AVAILABILITY AND COMPETENCE OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS PROVIDING PEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN SIAYA COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

Pediatric critical care depends on healthcare professionals who are available, trained and competent to provide timely assessment, monitoring and emergency support for children requiring advanced hospital care. This article evaluated the availability and competence of healthcare professionals providing pediatric critical care in public hospitals in Siaya County, Kenya. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive quantitative design. Data were collected using structured questionnaires administered to a target of 60 healthcare professionals and facility-level personnel drawn from eight public health facilities in the county. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize professional cadre, work experience, pediatric care experience, training status and perceived adequacy of staffing and training. The findings showed that nurses formed the largest proportion of respondents, but specialized pediatric critical care personnel were limited. Only a small proportion of staff were pediatric critical care nurses, while more than half of respondents reported that their facilities lacked staff specifically trained in pediatric critical care. Most respondents also disagreed that pediatric units were adequately staffed and that staff had sufficient pediatric critical care training. The study concludes that strengthening pediatric critical care in Siaya County requires targeted training, mentorship, supportive deployment and continuous professional development locally.