Project description:BackgroundLong term outcomes of children with neurodevelopmental disability are influenced by the condition itself, available health services and caretakers' coping ability to nurture the children which may be related to their beliefs and experiences. Most children with neurodevelopmental disabilities live in resource constrained settings. To inform design of contextually appropriate interventions, this study explored health workers' and caretakers' experiences in caring for infants with neurodevelopmental disability in rural eastern Uganda.MethodsA qualitative case study was carried out in December 2017 and involved in-depth interviews with 14 caretakers of infants with severe neurodevelopmental disability, and five health workers in Iganga/Mayuge Demographic Surveillance Site in eastern Uganda. The interviews with caretakers were conducted in Lusoga, the local language, and in English for the health workers, using a pre-determined open-ended interview guide. Data were analyzed using latent content analysis.ResultsCaretakers described the experience of caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability as impoverishing and 'imprisoning' due to high care costs, inability to return to income generating activities and nursing challenges. The latter resulted from failure in body control and several aspects of nutrition and maintaining vital functions, coupled with limited support from the community and the health system. Many caretakers expressed beliefs in supernatural causes of neurodevelopmental disability though they reported about complications during and shortly after the birth of the affected child. Care-seeking was often challenging and impeded by costs and the feeling of lack of improvement. The health care system was also found to be incapable of adequately addressing the needs of such children due to lack of commodities, and human resource limitations.ConclusionThe caretakers expressed a feeling of emotional stress due to being left alone with a high nursing burden. Improvement in the health services including a holistic approach to care, improved community awareness and parental support could contribute to nursing of children with NDD.

Project description:BackgroundApproximately 1.3 billion people worldwide face barriers in accessing inclusive healthcare due to disabilities, leading to worse health outcomes, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). However, there is a lack of training of healthcare workers about disability, both globally and in Uganda.ObjectivesTo use mixed research methods to develop a comprehensive training program with standardisedelements for healthcare workers in Uganda, focusing on improving their knowledge, attitudes, and skills inproviding care for people with disabilities.MethodsThe Medical Research Council (MRC) approach was employed to guide the development of the training intervention. We conducted an umbrella review to gather relevant literature on disability training for healthcare workers. Interviews were conducted with international experts to gain insights and perspectives on the topic. Additionally, interviews were undertaken with people with disabilities and healthcare workers in Uganda to understand their experiences and needs. A participatory workshop was organised involving key stakeholders, to collaboratively design the training material based on the findings from these data sources.ResultsEight review articles examined training programs for healthcare workers on disability. Training settings ranged from specialised clinical settings to non-clinical settings, and the duration and evaluation methods of the training varied widely. Lectures and didactic methods were commonly used, often combined with other approaches such as case studies and simulations. The impact of the training was assessed through healthcare worker reports on attitudes, knowledge, and self-efficacy. Interviews emphasised the importance of involving people with disabilities in the training and improving communication and understanding between healthcare providers and people with disabilities. Five themes for a training on disability for healthcare workers were generated through the workshop, including responsibilities and rights, communication, informed consent, accommodation, and referral and connection, which were used to guide the development of the curriculum, training materials and training approach.ConclusionThis study presents a novel approach to develop a training program that aims to enhance healthcare services for people with disabilities in Uganda. The findings offer practical insights for the development of similar programs in LMICs. The effectiveness of the training program will be evaluated through a pilot test, and policy support is crucial for its successful implementation at scale.

Project description:BACKGROUND: Curative interventions delivered by community health workers (CHWs) were introduced to increase access to health services for children less than five years and have previously targeted single illnesses. However, CHWs in the integrated community case management of childhood illnesses strategy adopted in Uganda in 2010 will manage multiple illnesses. There is little documentation about the performance of CHWs in the management of multiple illnesses. This study compared the performance of CHWs managing malaria and pneumonia with performance of CHWs managing malaria alone in eastern Uganda and the factors influencing performance. METHODS: A mixed methods study was conducted among 125 CHWs providing either dual malaria and pneumonia management or malaria management alone for children aged four to 59 months. Performance was assessed using knowledge tests, case scenarios of sick children, review of CHWs' registers, and observation of CHWs in the dual management arm assessing respiratory symptoms. Four focus group discussions with CHWs were also conducted. RESULTS: CHWs in the dual- and single-illness management arms had similar performance with respect to: overall knowledge of malaria (dual 72%, single 70%); eliciting malaria signs and symptoms (50% in both groups); prescribing anti-malarials based on case scenarios (82% dual, 80% single); and correct prescription of anti-malarials from record reviews (dual 99%, single 100%). In the dual-illness arm, scores for malaria and pneumonia differed on overall knowledge (72% vs 40%, p < 0.001); and correct doses of medicines from records (100% vs 96%, p < 0.001). According to records, 82% of the children with fast breathing had received an antibiotic. From observations 49% of CHWs counted respiratory rates within five breaths of the physician (gold standard) and 75% correctly classified the children. The factors perceived to influence CHWs' performance were: community support and confidence, continued training, availability of drugs and other necessary supplies, and cooperation from formal health workers. CONCLUSION: CHWs providing dual-illness management handled malaria cases as well as CHWs providing single-illness management, and also performed reasonably well in the management of pneumonia. With appropriate training that emphasizes pneumonia assessment, adequate supervision, and provision of drugs and necessary supplies, CHWs can provide integrated treatment for malaria and pneumonia.

Project description:BackgroundThe global consumption of herbal medicine is increasing steadily, posing an extinction risk to medicinal plants. Uganda is among the top ten countries with a high threat of herbal medicine extinction, and Traditional Medicinal Knowledge (TMK) erosion. This might be attributed to the inadequate documentation, plus many more unclear hindrances. In this study, plant species used to treat human diseases in Butaleja district in Eastern Uganda and their associated TMK were documented. The conservation methods for medicinal plants were also evaluated. The rationale was to support the preservation of ethnopharmacological knowledge.MethodsData were collected from 80 herbalists using semi-structured questionnaires, from July 2020 to March 2021. Additionally, guided field walks and observations were conducted. Quantitative indices such as, use categories and informant consensus factor (ICF) were evaluated to elucidate the importance of the medicinal plants. Data were analyzed using STATA version-15.0 software.ResultsIn total, 133 species, belonging to 34 families and 125 genera were identified. Fabaceae (65%), and Solanaceae (29%) were the dominant families. Leaves (80%), and roots (15%), were the commonest parts used in medicinal preparations; mostly administered orally as decoctions (34.6%) and infusions (16%). The commonest illnesses treated were cough (7.74%), gastric ulcers (7.42%), and malaria (4.52%). The informant consensus factor was high for all disease categories (≥ 0.8), indicating homogeneity of knowledge about remedies used. Only 73% of the respondents made efforts to conserve medicinal plants. The commonest conservation strategy was preservation of forests with spiritually valued species (100%), while compliance with government regulations was the rarest (4.5%). Overall, efforts to stop the extinction of medicinal plants and TMK were inadequate.Conclusion and recommendationsThere was enormous dependency on a rich diversity of medicinal plant species and TMK for healthcare and income generation. The potential for medicinal plant biodiversity loss was evident due to habitat destruction. Inclusion of traditional cultural norms in conservation strategies, and laboratory-based efficacy tests for the species identified are necessary, to promote the conservative and utilization of validated herbal medicines and TMK in rural settings.

Project description:ImportanceEstimating the true burden of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been difficult in sub-Saharan Africa owing to asymptomatic infections and inadequate testing capacity. Antibody responses from serologic surveys can provide an estimate of SARS-CoV-2 exposure at the population level.ObjectiveTo estimate SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, attack rates, and reinfection in eastern Uganda using serologic surveillance from 2020 to early 2022.Design, setting, and participantsThis cohort study was conducted in the Tororo and Busia districts of eastern Uganda. Plasma samples from participants in the Program for Resistance, Immunology, Surveillance, and Modeling of Malaria in Uganda Border Cohort were obtained at 4 sampling intervals: October to November 2020, March to April 2021, August to September 2021, and February to March 2022. Each participant contributed up to 4 time points for SARS-CoV-2 serology, with almost half of all participants contributing at all 4 time points, and almost 90% contributing at 3 or 4 time points. Information on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status was collected from participants, with the earliest reported vaccinations in the cohort occurring in May 2021.Main outcomes and measuresThe main outcomes of this study were antibody responses to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein as measured with a bead-based serologic assay. Individual-level outcomes were aggregated to population-level SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence, attack rates, and boosting rates. Estimates were weighted by the local age distribution according to census data.ResultsA total of 1483 samples from 441 participants living in 76 households were tested. Of the 441 participants, 245 (55.6%) were female, and their mean (SD) age was 16.04 (16.04) years. By the end of the Delta wave and before widespread vaccination, adjusted SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 67.7% (95% credible interval [CrI], 62.5%-72.6%) in the study population. During the subsequent Omicron wave, 84.8% (95% CrI, 67.9%-93.7%) of unvaccinated, previously seronegative individuals were infected for the first time, and 50.8% (95% CrI, 40.6%-59.7%) of unvaccinated, already seropositive individuals were likely reinfected, leading to an overall seropositivity of 96.0% (95% CrI, 93.4%-97.9%) in this population. These results suggest a lower probability of reinfection in individuals with higher preexisting antibody levels. There was evidence of household clustering of SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion. No significant associations were found between SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion and gender, household size, or recent Plasmodium falciparum malaria exposure.Conclusions and relevanceIn this cohort study in a rural population in eastern Uganda, there was evidence of very high SARS-CoV-2 infection rates throughout the pandemic inconsistent with national level case data and high reinfection rates during the Omicron wave.

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Correction: Caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability: Experiences from caretakers and health workers in rural eastern Uganda.

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Correction: Caring for children with neurodevelopmental disability: Experiences from caretakers and health workers in rural eastern Uganda.

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