Unravelling taboos and cultural beliefs associated with hidden hunger among pregnant and breast-feeding women in Buyende district Eastern Uganda.

Background: Food taboos and cultural beliefs among pregnant and breast-feeding women influence their food consumption patterns and hence the health of women and unborn children. Cognizant of their neglect in programs aimed to ameliorate hidden hunger among pregnant and breast-feeding women in Buyende and other resource-poor communities in sub-Saharan Africa, we opted for a study to unravel them to inform program design.

Methods: We documented food taboos and beliefs amongst pregnant and breast-feeding women from six sub-counties of Buyende district in Eastern Uganda.

Factors Associated with COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Uganda: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Survey.

Purpose: Vaccination toward coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been recommended and adopted as one of the measures of reducing the spread of this novel disease worldwide. Despite this, vaccine uptake among the Ugandan population has been low with reasons surrounding this being unknown. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Uganda.

Disruption in Essential Health Service Delivery: A Qualitative Study on Access to Family Planning Information and Service Utilization During the First Wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in Uganda.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a challenge to public health with profound impact on people's lives. With several mitigation measures implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19, these impacted on access and utilization of general health services including family planning (FP) services. The objective of the study was to understand the extent to which COVID-19 interrupted access and utilization of FP services as well as highlight the challenges faced during the lockdown in Uganda.

Estimating the cost of implementing a facility and community score card for maternal and newborn care service delivery in a rural district in Uganda.

Introduction: This paper aimed at estimating the resources required to implement a community Score Card by a typical rural district health team in Uganda, as a mechanism for fostering accountability, utilization and quality of maternal and child healthcare service.

Methods: This costing analysis was done from the payer's perspective using the ingredients approach over five quarterly rounds of scoring between 2017 and 2018. Expenditure data was obtained from project records, entered and analyzed in Microsoft excel.

Maternal health challenges experienced by adolescents; could community score cards address them? A case study of Kibuku District- Uganda.

Introduction: Approximately 34.8% of the Ugandan population is adolescents. The national teenage pregnancy rate is 25% and in Kibuku district, 17.

Maternal and newborn health needs for women with walking disabilities; "the twists and turns": a case study in Kibuku District Uganda.

Background: In Uganda 13% of persons have at least one form of disability. The United Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees persons with disabilities the same level of right to access quality and affordable healthcare as persons without disability. Understanding the needs of women with walking disabilities is key in formulating flexible, acceptable and responsive health systems to their needs and hence to improve their access to care.