will be 1 year old. To celebrate, we are inviting all cohort members to come and listen to the presentation of the first research findings and enjoy some snacks and drinks with us and your fellow cohort members.

This will be a great opportunity to see what has become of all the information you provided and to reconnect with fellow cohort members. Please share this information with as many cohort members as possible, especially those who don’t have internet access. It would be great to see as many of you as possible!

Each feedback session will include:
** Presentation and discussion of the research findings;
** Completing a very short questionnaire and quick verification of contact details;
** Snacks and drinks to celebrate the fact that we have come this far.

The feedback sessions will be as follows:

Mmabatho/Mafikeng
Session 1: Friday, 5 June (14:00-16:00)
Session 2: Saturday, 6 June (10:00-12:00)
RSVP by 27 May
Venue to be confirmed to those who RSVP, but will be easily accessible in town

Klerksdorp
Session 1: Friday, 12 June (14:00-16:00)
Session 2: Saturday, 13 June (10:00-12:00)
RSVP by 3 June
Venue to be confirmed to those who RSVP, but will be easily accessible in town

Potchefstroom
Session 1: Friday, 19 June (14:00-16:00)
Session 2: Saturday, 20 June (10:00-12:00)
RSVP by 10 June
Venue to be confirmed to those who RSVP, but will be easily accessible in town

Pretoria
Session 1: Friday, 17 July (14:00-16:00)
Session 2: Saturday, 18 July (10:00-12:00)
RSVP by 8 July
Venue to be confirmed to those who RSVP, but will be easily accessible in town

Johannesburg
Session 1: Friday, 24 July (14:00-16:00)
Session 2: Saturday, 25 July (10:00-12:00)
RSVP by 15 July
Venue to be confirmed to those who RSVP, but will be easily accessible in town

It is essential that you let us know in advance if you want to attend one of the sessions. To RSVP, simply SMS the name of the city/town and your session number to 072 124 0519. E.g. "Mmabatho Session1" or "Pretoria Session 2".

PLEASE NOTE:
1. Each cohort member who attends will receive a small transport allowance of R30 to help cover transport costs to the functions.
2. You are welcome to come to any of the sessions, regardless of where you studied or where you are working. Simply choose a session that it convenient for you.

A look at the Kenyan cohort

The Kenyan cohort is now complete with a total of 345 nursing students recruited to the cohort study.We are proud to present a snapshot of our group!

Majority of Kenyan cohort members are female (75%) with male participants making up 25% of the group, compared to South Africa where 84% of their cohort members are female and 14% are male.The oldest cohort member in Kenya is 52 years old, the Thai cohort reported their oldest member to be 25 years old while the oldest member in South Africa is 56 years old. The average age of the Kenyan cohort is 31 years similar to South Africa.

Kenyan cohort members described their hometowns to be: very rural 148 (43%), relatively rural 21 (6%), town 112 (33%) and city 63 (18%), The number of those born in rural areas is close to that of South Africa where just below 50% of cohort members were born in rural areas, but different from the Thai cohort where majority (83%) were born in rural areas.

A large proportion of the Kenyan cohort comes from Eastern province (30%), followed by Central province (23%), Western province (17%), the others are distributed in Rift valley province, Nyanza province, Nairobi province and Coast province which contributes (3%).

While none of the Thai cohort members had started their own families at the time of data collection, 42% of the Kenyan cohort members indicated they were married. Of 190 Kenyan members with children, close to 60% have one to two children.

Verification of contact details was successfully done, most members had maintained their contact details from data collection to the time when verification was done. Cohort members are expected to sit Nursing council examinations later on this month, we wish all the students success in their exams!

We shall keep sharing exciting news to keep all the cohort study members from Kenya, South Africa and Thailand posted!

Snapshot of SA Cohort

Who are the South African cohort members? Where do they come from? How do they feel about nursing issues?

All the questionnaires completed by the members of the South African cohort have been captured, so we are now able to present a brief snapshot of this group.This can be compared with the information on the Thai cohort, which was recently published on this blog.

Of the 377 South African cohort members, 323 (86%) are women and 54 (14%) men. The mean age of the South African cohort is 31 years. This is much higher than Thailand, where the average age of the cohort members is only about 22 years. In Thailand the oldest cohort member is 25 years of age. Here in South Africa, our oldest cohort member is 56 years old and 266 (71%) cohort members are over 25 years.

An overwhelming majority of the South African cohort members were born in three provinces: Gauteng (40%), North West (34%) and Limpopo (9.5%). The map below shows all the provinces of South Africa and the percentage of the cohort born in each of the provinces.

The cohort members described their places of birth as follows: towns (37%), relatively rural areas (36%), cities (15%) and very rural areas (11%).

Just over 110 South African cohort members indicated that they were married or in relationships with long-term partners. 120 said they had 1 child, 74 reported having 2 children and a further 26 indicated they had 3 children. Again, this is very different from Thailand where none of the cohort members had started their own families at the time of data collection.

This is all the information we have for now. Over the next few months the data will be analysed in great detail, after which more information will be made available.

On that note, we wish you a great festive season and a happy 2009! We will hopefully be in touch with all of you early in the new year.

KENYA: Kakamega MTC joins the cohort study

Kakamega Medical Training College has joined the CREHS cohort study! 34 pre-service nursing students joined the study on 5th November 2009; this brings the cohort total in Kenya to 291 students. Kakamega is in western province, approximately 400 kilometers and 7 hours drive from Nairobi the capital city of Kenya.

Data collection activities ran smoothly and students were happy to join their colleagues from the other three participating colleges, Nairobi, Meru and Muranga MTCs. A second visit to Kakamega, to capture distance learners of the graduating class is planned for January 2009.

Previously collected data was sorted and entry of the SAQs, DCE and EEGs is underway while transcription of FGDs is ongoing. The first cohort follow up call will be made in December 2008 for verification of contact details.

Lastly, we would like to wish the participating students all the best as they prepare for college final examinations due in January 2009.

SA: Data entry and contact info verification nearly done

The last week has been a busy one for the CREHS Cohort Study in South Africa. Firstly, we began the process of capturing the data contained in all the questionnaires completed by our 377 cohort members. As shown in the picture above, it took 11 boxes to transport the approximately 3400 questionnaires to the data capturing company. The pictures below show the data capturers hard at work. In what is known as double-entry, they are capturing all the information in all the questionnaires twice. The two databases are then compared and any contradictions or errors corrected, thus ensuring 100% accuracy. This process will hopefully be completed by Friday.

Secondly, and as many of you experienced first-hand, we have also kicked-off our first effort to confirm/update the contact details of our cohort members. All-in-all, we are targeting about 250 cohort members now. The rest will be contacted early in 2009. About 100 cohort members verified their contact details by SMS (Thanks for responding to the request!) and over the last 5 days we have personally spoken to another approximately 120. Again, the hope is to complete the last few remaining verifications in the next day or two.

Our next step will be to use the entered data to produce a basic profile of the South African cohort, which we will hopefully be able to post on this website in December. It will then be possible to compare the South African cohort with the Thai one, whose profile is already up on the website.

Until then, good luck with your exam results and with those night shifts that we know some of you are working at the moment!

SA completes baseline data collection

It has taken 3 months, but baseline data collection in South Africa was finally completed on Monday when students from the Mafikeng Campus of North West University became the last group to join the cohort. 42 students participated in this last round, bringing the total number of cohort members to 377.

Data entry will start next week. At the same time, we will also begin the process of verifying the contact details of the students from the first group of nursing training institutions to join the cohort: the Ann Latsky, Mmabatho and S.G. Lourens Nursing Colleges, as well as the University of Johannesburg. Updates on this will be posted in the next few weeks.