Standard of care in advanced HIV disease: review of HIV treatment guidelines in six sub-Saharan African countries.

Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends an evidence-based package of care to reduce mortality and morbidity among people with advanced HIV disease (AHD). Adoption of these recommendations by national guidelines in sub-Saharan Africa is poorly documented. We aimed to review national guidelines for AHD management across six selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa for benchmarking against the 2021 WHO recommendations.

Case fatality rate for Ebola disease, 1976-2022: A meta-analysis of global data.

An up-to-date pooled case fatality rate (CFR) for Ebola disease (EBOD) at the global level is lacking. We abstracted EBOD data from 1976 to 2022 for 16 countries and 42 outbreaks to conduct a meta-analysis. The pooled CFR was 60.

Financial incentives for reduced alcohol use and increased isoniazid adherence during tuberculosis preventive therapy among people with HIV in Uganda: an open-label, factorial randomised controlled trial.

Background: Alcohol use is common among people with HIV and is a risk factor for tuberculosis disease and non-adherence to isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT). Few interventions exist to reduce alcohol use and increase IPT adherence in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that financial incentives conditional on point-of-care negative urine alcohol biomarker testing and positive urine isoniazid testing would reduce alcohol use and increase isoniazid adherence, respectively, in people with HIV who have latent tuberculosis infection and hazardous alcohol use.

Experiences of mothers and health workers with MomCare and SafeCare bundles in Kenya and Tanzania: A qualitative evaluation.

Between 2019 and 2022, the digital dividend project (DDP), a technology-based intervention that combined care (MomCare) and quality improvement (SafeCare) bundles to empower mothers to access quality care during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, and postnatally, was implemented in Kenya and Tanzania aiming to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes. We describe the experiences of the mothers in accessing and utilizing health services under the bundles, and the experiences of the health workers in providing the services. Between November and December 2022, we conducted a qualitative evaluation across health facilities in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Role of Problem-Based Learning Approach in Teaching and Learning Physics: A Systematic Literature Review.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a learner-centered method in which complex real-world problems are used to stimulate students thinking and problem-solving abilities during the teaching and learning process. This systematic review aimed to reveal the role of the PBL approach in teaching and learning physics. Relevant articles for the review were sourced from Scopus and Web of Science using keywords such as "problem-based learning" and "PBL in physics" education" as search terms.

Factors Associated with High Rates of Caesarean Deliveries: A Cross Sectional Study Classifying Deliveries According to Robson in Mengo Hospital Kampala.

Introduction: The number of caesarean section (CS) continues to rise worldwide. CS can improve outcomes in infants and mothers. However, if used improperly, the potential harm can outweigh the potential benefits.

Pilot bowel management program at Mbarara Hospital, Uganda.

Purpose: Children with Hirschsprung's disease (HD) and anorectal malformations (ARM) may benefit from a bowel management program (BMP) to treat constipation and fecal incontinence. This study describes a pilot BMP in Uganda.

Methods: Patients treated for HD or ARM were recruited for the BMP.

Prevalence of postpartum depression and its association with Diabetes mellitus among mothers in Mbarara, southwestern Uganda.

Background: Postpartum Depression (PPD) is a major health challenge with potentially devastating maternal and physical health outcomes. Development of diabetes mellitus has been hypothesized as one the potential adverse effects of PPD among mothers in the postpartum period but this association has not been adequately studied. This study aimed at determining prevalence of postpartum depression and its association with diabetes mellitus among mothers in Mbarara District, southwestern Uganda.

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential.

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced and satellite-derived approaches to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands.

Planning for Hospital Discharge for Older Adults in Uganda: A Qualitative Study Among Healthcare Providers Using the COM-B Framework.

Background: Proper discharge planning enhances continuity of patient care, reduces readmissions, and ensures safe and timely transition from health facility to home-based care. The current study aimed at exploring the healthcare providers' perspectives of discharge planning among older adults, with respect to barriers and facilitators within the Ugandan health system.

Methods: We conducted a qualitative exploratory study that used one-on-one interviews (Additional file 1) to describe individual perspectives of healthcare providers in their routine clinical care setting.

Bacterial isolates and antibiotic susceptibility among women with abnormal vaginal discharge attending the gynecology clinic at a tertiary hospital in southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Abnormal vaginal discharge is a common complaint among women of reproductive age, affecting about one- third of all women. In resource-limited settings where access to laboratory services is limited, treatment is usually syndromic. This approach may result in ineffective treatment, with high recurrence rates and a potential of developing antibiotic resistance.

High Rate of Loss to Follow-Up Among Patients Undergoing Treatment for Premalignant Cervical Lesions at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Southwestern Uganda: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: For a cervical cancer control program to be effective in reducing the incidence of the disease, there should be high compliance to treatment and follow-up of women diagnosed with precursor lesions. Screening programs in low-resource countries such as Uganda are challenged by poor adherence to follow-up following treatment for premalignant cervical lesions. This study sought to describe the burden and factors associated with loss to follow-up among women undergoing treatment for premalignant cervical lesions at a tertiary hospital in southwestern Uganda.

Gaps in vaccine management practices during vaccination outreach sessions in rural settings in southwestern Uganda.

Background: Outreach efforts were developed to bolster people's access to and use of immunization services in underserved populations. However, there have been multiple outbreaks of diseases like measles in Uganda, prompting policy makers and stakeholders to ask many unanswered questions. This research study was created to uncover the discrepancies between vaccine management practices at immunization outreach sessions in rural South Western Uganda compared with existing standards.

An accident waiting to happen? Exposing the potential of urogenital schistosomiasis transmission in the Lake Albert region, Uganda.

Background: Urogenital schistosomiasis caused by the parasitic blood fluke Schistosoma haematobium is the most common form of that constitutes a majority of over 240 million schistosomiasis cases. The enigmatic absence of urogenital schistosomiasis in Uganda has, until now, been attributed to the absence of substantial populations of suitable snail intermediate hosts.

Methods: Malacological surveys were carried out in 73 sites southeast of Lake Albert, Uganda in October and November 2020.

Cost-effectiveness of community-based household tuberculosis contact management for children in Cameroon and Uganda: a modelling analysis of a cluster-randomised trial.

Background: WHO recommends household contact management (HCM) including contact screening and tuberculosis-preventive treatment (TPT) for eligible children. The CONTACT trial found increased TPT initiation and completion rates when community health workers were used for HCM in Cameroon and Uganda.

Methods: We did a cost-utility analysis of the CONTACT trial using a health-system perspective to estimate the health impact, health-system costs, and cost-effectiveness of community-based versus facility-based HCM models of care.

Cognitive impairment and the associated factors among women with a history of pregnancy complications in rural southwestern Uganda.

Background: Worldwide, there is a growing concern about the rising number of people with declining cognitive functioning. However, findings on this phenomenon are inconclusive. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence of cognitive impairment and the associated factors in women with a history of pregnancy complications in rural southwestern Uganda.

Effect of high-risk versus low-risk pregnancy at the first antenatal care visit on the occurrence of complication during pregnancy and labour or delivery in Kenya: a double-robust estimation.

Objectives: We evaluated the causal effects of high-risk versus low-risk pregnancy at the first antenatal care (ANC) visit on the occurrence of complications during pregnancy and labour or delivery among women in Kenya.

Methods: We designed a quasi-experimental study using observational data from a large mobile health wallet programme, with the exposure as pregnancy risk at the first ANC visit, measured on a binary scale (low vs high). Complications during pregnancy and at labour or delivery were the study outcomes on a binary scale (yes vs no).

Understanding and barriers to formation Professional Identity among current and recent graduates of nurses and midwifery in two universities in a low resource setting: A qualitative study.

Introduction: Professional identity (PI) in nursing is a sense of oneself and one's relationship with others that is influenced by characteristics, norms, and values of the nursing discipline, resulting in an individual thinking, acting, and feeling like a nurse. Therefore, transformative educational approaches that include professional judgement, reasoning, critical self-evaluation and a sense of accountability are required to foster professional identity. We explored the understanding and barriers to professional identity formation among recent graduates and nursing students in Uganda.

Twice-Daily Dosing of Dolutegravir in Infants on Rifampicin Treatment: A Pharmacokinetic Substudy of the EMPIRICAL Trial.

Background: We evaluated dolutegravir pharmacokinetics in infants with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) receiving dolutegravir twice daily (BID) with rifampicin-based tuberculosis (TB) treatment compared with once daily (OD) without rifampicin.

Methods: Infants with HIV aged 1-12 months, weighing ≥3 kg, and receiving dolutegravir BID with rifampicin or OD without rifampicin were eligible. Six blood samples were taken over 12 (BID) or 24 hours (OD).

Health Risks from Intake and Contact with Toxic Metal-Contaminated Water from Pager River, Uganda.

Pollution of water resources is one of the major impediments to the realization of Sustainable Development Goals, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical quality and potentially toxic element (lead and cadmium) concentrations in surface water sampled from Pager River, a tributary of the Nile River in Northern Uganda. Water samples ( = 18) were taken from six different points upstream (A, B, and C) and downstream (D, E, and F) of the river and analyzed following standard methods for their physiochemical properties.

Real-Time Digital Feedback Device and Simulated Newborn Ventilation Quality.

Objectives: Effective bag-valve-mask ventilation is critical for reducing perinatal asphyxia-related neonatal deaths; however, providers often fail to achieve and maintain effective ventilation. The Augmented Infant Resuscitator (AIR) attaches to bag-valve-masks and provides visual feedback on air leaks, blocked airways, harsh breaths, and improper ventilatory rates. We evaluated the effect of this real-time-digital feedback on ventilation quality and the effective determination of airway integrity in a randomized controlled study in Uganda and the United States.