Use of mobile phones to collect data on COVID-19: phone access and participation rates, in Rakai, Uganda.

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, we deployed a rapid, mobile phone-based survey to assess access and participation rates when using mobile phones to collect data on COVID-19 in Rakai, south-central Uganda. We sampled prior Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) participants based on HIV status using mobile phone contacts. We administered a 30-minute phone-based interview to consenting participants to assess their knowledge about different aspects of COVID-19 and their access to care.

Measuring the quality of self-care of elderly patients with dementia in a developing country.

In developing countries like Uganda, people with dementia are cared for by non-medically trained family members with minimal support from the formal healthcare system. The quality of care in this setting is largely unknown but significantly affects the well-being of those with dementia. A tool designed to measure the quality of informal care for old frail adults with or without dementia was translated into Luganda.

Adoptability of digital payments for community health workers in peri-urban Uganda: A case study of Wakiso district.

Background: Whereas digital payments have been identified as a solution to health payment challenges, evidence on their adoptability among Community Health Workers (CHWs) is limited. Understanding their adoptability is crucial for sustainability. This study assessed the adoptability of digital payments for CHWs in Wakiso district, Uganda.

Metagenomic sequencing of the skin microbiota of the scalp predicting the risk of surgical site infections following surgery of traumatic brain injury in sub-Saharan Africa.

Background: Surgical site infections (SSI) are a significant concern following traumatic brain injury (TBI) surgery and often stem from the skin's microbiota near the surgical site, allowing bacteria to penetrate deeper layers and potentially causing severe infections in the cranial cavity. This study investigated the relationship between scalp skin microbiota composition and the risk of SSI after TBI surgery in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Methods: This was a prospective cohort study, enrolling patients scheduled for TBI surgery.

Care-seeking for difficulties conceiving in sub-Saharan Africa: findings from population-based surveys in eight geographies.

Study Question: What is the nature of women's care-seeking for difficulties conceiving in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including the correlates of seeking biomedical infertility care at a health facility?

Summary Answer: Care-seeking for difficulties getting pregnant was low, much of which involved traditional or religious sources of care, with evidence of sociodemographic disparities in receipt of biomedical care.

What Is Known Already: Nearly all research on infertility care-seeking patterns in SSA is limited to clinic-based studies among the minority of people in these settings who obtain facility-based services. In the absence of population-based data on infertility care-seeking, we are unable to determine the demand for services and disparities in the use of more effective biomedical sources of care.

Effect of nutrition assessment, counselling and support integration on mother-infant nutritional status, practices and health in Tororo and Butaleja districts, Uganda: A comparative non-equivalent quasi-experimental study.

Background: Malnutrition remains a health challenge for women aged 15 to 49 years and their infants. While Nutrition Assessment Counselling and Support (NACS) is considered a promising strategy, evidence of its effectiveness remains scanty. This study assessed the effect of the comprehensive NACS package on the mother-infant practices, health and nutrition outcomes in two districts in Eastern Uganda.

Characterising People who inject drugs, and association with HIV infection: A Situation Analysis in Kampala city, Uganda.

Background: Uganda has implemented targeted interventions to address the rising burden of injection drug use, yet barriers persist in reaching persons who inject drugs (PWID). This study describes the characteristics of people who inject drugs, physical and mental health states, and associated risk behaviors, to inform the designing of programs that are tailored to client's needs and preferences.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and December 2023 at selected hotspots in Kampala, interviewing 499 PWID aged ≥18 years.

Retention of people who inject drugs enrolled in a 'medications for opioid use disorder' (MOUD) programme in Uganda.

Background: Injection Drug use is associated with increased HIV risk behaviour that may result in the transmission of HIV and poor access to HIV prevention and treatment. In 2020, Uganda introduced the 'medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment' for People who inject drugs (PWID). We analysed the 12-month retention and associated factors among PWID enrolled on MOUD treatment in Kampala, Uganda.

Estimation of cause-specific mortality in Rakai, Uganda, using verbal autopsy 1999-2019.

Background: There are scant data on the causes of adult deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. We estimated the level and trends in adult mortality, overall and by different causes, in rural Rakai, Uganda, by age, sex, and HIV status.

Objectives: To estimate and analyse adult cause-specific mortality trends in Rakai, Uganda.

Equity in family planning policies and programs in Uganda: conceptualization, dimensions and implementation constraints.

Background: Equity is at the core and a fundamental principle of achieving the family planning (FP) 2030 Agenda. However, the conceptualization, definition, and measurement of equity remain inconsistent and unclear in many FP programs and policies. This paper aims to document the conceptualization, dimensions and implementation constraints of equity in FP policies and programs in Uganda.

Factors associated with family planning use among refugee and host populations in Adjumani district, West Nile, Uganda: a comparative study.

Introduction: Uganda currently hosts an estimated 1.5 million refugees. The refugees have challenges in accessing family planning (FP) services in the host country.

Mortality Among HIV-Infected Adults on Antiretroviral Therapy in Southern Uganda.

Background: Monitoring and evaluation of clinical programs requires assessing patient outcomes. Numerous challenges complicate these efforts, the most insidious of which is loss to follow-up (LTFU). LTFU is a composite outcome, including individuals out of care, undocumented transfers, and unreported deaths.

Reproductive autonomy and the experience of later-than-desired pregnancy: results from a cross-sectional survey of reproductive-aged women in Uganda.

Background: The focus of reproductive autonomy research has historically been on the experience of unintended pregnancy and use of contraceptive methods. However, this has led to the neglect of a different group of women who suffer from constraints on their reproductive autonomy-women who experience pregnancies later than they desire or who are unable to become pregnant. This study examines the extent of later-than-desired pregnancy among women and evaluates the sociodemographic and reproductive factors associated with this experience in Uganda.

Extent of integration of nutrition assessment counselling and support interventions in the health system and respective drivers: A case of Tororo district, Uganda.

Background: Uganda embraced Nutrition Assessment Counselling and Support (NACS) since 2009 as a health system strengthening approach to improve health and nutrition outcomes. However, scant evidence exists on NACS integration and drivers. This study therefore assessed the extent of NACS integration in the health system and identified key drivers and barriers.

Lived experiences and drivers of induced abortion among women in central Uganda.

Although unsafe abortions are preventable, they are one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity. Despite the serious potential health consequences, there is limited published information about drivers and challenges of obtaining abortions in restrictive settings such as Uganda. This limits efforts to improve programing for preventing unsafe abortion and providing comprehensive post abortion care.

Peer-led training improves lifejacket wear among occupational boaters: Evidence from a cluster randomized controlled trial on Lake Albert, Uganda.

Background: The burden of drowning among occupational boaters in low and middle-income countries is highest globally. In Uganda, over 95% of people who drowned from boating-related activities were not wearing lifejackets at the time of the incident. We implemented and evaluated a peer-led training program to improve lifejacket wear among occupational boaters on Lake Albert, Uganda.

Complete sources of cluster variation on the risk of under-five malaria in Uganda: a multilevel-weighted mixed effects logistic regression model approach.

Background: Malaria, a major cause of mortality worldwide is linked to a web of determinants ranging from individual to contextual factors. This calls for examining the magnitude of the effect of clustering within malaria data. Regrettably, researchers usually ignore cluster variation on the risk of malaria and also apply final survey weights in multilevel modelling instead of multilevel weights.

Virological non-suppression among adult males attending HIV care services in the fishing communities in Bulisa district, Uganda.

Background: Virological non-suppression is a critical factor in driving HIV transmission rates, yet there is limited data available on the determinants of this phenomenon, particularly in fishing communities where the incidence of HIV is disproportionately high. We aimed to determine the prevalence and determinants of virological non-suppression among adult males (≥15 years) attending HIV care services in the fishing communities of Bulisa district.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among all adult males (≥15 years) living with HIV who were resident within the fishing communities, and in care for atleast 6 months at the six health facilities offering HIV services in the fishing communities in Bulisa district.

Effectiveness of intensive adherence counselling in achieving an undetectable viral load among people on antiretroviral therapy with low-level viraemia in Uganda.

Introduction: Uganda was using a threshold of 1000 copies/mL to determine viral non-suppression for antiretroviral therapy monitoring among people living with HIV, prior to this study. It was not clear whether people living with HIV with low-level viraemia (LLV, ≥50 to <1000 copies/mL) would benefit from intensive adherence counselling (IAC). The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of IAC among people living with HIV, receiving antiretroviral therapy, and with LLV in Uganda, to guide key policy decisions in HIV care, including the review of the viral load (VL) testing algorithm.

Self-reported abortion experiences in Ethiopia and Uganda, new evidence from cross-sectional community-based surveys.

Unsafe abortion is a major contributor to maternal morbidity and mortality. To gain insight into the ways in which abortion restrictions and stigma may shape reproductive health outcomes, we present self-reported data on abortions in Ethiopia and Uganda and compare these findings across the two varying legal contexts. W investigate differences in sociodemographic characteristics by whether or not a woman self-reported an abortion, and we describe the characteristics of women's most recent self-reported abortion.

Development and validation of an intervention package to improve lifejacket wear for drowning prevention among occupational boaters on Lake Albert, Uganda.

Background: Occupational drowning is a growing public health concern globally. The human cost of fishing is highest in sub-Saharan Africa. Although lifejackets prevent drowning, the majority of boaters in Uganda do not wear them.

The association between menstrual hygiene, workplace sanitation practices and self-reported urogenital symptoms in a cross-sectional survey of women working in Mukono District, Uganda.

Background: Women worldwide experience challenges managing their periods. Menstrual and genital hygiene behaviours have been linked to negative health outcomes, including urogenital symptoms and confirmed infections. However, evidence testing this association has been limited and mixed.