Uganda

Uganda has severe shortage of human resources for health despite the heavy disease burden. The country has one of the highest fertility, and population growth rates in the world and is in dire need of trained health workers. The aim of the study was to determine the career intentions of the final year medical students to leave the county and health field after graduating and the associated factors. [from abstract]

Home visits by Community Health Workers [In Uganda Community Health Workers are given the collective term of Village Health Teams (VHIs). This is recommended to improve maternal and newborn care. We investigated perceived maternal and newborn benefits of home visits made by VHTs, combined with mobile phone consultations with professional health workers for advice. [adapted from abstract]

Recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa have put viral hemorrhagic fever diseases in the spotlight. Uganda has had several outbreaks throughout the years, which have successfully been managed. Nurses’ patient education plays an important role in the work to increase public awareness about viral hemorrhagic fever diseases. The objective of this study was to assess how nurses at the emergency department educate the patients and relatives about the viral hemorrhagic fever diseases. [from abstract]

Recent studies done in central Uganda have shown that there is need for a critical assessment of adolescent friendly services (AFS) to gain insights on current practice and inform future interventions. This study aimed to assess the sexual reproductive health needs of the adolescents and explored their attitudes towards current services available. [from abstract]

Older persons report poor health status and greater need for healthcare. However, there is limited research on older persons’ healthcare disparities in Uganda. Therefore, this paper aimed at investigating factors associated with older persons’ healthcare access in Uganda, using a nationally representative sample. [from abstract]

The aim of this paper is to assess the occupational health hazards faced by healthcare workers and the mitigation measures. [adapted from abstract]

The health seeking behaviour of a community determines how they use health services. Utilisation of health facilities can be influenced by the cost of services, distance to health facilities, cultural beliefs, level of education and health facility inadequacies such as stock-out of drugs.
This study will assess the health seeking practices and challenges in utilising health facilities in a rural community in Wakiso district, Uganda. [from abstract]

This report describes a US National Institute of Health (NIH) funded Medical Education Partnership Initiative (MEPI) to enhance expertise in neurology, developed between Makerere University College of Health Sciences in Kampala, Uganda, and Case Western
Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH, USA. [from abstract]

There is a scarcity of empirical data on African country climates for evidence-informed health system policymaking (EIHSP) to backup the longstanding reputation that research evidence is not valued enough by health policymakers as an information input.
Herein, we assess whether and how changes have occurred in the climate for EIHSP before and after the establishment of two Knowledge Translation Platforms housed in government institutions in Cameroon and Uganda since 2006. [from abstract]

This technical brief offers six recommendations to help national stakeholders transform evidence into policy decisions and subsequent action. Using an example from Uganda, the authors illustrate how the development and sharing of evidence can support decision-making for change in health workforce recruitment and retention policies, toward the aim of improving access to high-quality health care for the population. [from introduction]

This paper presents two medical schools, Makerere University College of Health Sciences and College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, which successfully implemented CBME [Competency-Based Medical Education]. The processes of curriculum revision are described and common themes are highlighted. Both schools used similar processes in developing their CBME curricula, with early and significant stakeholder involvement. [from abstract]

This paper presents a review of the attempt to implement a western-oriented mental health system into
a different culture, specifically a developing country such as Uganda. It draws upon an extensive literature review
and the author’s work in Uganda to identify the lessons learned as well as the challenges of introducing a western-
oriented mental health system in a totally new cultural milieu. [from abstract]

There is a scarcity of empirical data on institutions devoted to knowledge brokerage and their influence in Africa. Our objective was to describe two pioneering Knowledge Translation Platforms (KTPs) supporting evidence informed health policymaking (EIHSP) in Cameroon and Uganda.

Social care and support services include such areas as the protection of children from violence and exploitation, care for chronically sick or disabled children and adults, support in dealing with the social difficulties of those affected by conflicts and disasters and responses to gender based violence. The aim of this paper is to make proposals for a unified coherent strategic framework which clarifies the vision, nature, scope and rationale for social care and support services. [from introduction]

Immediate and exclusive initiation of breastfeeding after delivery have been associated with better neonatal survival and child health and are recommended by the WHO. We report impact on early infant feeding practices from the PROMISE-EBF trial. [from abstract]

In an effort to support country-wide learning in improvement initiatives, the USAID ASSIST Project conducted an information needs assessment with government and non-governmental organization (NGO) staff working at the national and district levels of the Ugandan health system from March 2014 to June 2014.

Quality of care plays an important role in the status of tuberculosis (TB) control, by influencing timely diagnosis, treatment adherence,and treatment completion. In this study,we aimed at establishing the quality of TB service care in Kamuli district health care centres using Donabedian structure, process, and outcomes model of health care. One of the worst performance indicators was low percentage of cure.

This paper presents the results of two field experiments on local accountability in primary health care in Uganda. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control, coupled with the provision of report cards on staff performance, resulted in significant improvements in health care delivery and health outcomes in both the short and the longer run. Efforts to stimulate beneficiary control without providing information on performance had no impact on quality of care or health outcomes.

From 1990 to 2011, contraceptive use in Ethiopia increased nine fold and the total fertility rate fell from 7.0 to 4.8. What are the main elements of this success? We posit that the four most significant factors are: political will, generous donor support, non-governmental and public–private partnerships, and the government’s establishment of a network of health extension workers. In this study, we look at these factors and how their interaction increased the proportion of women having both the desire to use and ability to access contraceptives. [adapted from abstract]

The Ugandan Government has an ambitious goal to reduce unmet need for family planning (FP) from its current 34% to 10% over the next 10 years. This brief shares experiences and lessons from capacity building for Family Planning at the national and district levels in Uganda.[adapted from introduction]

This study examines the delivery of health services by faith-based organizations (FBOs) as a possible alternative to privatization in Uganda, where these not-for-profit health providers have been servicing communities since the second half of the 19th century. Their facilities focus on primary care and operate in rural, under-serviced areas, charging affordable user fees, while also treating those who cannot pay. [from executive summary]

Health policies impact on nursing profession and health care. Nurses’ involvement in health policy development ensures that health care is safe, of a high quality, accessible and affordable. Numerous factors influence nurse leaders’ ability to be politically active in influencing health policy development. These factors can be facilitators or barriers to their participation. There is scant research evidence from Eastern African region that draws
attention to this topic. This paper reports part of the larger study. [from abstract]

An outreach activity, which originally targeted health professionals and student nurses in rural Uganda, was extended to the community with a focus on addressing the most prevalent diseases/health problems reported by the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of the Uganda Ministry of Health.

This report presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted in January 2014 in Lango and Teso regions of Uganda among Arise Project beneficiaries and service providers. The purpose of the study was to elicit in-depth perspectives and
experiences about the effectiveness of Arise interventions and suggest ways for improving future interventions in the target districts. [from summary]

This article explores the human resources problems along with the health status and services for Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Situational analysis on health status and service delivery is presented via a thorough examination of country specific National Health Sector Strategic Plans. Strategic solutions based on improving the Human Resources for Health are explained and World Health
Organization’s Millennium Development Goals are examined. [from abstract]

A facility-based endline survey was conducted as part of a program evaluation to assess the Arise—Enhancing HIV Prevention for At-Risk-Populations project in Uganda. The base
line and endline surveys used the same approach, interviewing women aged 15–49 years who
sought HIV care and treatment at a sample of health facilities covered by Arise. [adapted from summary]

The objective of this manuscript was to examine existing hospital accreditation systems in three East African countries (Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania), assess attitudes and opinions of key stakeholders regarding hospital accreditation systems in the region, and identify lessons regarding sustainable and effective implementation of hospital accreditation systems in resource-limited countries. [from abstract]

The aim of this study was to explore the knowledge of key newborn danger signs among mothers in southwestern Uganda. [from abstract]

The purpose of this study was to determine the nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding risk factors, prevention, and management of pressure ulcers at a teaching hospital in Uganda. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional design. [from abstract]

This paper offers an example of a highly effective and cost efficient model of care that has transformed the ability to humanely manage the problems of those with terminal illness, and to offer a culturally appropriate “good death”. [from abstract]