Missed opportunities in tuberculosis investigation and associated factors at public health facilities in Uganda.

Background: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) is high in Uganda; yet, TB case detection is low. The population-based survey on the prevalence of TB in Uganda revealed that only 16% of presumptive TB patients seeking care at health facilities were offered sputum microscopy or chest-X ray (CXR). This study aimed to determine the magnitude of, and patient factors associated with missed opportunities in TB investigation at public health facilities of Wakiso District in Uganda.

Effect of the eQuality Health Bwindi Scheme on Utilization of Health Services at Bwindi Community Hospital in Uganda.

eQuality Health Bwindi (eQHB), a Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme was launched in March 2010 with the aim of generating income to maintain high quality care as well as increasing access to and utilization of health services at Bwindi Community Hospital (BCH). The main objective of this study was to explore evidence showing that eQHB scheme affected access and utilization of health services at BCH. The evidence generated would be used to inform decision making, policy and scale up of the scheme.

Development of the Kisiizi hospital health insurance scheme: lessons learned and implications for universal health coverage.

Background: Kisiizi Hospital Health Insurance scheme started in 1996 to; improve access to health services, and provide a stable source of funding and reduce bad debts to Kisiizi hospital. Objectives of this study were; to describe Kisiizi Hospital Health Insurance scheme and to document lessons learned and implications for universal health coverage.

Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Task shifting in health service delivery from a decision and policy makers' perspective: a case of Uganda.

Background: Documented evidence shows that task shifting has been practiced in Uganda to bridge the gaps in the health workers' numbers since 1918. The objectives of this study were to provide a synthesis of the available evidence on task shifting in Uganda; to establish levels of understanding, perceptions on task shifting and acceptability from the decision and policy makers' perspective; and to provide recommendations on the implications of task shifting for the health of the population in Ugandan and human resource management policy.

Methods: This was a qualitative study.

Strengthening health district management competencies in Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda: lessons from using action research to improve health workforce performance.

Background: To achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), more health workers are needed; also critical is supporting optimal performance of existing staff. Integrated human resource management (HRM) strategies, complemented by other health systems strategies, are needed to improve health workforce performance, which is possible at district level in decentralised contexts. To strengthen the capacity of district management teams to develop and implement workplans containing integrated strategies for workforce performance improvement, we introduced an action-research-based management strengthening intervention (MSI).

Disability Characteristics of Community-Based Rehabilitation Participants in Kayunga District, Uganda.

Background: Approximately 80% of individuals with disability reside in low- and middle-income countries where community-based rehabilitation (CBR) has been used as a strategy to improve disability. However, data relating to disability severity among CBR beneficiaries in low-income countries like Uganda remain scarce, particularly at the community or district level.

Objectives: To describe severity of disability and associated factors for persons with physical disabilities receiving CBR services in the Kayunga district of Uganda.

The health cost of tobacco use in Uganda.

The economic cost of tobacco use is well documented in high-income countries. It has been measured in relatively fewer low-and middle-income countries, and much less in sub-Saharan Africa despite the longstanding recognition of significant current and future health risk to people attributed by tobacco use in this region. This article fills this gap by estimating the economic cost of tobacco use in Uganda, a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa.

Using a human resource management approach to support community health workers: experiences from five African countries.

Background: Like any other health worker, community health workers (CHWs) need to be supported to ensure that they are able to contribute effectively to health programmes. Management challenges, similar to those of managing any other health worker, relate to improving attraction, retention and performance.

Methods: Exploratory case studies of CHW programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe were conducted to provide an understanding of the practices for supporting and managing CHWs from a multi-actor perspective.

Incremental cost of increasing access to maternal health care services: perspectives from a demand and supply side intervention in Eastern Uganda.

Introduction: High maternal and infant mortality continue to be major challenges to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals for many low and middle-income countries. There is now evidence that voucher initiatives can increase access to maternal health services. However, a dearth of knowledge exists on the cost implications of voucher schemes.

A scoping study on task shifting; the case of Uganda.

Background: Task shifting has been implemented in Uganda for decades with little documentation. This study's objectives were to; gather evidence on task-shifting experiences in Uganda, establish its acceptability and perceptions among health managers and policymakers, and make recommendations.

Methods: This was a qualitative study.

Self reported risk reduction behavior associated with HIV counseling and testing: a comparative analysis of facility- and home-based models in rural Uganda.

Home-based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) in Uganda is being promoted to increase coverage, in addition to main stay approach of service provision through health facilities. The aim of this study was to compare self reported risk reduction behavior among clients receiving facility and home-based HIV VCT within a rural context. Pre-post intervention client surveys were conducted in November 2007 (baseline) and March 2008 (follow up) in southwestern Uganda.

Acceptability of male circumcision for prevention of HIV infection among men and women in Uganda.

In the last decade, three randomized controlled trials in Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda have shown that medical male circumcision (MMC) reduces the sexual transmission of HIV from women to men. Objectives of this assessment were to measure acceptability of adult MMC and circumcision of children to inform policies regarding whether and how to promote MMC as an HIV prevention strategy. This mixed-method study, conducted across four Ugandan districts, included a two-stage household survey of 833 adult males and 842 adult females, focus group discussions, and a health provider survey.

Facility and home based HIV Counseling and Testing: a comparative analysis of uptake of services by rural communities in southwestern Uganda.

Background: In Uganda, public human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) services are mainly provided through the facility based model, although the home based approach is being promoted as a strategy for improving access to VCT. However the uptake of VCT varies according to service delivery model and is influenced by a number of factors. The aim of this study therefore, was to compare predictors for uptake of facility and home based VCT in a rural context.