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Abstract:
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As compared to their urban middle-income counterparts, women and children living in
rural areas and urban informal settlements in Kenya face special challenges in accessing health
information and services. Television and print health information is often confined to towns and
cities and shortages of health workers and supplies hamper most rural health care systems (CBS,
2004). At the same time, rapid urbanization has put unprecedented strain on the existing
resources in the cities and has resulted in high rates of unemployment, poverty, and poor health
outcomes especially among women and children living in informal settlements (Africa
Population and Health Research Center, 2002; Mutua-Kombo, 2001; Ngimwa, Ocholla, &
Ojiambo, 1997Only middle- and upper-class Kenyans who live in the largest urban centers have
As compared to their urban middle-income counterparts, women and children living in
rural areas and urban informal settlements in Kenya face special challenges in accessing health
information and services. Television and print health information is often confined to towns and
cities and shortages of health workers and supplies hamper most rural health care systems (CBS,
2004). At the same time, rapid urbanization has put unprecedented strain on the existing
resources in the cities and has resulted in high rates of unemployment, poverty, and poor health
outcomes especially among women and children living in informal settlements (Africa
Population and Health Research Center, 2002; Mutua-Kombo, 2001; Ngimwa, Ocholla, &
Ojiambo, 1997Only middle- and upper-class Kenyans who live in the largest urban centers have
ready access to information about prevention and care, and can take advantage of a range of
early detection technologies and treatment options at private hospitals. |