Kenya Research Results Released

Data Underscores The Critical Importance Of Community Health Information Centers To Health Care Workers And Ultimately To The People Of Kenya.

An evaluation component is integrated into all WiRED's programming. The results are used to measure the effectiveness of our work and to strengthen our services. I am pleased to share with you the most recent data from Kenya where WiRED's Community Health Information Centers are on the front line in the battle against HIV/AIDS.

Nearly six out of ten people who completed a questionnaire (59.9%) said the information offered at the Centers was "excellent" and just about everyone else (37.7%) said it was "good." Nearly all non-professionals reported receiving most of their medical information from the Centers. Four in ten (41.1%) said they got "nearly 100 percent" of their medical information from the Centers and about the same number (38.5%) said they got "around 75 percent" from the Centers. This tells us how important the Centers are as a primary information source for health care.

We were more surprised to discover that medical professionals also reported the central role of the Centers for medical information. The vast majority of professionals (94.8%) reported that they got at least 50 percent of their medical information from the Centers. About one-in-five (22.4%) said they got "nearly 100 percent" of their information from the Centers while about half (48.6%) reported getting "around 75 percent" from the Centers.

Such a response from medical professionals underscores the critical importance of these facilities to health care workers and ultimately to the people of Kenya. It appears that the Centers are filling a vital information need for professionals who are key to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and to treating other long-standing illnesses such as malaria and TB. The information libraries available at the Centers appear to be filling a gaping hole in the health care structure of Kenya.

The information for doctors and nurses may have been interesting, but was it useful in treating patients? Responses were overwhelmingly positive. Nine out of ten medical professionals (89.1%) said the Centers were "very useful," and nearly all of the remaining respondents (9.8%) said the Centers were "somewhat useful." This is strong evidence of the value of the Centers in the practice of medicine in the target communities. Interpreting this response in light of data from the previous question reminds us how central information is to the practice of medicine today. Doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in many Kenyan communities do not have a regular source of current information about treatments, practices, research and insights into developments elsewhere. Medical information delivered to these professionals, therefore, is immediately put to use for the good of local populations.

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