The relationship between exercise or physical activity and women reproductive health is a controversial issue especially characterized by lack of understanding on the type of physical activity or exercise and the exact effect on expectant women. This is evidenced by lack of medical guidelines on exercise in pregnancy up to 1985.The traditional medical view ruled out exercise for expectant mothers. The society in general prevented girls from participating in exercise for fear that it might compromise their potential as future mothers. However recent research show that exercise during pregnancy has benefits to the mother and foetus. Modern medicine appreciates that both expectant mothers need exercise for good health. The study assessed the knowledge and attitude of expectant mothers on benefits of exercise during pregnancy. A descriptive survey research design sought information from 306 expectant mothers of 15 -39 years attending antenatal clinics in selected medical facilities of Kakamega County in Kenya. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from the subjects on maternal characteristics and knowledge on benefits of exercise during pregnancy. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the level of knowledge and perceived benefits of exercise during pregnancy. The results showed majority of the subjects were between 20-24 years (33.3%). 17% of the sampled population did not know that exercise was useful in pregnancy despite 71.6% having been active in sports while in school. The subjects showed knowledge of exercise in, preventing incontinence (80.4%), decreased risk of pre-eclampsia (71.6%) and decreasing the risk of gestational diabetes and hypertension at 65.7% and 68.6% respectively. The results indicated that there was strong association between the level of education and, knowledge (X 2 (3, N=306) =39.109, p=0.02) in the role of exercise during pregnancy. Therefore it is important to note that the level of education is important for quality pregnancy.

Physical inactivity is a serious epidemic that affects one's health and there's evidence that exercise can improve quality of life and health. The healthcare setting has been recognized as an appropriate and promising venue for counseling and prescribing physical activity to increase activity index of the population. An exercise prescription from a healthcare professional will remind the patient that physical activity is part of their treatment plan and should be adhered to with the same diligence with which their medication is taken. However, limited research on the topic suggests that many healthcare professionals are not incorporating exercise into treatment, and many lack the confidence to do so. The purpose of this study was to evaluate current exercise prescription trends among practicing healthcare professionals in Kakamega County, Kenya. A cross-sectional study was carried out in public health facilities in Kakamega County. The target population was nurses, medical officers and clinical officers. Data was collected using self-administered questionnaires and a total of 280 healthcare professionals from 7 government hospitals in Kakamega county participated in the study. From these hospitals 221 healthcare professionals (medical officers=11,5%, nurses= 165,75% and clinical officers=71,32%) completed the questionnaire. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) reported that, they occasionally (n=75, 33.9%) referred patients to other professionals for fitness assessment or appraisal, they occasionally (n=78, 35.3%) provided patients with verbal directions for a physical activity program, they very rarely (n=73, 33%) provided patients with written directions for a physical activity program, they frequently (n=71 32.1%) counselled PA (verbal or written prescription) for purposes of preventing chronic disease, they occasionally (n=76, 34.4%) discussed about physical activity with their patients and 59 (26.7%) very rarely participated in exercise session at least three times a week. The independent between-group ANOVA yielded a non-statistically significantly effect, F (2, 218) = 1.132, p = .324, ƞ p 2 = .01. Statistical power was not adequate and was equal to .248. Thus, the null hypothesis of no significant differences in knowledge of exercise prescription in health professionals at public health facilities in Kakamega was accepted. In conclusion these findings lend support for further training, increased incorporation, and further growth needed in healthcare professionals' self-efficacy in the prescription of exercise.

The objective of this study was to examine general self-efficacy as a mediator of the association between perceived barriers to physical activity(PA) and health behaviour intentions as well as moderate to vigorous physical activity(MVPA) among health science students. 205 Students completed the self-reported questionnaire. Mediation analysis revealed partial mediation of general self-efficacy on relationships between general barriers to PA and health behaviour intentions (b=0.812, p=0.001 reduced to b= 0.586, p=0.001). Mediation analysis also revealed that general self-efficacy fully mediated the association between barriers to physical activity and moderate to vigorous physical activity (b= 0.416, p=0.001 reduced to b= -0.93, p=0.120).Pearson correlation was done and revealed that general self-efficacy was significantly correlated to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity r(205) =0.751, p<0.05. In view of the findings obtained from this research, participation in exercise has a positive effect on psychological effects like general self-efficacy, and general self-efficacy played a major role in predicting the health behaviour intention of health science students. This study suggests that, in the effort to encourage the student's physical activity participation, university management should also plan and organize programmes to develop positive attitudes among students, because increasing their self-efficacy will have overall effect on their health behaviour habits.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to establish psychometric properties of the subscales self-realization and health responsibility of the health-promoting lifestyle profile II tool among Kenyan university students Design: The study design was a cross-sectional analytical, that utilized quantitative methods Setting. The study was conducted in Kakamega County, located in Western Kenya. Analysis: Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis, which was conducted using robust maximum likelihood estimation. The factor model was tested for validity and construct validity. Main outcome measures: subscales self-realization and health responsibility of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II Results: The items for self-realization and health responsibility had a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.72 and 0.80, indicating acceptable reliability. For self-realization, the results of the Chi-square goodness of fit test were significant, χ2(27) = 251.61, p < .001, suggesting that the model did not adequately fit the data. The fit indices showed the RMSEA index was greater than .10, RMSEA = 0.20, 90% CI = [0.18, 0.22], which is indicative of a poor model fit. The CFI was less than .90, CFI = 0.52, suggesting that the model is indicative of a poor model fit. For health responsibility, the results of the Chi-square goodness of fit test were significant, χ2(20) = 272.58, p < .001, suggesting that the model did not adequately fit the data. Fit indices values showed the RMSEA index was greater than .10, RMSEA = 0.25, 90% CI = [0.22, 0.27], which is indicative of a poor model fit. The CFI was less than .90, CFI = 0.75, suggesting that the model is indicative of a poor model fit. Conclusion: In conclusion, within the limitations of this study, the results showed that confirmatory factor analysis could not well fit the items to their latent constructs. This study recommended that in future studies, a shortened version of this tool is subjected to psychometric investigation.

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