Assessing attitudes to ED-based HIV testing: Development of a short-structured survey instrument.

Introduction: Emergency Department (ED)-based HIV counseling and testing (HCT) has had a significant impact on improving rates of HIV diagnosis and linkage to care. Unfortunately, expansion of this strategy to low- and middle-income countries has been limited. Successful implementation of ED-based HCT is dependent on patient and provider acceptance of the intervention, and their attitudes and pre-existing biases towards the disease.

Illness representations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to inform health education strategies and research design-learning from rural Uganda.

More than 90% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries; however, few studies have examined the illness experiences of individuals living with and providing treatment for COPD in these settings. This study characterizes illness representations for COPD in Nakaseke, Uganda from the perspectives of health care providers, village health teams and community members (CMs) with COPD. We conducted 40 in-depth, semi-structured interviews (16 health care providers, 12 village health teams and 12 CMs, aged 25-80 years).

Obese women's perceptions of weight gain during pregnancy: a theory-based analysis.

Objective: Excess gestational weight gain (GWG) in obese women is linked to adverse maternal outcomes and is particularly pervasive among African Americans, who have the highest obesity rates in the USA. A better understanding of culturally relevant attitudes and perceptions of GWG is needed to develop targeted interventions to prevent excess GWG among this group.

Design: Using the constructs of Social Cognitive Theory, we explored attitudes and perceptions surrounding diet and exercise among low-income obese African-American pregnant women in Baltimore.

Urban-Rural Disparities in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Management and Access in Uganda.

Almost 90% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where there are large rural populations and access to health care for COPD is poor. The purpose of this study was to compare urban-rural provider experiences regarding systemic facilitators and barriers to COPD management and treatment access. We conducted a qualitative study using direct observations and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 and 10 health care providers in urban Kampala and rural Nakaseke, Uganda, respectively.