School of Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Creative Industries

Influence of Financial Support on Access to Maternal and Child Healthcare in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Influence of Financial Support on Access to Maternal and Child Healthcare in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya Brian Ndungu Muthoni, Geofrey Towett, John Ndungu Kungu, Globally, access to healthcare services constitutes a fundamental social right guaranteed by international law and states’ constitutions. Kenya has entrenched healthcare services in the Constitution as a right, with the national and county governments having shared roles in healthcare provision. Narok County is listed among highly burdened areas on maternal and neonatal health challenges occasioned by the high mortality rate. This study seeks to examine how financial support promotes access to maternal and child healthcare in Narok –North SubCounty. The study is guided by Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Utilization. A concurrent mixed methods design was adopted for the study, and the target population was 59,996 households and 20 key informants in Narok-North Sub-County, Kenya. A sample size of 381 respondents participated in the study. The study employed the use of questionnaires and the interview guide as research tools for the collection of primary data, which was corroborated with secondary data. The study used simple random sampling to select participants from every household, while purposive sampling was used to select key informants. Data analysis was done using a convergent parallel mixed method where qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis and presented using themes, sub-themes, and narrations. Quantitative data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and presented using means, tables, graphs, and charts. The study results revealed that 57.2% of the respondents noted that there was a low budgetary allocation from the Government, and this had a negative implication on maternal and child health care in Narok North Sub-County. The study concluded that the implementation of the health policy in the Sub-county had not achieved the intended objectives and thus recommends that the Government needs to prioritize timely disbursements of funds to allow health facilities to provide consistent maternal and child health services. There is also a need to expand healthcare infrastructure and strengthen human resource capacity to tackle accessibility challenges for maternal and child healthcare.

ANGLICAN ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE IN COLONIAL CITIES IN KENYA, 1844-1963

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

ANGLICAN ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE IN COLONIAL CITIES IN KENYA, 1844-1963 Babere Kerata Chacha, John Ndungu Kungu There is already rich scholarship that explores the diverse ways in which colonial states and architects employed the classical style across the British Empire, paying careful attention to local and imperial influences upon building design. Ecclesiastical architecture in Kenya is a vital source through which to understand the particular nature of colonial entanglement in the region. As colonial architecture and urbanism played pivotal roles in shaping the spatial and social structures of African cities during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the first earlier twentieth century, missionary activities in was at its zenith at the East African Coast and the thus Anglican ecclesiastical architecture began to appear in the mainland dominated and inspired mainly by Early English Gothic architecture. The Anglican Church of Kenya started mission stations in urban areas such as Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu and Eldoret in English-like homes, cathedrals and parish offices. The study reveals how the architectural and technological transfers from the West continued synchronously with evangelism to create the prescribed image of the Anglican Church in Kenya. In the context of the international relations, these discourses played a significant role in consolidating British imperial power, as happened elsewhere in the British Empire. We argue that certain architectural elements have long been recognized internationally as symbolic of state power.

Carnal Knowledge under Penitentiary Order: Female Convicts, Gender and Sexuality in Post-colonial Kenya

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Carnal Knowledge under Penitentiary Order: Female Convicts, Gender and Sexuality in Post-colonial Kenya John Ndungu Kungu Women incarceration disrupted conventional modes of reproduction and threatened reproductive justice, separated families and funneled children into foster care, restricted women's access to abortion and adequate pregnancy care, shackled women in childbirth, and incarcerated people during their prime reproductive years. Based on historical and ethnographic fieldwork in Langata women's prison, we explore the discourse of sex, reproductive health, and motherhood behind bars. We argue that across time and place, these semicarceral institutions extended the arms of the state to control women's perceived moral and sexual transgressions. The health needs of all prisoners, including women prisoners and their children in Kenya have drawn increasing attention over the past decade. Sexual tensions among females in African prisons have received little attention from researchers since prison studies in Africa tend to focus on the sexual relationships among male prisoners, especially the coercive nature of such relationships in male prisons. This paper, therefore, seeks to close this gap and examine the discourse of reproduction and sexuality in Langata Women's Prison.

Mapping Brain Lesions to Language deficits in Aphasia: Evidence from Kenyan Hospitals

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Mapping Brain Lesions to Language deficits in Aphasia: Evidence from Kenyan Hospitals Mercyrose J Jesang, Benard Kodak , Kenneth Odhiambo, Winfridah Wangui Njung'e , Beatrice Owiti , Silas O. Awuor Background: Aphasia, a neurological condition caused by left-hemisphere brain lesions, impairs language functions. Although lesion-linguistic deficit correlations are well documented in high-income countries, they remain understudied in resource-limited settings like Kenya where post-stroke rehabilitation is scarce. This study bridges this gap by analyzing lesion-symptom correlations in adults with aphasia, integrating clinical data with patient experiences. Methods: Using a mixed-methods correlational design, we assessed 36 aphasic adults from Tier four hospitals in Nakuru county, Kenyan healthcare system, selected via purposive and convenience sampling. Quantitative data was collected on lesion location using MRI/CT reports, and language deficits using standardized tests, and analyzed via chi-square tests and descriptive statistics to determine associations. Qualitative using semi-structured interviews with patients and clinicians, was thematically analyzed to identify recurring language impairment themes. Results: Brain lesion location strongly predicted the severity of aphasia symptoms (χ² = 18.24, *p* < 0.05). Specifically, Broca’s area lesions (38.9% of cases) correlated with expressive language impairments (agrammatism, reduced fluency), while Wernicke’s area lesions (30.6%) linked to receptive language deficits (impaired comprehension, paraphasias). Global lesions (19.4%) caused mixed deficits. Variability in speech production despite similar lesion locations highlighted the `potential influence of cognitive reserve and premorbid language ability. Thematic analysis revealed syntactic disruptions, semantic retrieval struggles, and social isolation due to communication barriers. Clinical observations suggested positive impacts of early intervention and structured rehabilitation on language outcomes. Conclusions: This study confirms Broca’s/Wernicke’s lesion-deficit patterns in aphasia, supporting global psycholinguistic theories while revealing local rehabilitation disparities and offer valuable insights for clinical diagnosis and tailored rehabilitation strategies in Kenya. Findings underscore the need early, lesion-specific individualized speech therapy and assistive communication approaches to address the heterogeneity of aphasia symptoms to optimize recovery.