School of Women and Gender Studies (SWGS)

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https://dissertations.mak.ac.ug/handle/20.500.12281/35

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    Gender-based violence and women’s participation in politics at Local Council level : A case of Rwampara County, Mbarara District
    ( 2019-08-22) Ayebazibwe, Emmanuel
    This study focused on how Gender Based Violence (GBV) impedes women’s political participation particularly at the level of Local Council politics. It also examined why women continue to be discriminated against in political engagements and participations despite the seemingly favourable government policies and laws. It examines this multifaceted evil of GBV and particularly Violence against women (VAW) and how it manifests in different ways ranging from cultural, political, emotional, psychological and other dimensions to shrink the political space and hinder the participation of women. The research aimed at finding out the manifestations of GBV. Methodologically, the study used qualitative method of research to interview local women in Kashekure and Kigando cells of Rwampara County, Mbarara district. Key informants such as LC I Chairpersons, Police officers especially the in charge of the “Political Electoral Desk” at Mbarara central Police Station were also interviewed. The findings reveal that indeed GBV is real and manifests in different forms and local women in Rwampara County were victims especially when it came to the question of freedom of expression where a good number of women confessed to suffering political violence not only from their spouses, but also counterparts. It was also noted that even some women after being elected into political offices, their spouses find all possible excuses to make them fail which worsens the already bad situation. The different stakeholders should be mobilized to mitigate the cases of GBV using the existing laws and policies. In addition, the communities and NGOs working with on gender equality and women’s empowerment should hold duty bearers accountable regarding protecting women’s rights. Therefore, this study recommends further research on the contributions of women’s effective participation in politics at the local level to influence the communities’ acceptability and support women’s engagement in politics.
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    The experiences of mothers during immunization visits and their potential influence on child immunization completion in Mityana Municipality, Mityana District
    (Makerere University, 2019-09-26) Bukirwa, Catherine
    Child immunization is a public intervention that has greatly reduced the mortality and morbidity rate of children against the infectious diseases. Mothers go through different experiences while at the hospital, some influence their decisions concerning immunization positively and other experiences influence them negatively. Mothers do take their children for the first vaccination at the health centre but some of them do not fully complete the immunization schedule of the children according to the national guidelines that are set by the Ministry of Health. However, little is known on how the different experiences that mothers face at the health centre actually has an influence on the completion of the immunization schedule. Little is known why there is a reduction in the consumption of the other immunization vaccines in the course of the immunization schedule even after the parents gaining knowledge of the importance of immunization to their children. Therefore, this study is aimed to discover the different experiences that mothers go through at health centres during the child immunization visits and how these experiences have an influence on their completion of the immunization schedule for their children. And the specific objectives of the study are to assess the positive experiences of the mothers during immunization visits, the negative experiences of the mothers during immunization visits, as well as how the peer influence among the parents affects the child immunization completion of the immunization schedule at Mityana Referral Hospital. The study was qualitative in nature in that it used a descriptive research design where the researcher was able to describe situations and events that mothers experience at the health centres, as well as during immunization visits at the different health centres that they go to for immunization. The study discovered that mothers experience more negative experiences at the health facility than positive experiences. And that the negative experiences do actually have an influence on the completion of the immunization schedule. The study also revealed that the peer influence among the mothers does positively influence them to take their children for immunization. More awareness should be carried to both the mothers as well as the fathers to increase on the uptake of the vaccinations even after having gotten the first round of vaccination. The negative experiences that mothers go through at the health centre should be worked on, so that they do not have any excuse for missing vaccinations but instead look forward to bringing their child for the entire immunization schedule.
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    Mode of transmission and protection measures against COVID-19
    (Makerere University, 2020) Oree, Evans
    The covid-19 pandemic is considered as the most crucial global health calamity of the century and the greatest challenge that the human kind faced since the 2nd World war. In December 2019, a new infectious respiratory disease emerged in Wuhan, Hubai province, China and was named by the world Health Organization as Covid-19 (Corona Virus, known as SARS-COV-2(Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2) has been found to be responsible for occurrence of this disease. As far as the history of Human Civilization is concerned there are instances of severe outbreaks of diseases caused by a number of viruses. According to the report of the World Health Organization (WHO as of April 18 2020), the current outbreaks of covid-19, has affected over 2,164,111 people and killed more than 196,198 people in more than 200 countries throughout the world. Till now there is no report of any clinically approved antiviral drugs or vaccines that are effective against Covid-19. It has rapidly spread around the world, posing enormous health, economic, environmental and social challenges to the entire human population. The coronavirus outbreak is severely disrupting the global economy. Almost all the nations are struggling to slow down the transmission of the disease by testing and treating patients, quarantining suspected persons through contact tracing, restricting large gatherings, maintaining complete or partial lock-down etc. This report describes the mode of transmission and protection measures against Covid-19.
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    Prevention of teen birth in Uganda : assessing the effectiveness of teenage pregnancy interventions in post conflict Lira district
    (Makerere University, 2021-02) Atyang, Sharon
    The study was to assess the effectiveness of teenage pregnancy interventions in the post-conflict Lira district. The objectives of the study were to identify the existing teenage pregnancy interventions, explore whether they respond to the causes of teenage pregnancy in the district of study, and also identify the possible good practices in the design and implementation of the interventions. The study employed a cross-sectional design using a qualitative approach by focusing on mapping the existing interventions at both the district and national levels. The study was done in Ayago parish as the study area and this was selected purposely. Data was collected from teenagers both in and out of school, parents of the teenagers, and the representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations implementing teenage pregnancy interventions using personal interviews and focused group discussions. The finding revealed that sensitization of the community on the negative impacts of teenage pregnancies was being done through media, advocation, and distribution of contraceptives, and many others. The main actors were NGOs including Reproductive Health Uganda, Government bodies, parents, and teenagers themselves.
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    The influence of phone usage in prevention of teenage pregnancies among adolescents in Kamwokya, Nakawa Division, Kampala District
    (Makerere University, 2021-12-12) Asiimwe, Maureen
    The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that Influence of Phone Usage in Prevention of Teenage Pregnancies among Adolescents in Kamwokya, Nakawa Division, Kampala District. The main objective of the study included; To assess the influence of phone usage on prevention of teenage pregnancy among youth aged 15-19 years and Specific objectives were To identify the different ways teenagers, use social media to get information about pregnancy, To assess the ways social media influences teenage behavior towards pregnancy and the third objective was To highlight ways of making social media more effective in the prevention of teenage pregnancy. The researcher generated research questions under which the data collection tools were developed and these were as follows; What is the relationship between social media and teenage pregnancy? What potential does social media have for public health communication? What best practices can be employed to make social media an effective tool in the prevention of teenage pregnancy? During the study, A cross sectional research design was used in the study since it gives room for providing information while assessing the influence of social media on the prevention of teenage pregnancy among youths aged 15-19 years. This also allowed the researcher to collect data at the single point in time. Cross tabulation of data was also done by the research and it gave validity of the results. Literature was reviewed from previous studies and journals. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentage counts, categorical responses were then cross tabulated to analyze relationship between variables and to further ascertain their significance of association chi square tests were conducted and presented using frequency and percentage, cross tabulations. Qualitative data was thematically presented and reported in a narrative way. The study indicated that females were the major people interviewed with 74.3% while males were at 25.7%. the study also revealed that majority of respondents strongly agreed that social media influences teenage behaviours towards pregnancy in Kamwokya represented by 28 (44.4%), 23 (36.7%) of the respondents agreed to the research question, and those who disagreed represented by 12 (19%). Peer behavior can have a significant and negative impact on phone use and teenage sexual behavior. For teenage boys the peer pressure is linked with discourse of masculinity. The discourse of masculinity contributes to teenage boys exerting pressure on their female peers to then also become sexualy active and this has also contributed to teenage pregnancy in Kamwokya.
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    Social and gender norms related to dress code as a driver of sexual harassment: a case study of Makerere University, Uganda
    (Makerere University, 2022-12-01) Atuheire, Elizabeth
    This study focused on the social and gender norms associated with dress code as a driver of Sexual Harassment at Makerere University. The general objective of the research study was to examine the social and gender norms associated with dress code as drivers of sexual harassment at Makerere University. The specific objectives included: establishing the student‟s and staff‟s understanding of sexual harassment; examining the social and gender norms related to female and male dress code, exploring the influence of the social and gender norms associated with female and male dress code on sexual harassment at Makerere University and finding out student‟s and staff‟s suggestions on shifting the negative norms related to dress code as a driver of sexual harassment. The main research approach was qualitative and it provided perceptions and experiences of students and staff through a case study of Makerere University. Two units were purposively selected namely College of business and Management Sciences (COBAMS) and College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHUSS )where the participants were randomly selected. The methods of data collection included key informant interviews, focus group discussions and in-depth/individual interviews. One of the key findings is that majority of the participants agreed that Sexual Harassment takes on the form of forced sex or any other sexual activity like kissing without one‟s consent. On dress code, it was observed that different societies, families, religious institutions and cultures have defined how men and women should dress as most of the participants said. These institutions were noted to have set up the rules on how one should dress. While some participants argued that dress code is one of the major drivers of sexual harassment especially the female dress code, others contradicted saying that dress code is an influencer to a very less extent. Participants suggested that information on sexual harassment should be disseminated through orientations and trainings so that morality especially in terms of behavior is promoted rather than considering dress code as the under lying problem. The study findings show that dress code at Makerere University cannot be standard because of the fact that the institution comprises of different people from different societies with different styles of dress.
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    Exploring male students' perceptions and experiences on mental health at Makerere University
    (Makerere University, 2023) Wafula, Victoria
    The purpose of this study was to explore male students’ perceptions and experiences of mental health, taking on a case study of Makerere University, Kampala Uganda. The study adopted a qualitative case study research design as the most appropriate due to its descriptive and explanatory power. Participants discussed and explained their perceptions and experiences of mental health along with its challenges. This enabled me to gather information by use of In-depth interviews and key informant Interviews. Results indicate that it is not a question on whether male students experience mental health challenges, rather, that they suffer in silence many times not even aware that there are institutions that could help. In addition, the study established family background as a contributing factor of mental health challenges among male university students. This research proposes the need for advocacy on male students’ accessibility of mental health services and putting an end to the stigma attached to men speaking up about the struggles they experience not only at home but also in institutions of learning. It also points out how socialization plays a big role in shaping who these male students become as well as the struggles they find them-selves experiencing, many times, alone. The study puts across both collective and individual recommendations to help tackle male silence amidst struggles. Further, the research findings propose structural and institutional recommendations that inform policy makers to draft policies and programs for mental health services as well as preventive measures.
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    Social - musicking as therapy: eclampsia in women in three hospitals in Kampala Metropolitan Area
    (Makerere University, 2023-08) Nakato, Vanitah
    This study investigated the impact of music therapy on anxiety, stress, and blood pressure in women with eclampsia in Uganda, a serious pregnancy complication that can lead to maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. The researcher used the phenomenology qualitative research method to assign participants to either a music therapy intervention or a control group. Data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings suggested that music therapy could effectively reduce anxiety, stress, and blood pressure in women with eclampsia. Participants reported feeling calmer, more relaxed, and less anxious after receiving music therapy. The study provides valuable insights into the potential benefits of music therapy as a non-pharmacological intervention for managing anxiety, stress, and high blood pressure in low-resource settings. The research can improve the quality of life and health outcomes of women with eclampsia in Uganda and other similar settings and highlights the importance of considering patients' subjective experiences and perspectives in healthcare interventions.