Browsing by Author "Dr. Omedi Gilbert"
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Item Delayed Completion of Graduate Studies: An Assessment of the Growing Academic Demands(INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS), 2025) Dr. Omedi Gilbert; Wanja Sarafina; Wanja SarafinaGraduate programmes are necessary in training and equipping graduate students with skills relevant to the current and emerging demands of life. As much as a number of students enroll for graduate studies, graduation rates in these programmes are generally lower than expected. This study used survey research design to establish reasons behind the delayed completion of graduate studies amongst graduate students, at Masters and PhD levels, enrolled in Kenya’s universities. The study established the average fee to be Ksh. 412,456 and Ksh. 771,031 for Masters and PhD studies, respectively. Some students: were not assigned supervisors; could not submit their theses for examination; and differed coursework due to inability to raise school fees, all contributing to a stall in their academic journeys. About 34.5% of the respondents reported that completion of their graduate studies was affected by work-related demands. Some students opined that they took unpaid leaves so as to create time for studies; others indicated that they had little time for data collection and theses writing; while others found it a tall order to obtain study leaves from their employers. About 52% and 32% of the respondents met their academic supervisors on rare and irregular basis, respectively, thus delaying their graduation. Majority of students with multiple supervisors indicated that they met them separately (72%), with the rest meeting them jointly. Attempts to jointly meet supervisors escalated the cost of study to some students. Some students delayed their graduation because of: supervisors wanting them to take up topics of the supervisor, and not student, interest; helping supervisors with their errands as their academic work stayed on halt; supervisors not responding to their communication; and disagreements between the supervisors. Clearly, completion of graduate studies is, to an extent, affected by financial constraints, work-related obligations, and academic supervisor demands. There is need to lay down support mechanism for students who are in dire need for academic funding, conduct refresher courses on the role of academic supervisors, invest in hybrid academic supervision, and stick to supervision guidelines in case of disagreement between supervisors. Keywords: Graduate studies’ completion; Financial constraints; Work-related demands; Academic supervisor(s) demandsItem Determinants of Infant Mortality in Rural Kenya(IISTE (International Institute for Science, Technology and Education)., 2014) Dr. Omedi Gilbert; Wanjiru GichuhiFindings of 2008/09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey reveal that one in every 19 live births dies before age one. The most striking observation is the reversal in infant mortality based on type of place of residence. The report indicates that, unlike what preceding surveys reported, infant mortality is high in urban than in rural Kenya. This study used Cox regression analysis to examine the determinants of infant mortality in rural Kenya. Analytical results show that region, maternal age, birth order/preceding birth interval, and source of drinking water are significantly related to post-neonatal mortality in rural Kenya. Further, occupation of the mother, region, birth order/preceding birth interval, and source of drinking water were found to be significantly related to infant mortality in rural Kenya. Unlike in the case of post-neonatal mortality where births in Nyanza were found to be 154 percent more likely to die relative to those in Central, the study found Nyanza residence not to be significantly related to infant mortality. The study findings indicate that health policy initiatives meant to kindle family planning methods that shall result in increased birth spacing and reduced higher order births are welcome in the quest to reduce infant mortality further. Seemingly, maternal education is losing grip on early childhood mortality. Future research should focus on bringing out an understanding of the role of maternal education on infant mortality. Key words: post-neonate, infant, mortality, rural KenyaItem Determinants of Unmet Need for Family Planning among Women in Rural Kenya(African Population Studies, 2014) Benard Nyauchi; Dr. Omedi GilbertThis paper aimed at identifying factors that contribute to unmet need for family planning among women in rural Kenya. Logistic regression analysis was carried out on 2008/09 Kenya demographic and health survey women-file data that left out currently pregnant and amenorrheic women. Among the variables found to be significantly related to unmet need for spacing, limiting childbearing and total unmet need were: marital status, current age, level of education, number of living children, employment status, region, household wealth index and exposure to mass media communications. In order to reduce unmet need for family planning in rural areas of Kenya, region-specific programmatic family planning action should be adopted; the government should prioritize female education and economic empowerment to women in rural areas; agencies involved in family planning provision and communication in rural Kenya should offer suitable services that target specific age groups, and with a greater focus on married women. Keywords: unmet need; fertility; contraception; unintended pregnancy; rural residence.Item High-risk fertility behavior and infant mortality in Kenya(World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2024) Dr. Omedi GilbertStudy purpose: To establish the contribution of high-risk fertility behavior on infant mortality in Kenya. Methodology: The study used cross-sectional survey data obtained from the 2022 Kenya demographic and health survey. Descriptive analysis involved frequencies and cross-tabulation. Inferential analysis involved multinomial logistic regression. Results: Young age at first birth of under-20 years was significantly related to neonatal (OR = 1.001; ; CI = 0.347-0.850), post-neonatal (OR = 1.542; ; CI = 0.364-0.809), and infant (OR = 1.043; ; CI = 0.372-0.791) mortalities. Mothers who gave birth under-20 years of age had higher odds of experiencing neonatal mortality (OR = 1.183; ; CI = 0.374-1.733). Births of orders 2 to 3 had lower odds of neonatal (OR = 0.710; ; CI = 0.436-1.157) and infant (OR = 0.802; ; CI = 0.494-1.304) mortalities. Nulliparous women were 0.31 times less likely and 0.45 times more likely, to report neonatal and post-neonatal mortalities, respectively. Conclusion: Analytical findings revealed under- birth, underorder births, and births to nulliparous women to be high-risk fertility behaviors related to infant mortality. Old age at first birth and preceding birth interval were unrelated to infant mortality. Advocacy on the need to delay entry into marriage and sexual debut should be done so as to address the issues of child brides and young age at first birth. Keywords: Age at first birth; Age at motherhood; Birth order; Parity; Preceding birth interval; Infant mortalityItem Influence of Rainfall Magnitude on Maize, Beans and African Nightshade Production in Nyando Sub-County of Kisumu County, Kenya(INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS), 2025) Odundo Tom; Dr. Omedi GilbertSustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 2 appreciates that sustainable agriculture is significant in empowering small-scale farmers, promoting gender equality, ending rural poverty, ensuring healthy lifestyles, and tackling climate change. Regrettably, the global issue of hunger and food insecurity has increased since the inception of the SDGs, not sparing Nyando sub-County. This study employed a quasi-longitudinal research design to investigate the influence of rainfall magnitude on maize, beans and African Nightshade production in Nyando sub-County of Kisumu County, Kenya. Primary data was collected using questionnaire, key informant interview, focus group discussion, and observation and photography. Secondary data was obtained from Kenya Meteorological Department and sub-County and County Agricultural Offices. Qualitative data was analyzed using themes. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis. Findings of the study showed a significant effect between rainfall magnitude and maize, beans, and African Nightshade yields, overall, and during both long and short rain seasons. About 44 percent, 38 percent, and 34 percent of the variation in maize, beans, and African Nightshade yields, respectively, could be explained by change in rainfall magnitude. This implied that rainfall magnitude affected the production of the three crops: maize, beans, and African Nightshade. There is need to engage precision agriculture, adopt climate-smart farming, minimize absolute reliance on rain-fed farming, and use hybrid seeds for early crop maturity. Keywords: Rainfall magnitude; Maize; Beans; African Nightshade; NyandoItem Influence of Women Factors on Modern Contraceptive Usage among Currently Married Women in Malawi(IISTE (International Institute for Science, Technology and Education), 2015) Dr. Omedi GilbertFamily planning and family planning interventions are among the most cost-effective health interventions especially considering their close link with maternal and infant health and survival. This study employed logistic regression analysis to assess the influence of women factors on modern contraceptive use among currently married women in Malawi using 2010 Malawi demographic and health survey data. Findings of logistic regression analysis show that level of education of the woman, current age of the woman and the fertility preference of the woman are significantly related to modern contraceptive use when analysis is done on the association of contraceptive use with women factors. Controlling for couple factors, the analysis found level of education of the woman, current age of the woman, fertility preference of the woman, religious affiliation and type of place of residence to be significantly related to modern contraceptive use. Results in the full model which controlled for both couple and partner factors found current age of the woman, fertility preference of the woman, religious affiliation and current age of the partner to be significantly related to modern contraceptive use among Malawian women. The fact that the fertility preference of a woman remains statistically significant throughout the analysis is a pointer on how policy makers and program implementers need to come in to support Malawian women to ensure that their contraceptive needs are met. Availing a wide range of contraceptive choice for all women will help to address the unmet need for family planning services and hence contribute towards improving the health of both mothers and children, reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and reducing family sizes by limiting unintended and unwanted pregnancies. Key words: women factors, modern contraceptive use, binary regression analysis, MalawiItem Levels, Trends and Differentials in Infant Mortality in Kenya: Analysis of 1998, 2003 and 2008/09 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey Data(IISTE (International Institute for Science, Technology and Education), 2015) Dr. Omedi GilbertReduction in the number of babies dying before their first birthday celebration is a global priority, the United Nations having targeted a two-third reduction in infant and child mortality between 1990 and 2015. As a nation, Kenya observed a normal curve in infant mortality rate in the period 1998 through 2008/09: 74 (1998), 77 (2003) and 52 (2008/09). This study used three consecutive Kenya demographic and health survey datasets to examine the trends of infant mortality over time, their levels and differentials based on socioeconomic, geographic and demographic factors. Direct estimation technique was used to obtain levels and trends of infant mortality while crosstabulation analysis was used to compute infant mortality differentials based on the study covariates. It was observed that infant mortality was significantly high in Nyanza region where it was 2.6 times that of Eastern region. Except for Nyanza and Western regions, neonatal mortality rate constitute a greater proportion of infant deaths in all other regions. Births to older mothers and small-sized births had higher infant mortality rates than births to women aged less than 35 years and medium to large-sized births. Maternal illiteracy and currently working women accounted for higher infant mortality rates than mothers who had some literacy skills and who were not working. The significant associations of socioeconomic, geographic and demographic variables with neonatal, post-neonatal and infant mortality suggest the need for sector-specific policies and programmes to address the need for increased child survival.Item Reversal in Infant Mortality in Kenya Based on Type of Place of Residence(Africa Population Studies, 2018) Dr. Omedi Gilbertkey words: