Tom Denis Ngabirano

• Asssociate Professor at Makerere University

Background Completion of maternal health care (MHC) services during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care is crucial for reducing maternal and newborn mortality. However, a low proportion of mothers achieve this continuum, especially in rural and peri-urban areas. This study aimed to determine maternal health care service utilization. Methods...

Background The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a significant global public health challenge. Despite progress in addressing the pandemic, people living with HIV continue to report challenges in accessing HIV testing, care, and treatment services. Telehealth presents a promising solution to some of these barriers. However, its potential r...

Background The human immunodeficiency virus continues to pose a significant global health challenge. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic disrupted efforts to end HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 but also accelerated the adoption of telehealth services to support care for people living with HIV (PLWH). However, in some settings, the effect...

Background The number of cesarean sections among women with a previous scar has continued to increase in Uganda. Such women can opt for a trial of labor, and the success rate for spontaneous vaginal delivery is 60–80%. This study assessed the preference and determinants of delivery mode among pregnant women with one cesarean scar. Methods A cross-...

Background We assessed the willingness of female students at a Ugandan public university to use long-acting Cabotegravir (CAB-LA) for HIV prevention, given their high prevalence of HIV risk behaviours. Methods Using an online questionnaire, this cross-sectional study surveyed 346 female undergraduate students aged 18–25. Factors influencing their...

Introduction Neonatal mortality is a major contributor to under-five deaths yet the main causes of these deaths are preventable. Postnatal health education programs can improve timely detection and care seeking for newborn morbidities such as neonatal jaundice (NNJ). Being a common occurrence in low-income countries, it is surprising that women do...

Background Transgender individuals often face stigma, discrimination, and various forms of abuse, which negatively impact their mental and physical health. They face a significantly greater risk of HIV, with a higher prevalence than the general population. Despite these challenges, transgender people have limited access to healthcare due to violenc...

Background Neonatal jaundice (NNJ) is a major contributor to childhood morbidity and mortality. As many infants are discharged by 24 hours of age, mothers are key in detecting severe forms of jaundice. Mothers with limited knowledge of NNJ have a hard time identifying these infants who could go on to have the worst outcomes. This study aimed to det...

Background The number of caesarian sections among women with a previous scar has continued to increase in Uganda. Such women can opt for a trial of labor, and the success rate for spontaneous vaginal delivery is 60–80%. This study assessed the choice and determinants of delivery mode among pregnant women with one cesarean scar. Methods A cross-sec...

Background: Postpartum depression among mothers living with HIV is a significant public health problem due to its effects on engagement in care, HIV disease progression, and an increased risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with postpartum depre...

Introduction HIV self-testing at workplaces has the potential to reach men at risk of HIV infection with lower access to HIV testing services. While several studies have reported high uptake of HIV self-testing, linkage to HIV care following a positive result remains a challenge. This study, therefore, explored the motivators for and barriers to li...

Background Teenagers have higher risks for complications during the intrapartum and postpartum periods. Although facility-based postpartum care focusses on preventing complications in mothers and babies, it is not understood what teenage-mothers’ perceptions are about their health care needs in the early postpartum period. Methods An exploratory d...

Background: The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed health workers at the frontline of the emergency task force response; a duty that requires professional expertise and confidence to rapidly identify and treat patients with COVID-19. This study explored perceived self-efficacy (PSE) of health care workers (HCWs) in the manage...

Background Women living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) are at a high risk for early development of cervical cancer. Adherence to cervical cancer prevention strategies in this population is vital for the early detection and treatment of cervical cancer. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with cervical cancer...

Objective While childbirth self-efficacy is a very important feature for normal birth, this concept has received limited scholarly attention, particularly in developing countries. This study explored childbirth self-efficacy and the associated factors among pregnant women. Design A descriptive cross-sectional study. We used the Childbirth Self-Eff...

Background: Maternal undernutrition is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among pregnant women. While undernutrition is a common problem in Uganda, the magnitude of undernutrition especially among pregnant women in a post-conflict area where food may be scarce has not been documented. We determined the prevalence and factors associa...

Background Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing is an innovative solution to the problem of low HIV testing coverage. It can help in realizing the first “95” of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS targets in the HIV treatment cascade. However, there is limited information to guide how those who self-test and show positive resu...

Background HIV testing among men in sub-Saharan Africa is sub-optimal. Despite several strategies to improve access to underserved populations, evidence regarding engaging men in professional and formal occupations in HIV testing is limited. This study explored employed professional men’s preferences for uptake of HIV self-testing, and linkage to H...

Objective To explore the experiences and lessons learnt by the study team and participants of the Workplace-based HIV self-testing among Men trial during the COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda. Design An explorative qualitative study comprising two virtual focus group discussions (FGDs) with 12 trial team members and 32 in-depth participant interviews (N...

Limited research about nursing mentorship in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is holding science back. This article describes the strengths and challenges associated with global health research mentorship for doctorally prepared nurses whose scholarship focuses on LMICs. Using reflexive narrative accounts from current and former nurse mento...

BACKGROUND HIV testing (HIVST) remains low among people at risk. HIV self-testing via the workplace is a novel approach to increase availability and access to testing among men. However, both access and linkage to post-test services remains a challenge. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of HIVST in workplace settings on the uptake of HIV testing se...

Background HIV testing uptake remains low among men in sub-Saharan Africa. HIV self-testing (HIVST) at the workplace is a novel approach to increase the availability of, and access to, testing among men. However, both access and linkage to posttest services remain a challenge. Objective The aim of this protocol is to describe a cluster randomized...

Adolescents in rural Uganda face unique opportunities and challenges to their health. The primary goal of this exploratory cross-sectional survey study was to describe the health behaviors of adolescents of age 13–19 living in four Ugandan fishing communities as a foundation for developing programs to reduce risky health behaviors and HIV/AIDS tran...

Background Maternal nutrition during pregnancy affects the health of the mother and baby. Midwives are suitably well placed to offer nutrition education to pregnant women, however they may not be equipped with the necessary skills to deliver nutrition education to pregnant women. The aim of this study was to explore the midwives knowledge, confiden...

Background Empathy is an essential component of a caring relationship and critical to the provision of quality midwifery care. An empathetic approach enables midwives to understand each client’s perspectives, and is therefore fundamentally important to the provider-client relationship and improved healthcare outcomes. Many lack the capacity to prov...

Adolescent and emerging adult risk behavior is a concern globally. Discussing health promotive and risk behaviors with adolescents and young adults can be challenging regardless of the country of data collection and dominant culture. In the United States, event history calendars have been used in both research and clinical settings to identify heal...

Background: Male partner involvement has been shown to increase mothers' uptake of Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and improve maternal and infant HIV treatment outcomes. Currently, male involvement in PMTCT is measured primarily through men's attendance at HIV testing and counselling which may not be a true reflection of...

Background: Despite advancement in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services, the rate of MTCT of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is still high. This is partly due to low retention of HIV positive mothers in HIV care. We sought to determine the level of retention and the factors associated with retention among HIV positive pregnant and...

Aim The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with breastfeeding self‐efficacy among postnatal women in Kampala, Uganda. Methods This was a descriptive cross‐sectional study that was conducted among women attending a postnatal clinic at a teaching hospital in Kampala. Three hundred and eighty‐four postnatal women were randomly...

Objectives . Early case detection and isolation of patients infected with highly infectious diseases are crucial in the management and control of epidemics such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). In this paper, we share the lessons learned from implementation of active case finding as a strategy for improved EVD case detection in Nimba County, Liberia....

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy affects the health of the mother and baby. The objective of this paper is to describe the maternal nutrition education offered by midwives to women attending an antenatal clinic. The study also examined the resources, support, and the needs of the midwives in offering the nutrition education. Six in-depth intervi...

Aim: To assess prevalence of stress and its sources among undergraduate health professional students at Makerere University. Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using quantitative methods of data collection. Methods: The study was conducted among 258 undergraduate health professional students (Medical, Dental and, Nursing stud...

Abstract Introduction: Success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) requires that individuals maintain nearly one hundred percent adherence to the prescribed regimen. Lack of optimal adherence to ART is associated with a high risk of developing mutant HIV strains, and increased risk of HIV transmission. Psychosocial adaptation is associated with positiv...

. HIV/AIDS remain a major public health problem in Uganda and 4% of individuals aged between 15 and 24 years are living with HIV. Few studies have examined HIV risk perception among adolescents in Uganda. Methods . We conducted a cross-sectional study among 379 secondary school students using multistage sampling techniques. Data were collected usin...

High disease burden and scarcity of healthcare resources present complex ethical dilemmas for nurses working in developing countries. We assessed nurses' knowledge in ethics and their perceptions about Continuous Nurses' Ethics Education (CNEE) for in-service nurses. Using an anonymous, pre-tested self-administered questionnaire, we assessed nurses...

The incidence of cervical cancer (CC) has been rising in sub-Saharan Africa, and health authorities in this region have responded by increasing the availability of cheap or no-cost CC screening services (CCSS), public health education, and others. However, the efforts have not yet resulted into the expected uptake of CCSS. The aim of this study was...