Exploring the impact of health worker strikes on maternal and child health in a Kenyan county

5Citations
Citations of this article
31Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background: Studies of the impact of health care workers’ strikes tend to look at facility-level activity rather than populations, with evidence from low and middle-income countries relatively sparse. This study explored the effect of national strikes on maternal and child health. It looked at the impact on health system activity in both public and non-public sectors (e.g. private, faith-based), on health promotion investments like immunisation, and on disease detection like post-partum haemorrhage (PPH). A 100 day doctors’ strike started in December 2016, a 150 day nurses strike from June 2017 and then the clinical officers for 21 days that September. Methods: Time series descriptive analysis of attendance data from the Kenyan Health Management Information System (public, non-public sector facilities). The setting was Kilifi, a coastal county in Kenya with a population of about 1.5 million. Results: Along the care pathway from antenatal, postnatal and out-patient child health clinics, activity levels dropped markedly in the public sector with only partial compensatory increases in non-public sector activity. The number of fully immunised children fell during the nurses strike as did women seen with PPH during all strikes. These health care strikes caused significant adverse health impacts at the time and potentially inter-generationally as exemplified by the fall in antenatal haematinics supplementation and syphilis testing. Some post-strike ‘’catch-up” activity occurred, however this may have been too late in some instances. Conclusions: Policy-makers at national and county level need to ensure population health is protected at times of strikes and ideally resolve disputes without such action. Not to do so risks major negative effects on maternal and child health. Increased use of the non-public health sector could be done by the authorities in mitigation should strikes occur again.

References Powered by Scopus

Global causes of maternal death: A WHO systematic analysis

4062Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Antenatal care services and its implications for vital and health outcomes of children: Evidence from 193 surveys in 69 low-income and middle-income countries

220Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Tackling health professionals' strikes: An essential part of health system strengthening in Kenya

69Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

Trust, Care Avoidance, and Care Experiences among Kenyan Women Who Delivered during the COVID-19 Pandemic

5Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Prevalence and Predictors of Adverse Birth Outcomes and Their Implications in Assessing the Safety of New Maternal Vaccines in Kenya

0Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Improving access to emergency obstetric care in low- and middle-income countries

0Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Mohiddin, A., Langat, E., Orwa, J., Naanyu, V., & Temmerman, M. (2022). Exploring the impact of health worker strikes on maternal and child health in a Kenyan county. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08493-2

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 9

56%

Researcher 4

25%

Lecturer / Post doc 3

19%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Nursing and Health Professions 7

44%

Medicine and Dentistry 5

31%

Arts and Humanities 2

13%

Economics, Econometrics and Finance 2

13%

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free