In-depth Interview Schedule Research Articles

Hygienic and Sanitary Practices of Vendors of Street Foods in Nairobi, Kenya

The street food industry has an important role in the cities and towns of many developing countries in meeting the food demands of the urban dwellers. It feeds millions of people daily with a wide variety of foods that are relatively cheap and easily accessible. Street food sector symbolizes the street life in Africa and it operates in an unstable and precarious state because the sector lacks legal recognition. There have been noticeable increases of food vendors in Nairobi, who sell both raw and cooked food items. There are not regulated, they operate haphazardly without any monitoring of what they prepare and how they do it. A study to determine hygienic and sanitary practices of vendors of street foods in Nairobi was carried out using a descriptive survey design. A sample size of 80 street food vendors selling commonly consumed foods was selected. Data was collected using in-depth interview schedules and observation checklists. Information from the study shows that vendors lacked training on food preparation. About 62% obtained food preparation skills through observation while 33% were taught by their parents in non-formal settings. The preparation surfaces used for the preparation of raw foods were not washed regularly. Cooked foods were stored at ambient temperature in cupboards, plastic bowls, jugs and buckets were just left in the open uncovered. Eighty-five per cent of the vendors had garbage and waste bins beside the food stalls. Personal hygiene was not also observed, as the vendors never covered their heads, handled money and food at the same time and they did not wear overcoats/aprons and handled food with bare hand. Street food vendors were not aware of hygienic and sanitary practice. Th e food is sold to unsuspecting clients who are likely to get food-borne diseases. This study recommends the establishment of street food centres by the city council, the training of street food vendors on hygiene, sanitation and the establishment of code of practice for the street food industry and the empowerment of Public Health Officers.

Hardiness in families with and without a child with Down syndrome

The paper reports on mothers' perceptions, ideas and beliefs about the hardiness and resilience of their families, in families with and without a child with Down syndrome. Mothers in Australia and New Zealand responded to The Family Hardiness Index (FHI), a standardised psychometric instrument, suitable for the purpose of this investigation. Furthermore the Australian cohort responded to an in-depth interview schedule, in which family hardiness was the main feature. Results suggest that there are minimal differences between families with and without a child with disability. Furthermore, mean differences between the two groups were not statistically significant. These findings point to increasing evidence that the previously identified pathology and dysfunction in families with a child with disability cannot be easily generalised to all families with disability, and in fact there exists emerging evidence that the presence of disability can have the opposite effect and provide families with a sense of hardiness or resilience. The close agreement between the means obtained in this study and the means of the published comparative data of the index suggests that the FHI is a suitable instrument to complement full family hardiness assessment.

Orientation programme influences emotional adjustment of first-year students in public universities in Kenya

Orientation programme is a gate keeper to facilitate the integration of new students into the university environment. Student adjustment increases their likelihood of success and retention. However, various studies reveal that a huge number of first years leave university due to adjustment related challenges. Specifically, the study endeavoured toascertain the degree to which orientation programme influences emotional adjustment of first-year students in public universities in Kenya; the study used descriptive survey design and mixed methods research approach. The study was conducted in nine public universities in Kenya. Slovin’s formula and purposeful sampling technique were employed to obtain 479 respondents from the target population of 71,285. Data was collected using a questionnaire, focused group discussions, and in-depth interview schedule. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques that include Content Analysis, Means and Standard Deviation, Factor Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Post-hoc t-tests were utilized. Detailed analyses revealed that new-urban universities obtained the highest levels of adjustment followed by new-rural universities, then old-urban universities, and old-rural universities as the least on; how to manage homesickness, how to handle loneliness, how to manage emotions such as anger, stress, mood-swings, guilt, fear, and frustration, the dangers of experimenting with alcohol and other substances of abuse, and on how to handle personal and intrapersonal conflicts. New-rural universities on the other hand, obtained highest levels of adjustment followed by new-urban universities, then old-urban universities, and old-rural universities as the least on how to develop healthy relationships with people of either gender. The establishment of proper counselling and wellness centres in all institutions of higher learning equipped with proper psychological assessment tools and manned by fully qualified and experienced service providers.