Impact of Nurses' Strike in Kenya on Number of Fully Immunized Infants in 18 County Referral Hospitals.

INTRODUCTION

Nurses in Kenya provide significant health care including immunization in government-run health facilities. Nurses' went on strike for 150 days in 2017. This study sought to determine the strike's effect on immunization services.

METHODS

Data on number of fully immunized infants reported in 18 county referral hospitals was extracted from the Kenya Health Information System and analyzed for strike and similar non-strike months. A similar analysis was conducted for 14 faith-based health facilities that were not affected by the strike.

RESULTS

A Mann-Whitney U Test revealed significant difference in the mean number of fully immunized infants during the strike period (Md= 111, n=18) and non-strike period (Md=289, n=18), U=37, z= -4.0, p= .000, r=.6. A decline of 56.9% was reported during the strike. Faith-based health facilities reported an increase of 251.6% during the strike periodConclusion. This nurses' strike may have adversely affected immunization services.