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Assessing factors associated with adherence to COVID19 standard operating procedures in financial institutions in Mbale city.

(Makerere University, 2022-05) Walyaula, Robert

Background The Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a communicable respiratory disease that presents with flu-like symptoms and is caused by a new strain of Corona virus commonly referred to as the SARS CoV2 virus (Alexander E Gorbalenya, 2020; Zhu et al., 2020). By January 14th 2022, 157,000 people had been infected while 3,378 people had died in Uganda. People in financial institutions have been documented to be pivotal in spread of COVID-19. It is still not yet clear to what extent people in financial institutions adhere to COVID SOPs. Objective The major objective of this study was to assess the level of adherence to standard operating procedures for COVID-19 among people working in financial institutions in Mbale city. Methodology This was a cross-sectional study that used quantitative methods of inquiry in assessing adherence to standard operating procedures for covid-19. A non-probability sampling method was used in selecting the financial institutions. Quantitative data was analyzed using Stata SE 14 software. Results The results showed that 55.73% of the respondents were knowledgeable about existence of SOPs. Also majority of the financial institutions (77.86%) provided facilities for maintenance of SOPs while adherence to SOPs in all financial institutions especially wearing of face masks stood at 11.20%. Of the interviewed respondents, 89% said that many staff had contracted covid-19. There was a suggestion from 33.07% of the respondents that on top of observing SOPs, working in shifts can help ensuring there is enough space in banking halls for staff to enable proper social distancing. Generally, only 55.32% of clients and staff attending services in financial institutions were able to observe SOPs resulting in moderate adherence. Conclusion There is need to intensify the use of adhering SOPs both to people who come to bank in financial institutions and the people who work in these institutions. This will go a long way in mitigating effects of COVID-19 in financial institutions.
Assessing Food Hygiene using the rating System in the eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala City

(Makerere university, 2022-02-21) Adongo, Kevin

Introduction: Foodborne diseases are one of the most wide-spread health problems in the contemporary world and they have implications both on health and development. In 2010, the Food Standards Agency introduced the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) which uses the results from inspections to produce a rating for each of the premises. Study objectives: To assess food hygiene using the food hygiene rating system in the eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala city in order to a reduce on the food-borne illnesses. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the aspects of food hygiene using the food hygiene rating system in 28 eating houses of Makerere- Kikoni, Kampala city with the aims of determining the hygienic food handling practices, examining the physical conditions of the structures of food eating houses, and evaluating how the eating houses are managed to ensure food safety. During assessment, each hazard found was given a certain score i.e., if the hazard is a public health hazard, it will score 7 points, critical violation scores 5 points and general violation scores 2 points. This means that the less the score generated by each eating house, the more the level of compliance with recommended standards and vice versa. Results: Out of 28 eating houses that were assessed, majorities were restaurants, 19(67.86%). Most eating houses had poor structural conditions, with the highest unsatisfactory score of 269(27.45%) while most eating houses good management practices having the least unsatisfactory score of 48 (13.19%). 14(50%) of the eating houses were rated good and only 1(3.57%) eating house was rated as requires major improvement. Conclusion: the study revealed that there was poor compliance with structural conditions in most eating houses in Makerere- Kikoni, though majority of them were rated as good.
Assessing knowledge, attitude and uptake of breast cancer screening of female students of College Health Sciences, Makerere university

(Makerere University, 2024-11) Nampeera, Anita Bukirwa

Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women and is the leading cause of death from cancer among women affecting millions of people. In Uganda, it is noted that factors that contribute to breast cancer mortality rates include genetics, poverty and unequal access to prompt quality treatment coupled with inadequate awareness and knowledge of the disease, thus not visiting the screening facility and delayed treatment thus contributing to high morbidity and mortality rates. It is proven that early detection through effective screening programs has proven to be a pivotal factor in improving survival rates and reducing the burden of treatment costs associated with advanced stages of breast cancer. The objective of the study was to assess knowledge, attitude, and uptake towards breast cancer screening of female students at College of Health Sciences, Makerere University so as to generate information that will help to develop interventions to increase the prevalence of uptake of breast cancer screening. A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among female students at college of students of Makerere University. A sample of 572 participants was employed and data collected using structured questionnaire. Collected data was then analyzed at univariate level to assess knowledge , attitude and practices towards breast cancer screening. A total of 572 participants took part in the study. The highest number of participants,491/572(85.84%) were aged between 21 to 30 years. Where, 519/572 (90.73%) of the respondents , were at bachelors level and the rest, 53/572 (9.27%) of them were at masters level. Majority of the participants, 564/572 (98.60%) had high levels of knowledge about breast cancer. Most of the participants have friends / relatives who have had breast cancer and most of them got to know they had breast cancer through screening , followed by suggestive signs/symptoms. Most of the respondents ,487/572 (85.17%) knew about of breast cancer screening of which , most of them got know through heath facility , followed by television /Radio. The respondents generally had a positive attitude towards breast cancer screening. Majority of the respondents, 283/572 (49.48) strongly believed that they were at risk of getting breast cancer and, 372/572 (65.26%) also strongly believed that screening is important in the fight against breast cancer. The uptake of breast cancer screening is really so low that most of the participants ,458/572 (80.07%) have never screened for breast cancer. The results indicated high knowledge of female students towards breast cancer and breast cancer screening, positive attitude towards breast cancer screening and low uptake of breast cancer screening. This indicates the need for the various stake holders , bodies /NGOs that are in fight against cancers to put more interventions so as to increase the prevalence of uptake of breast cancer screening.
Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices of commercial motorcyclists towards compliance with road traffic lights in Nakawa Division, Kampala City, Uganda

(Makerere University, 2021-08) Kyakunzire, Poleen

Introduction: Globally, road traffic crashes (RTCs) account for 1.25 million deaths and about 20 to 50 million injuries per year. In Uganda, road traffic crashes (RTCs) majorly affect the economically productive age group which in turn negatively affects the country’s economy. Increased use of motorcycles is associated with high road traffic crashes (RTCs), especially among commercial motorcyclists, who have a poor road safety record. This may be attributable to paying little attention to road traffic signs and regulations such as road traffic lights. Objective: To assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of commercial motorcyclists towards compliance with road traffic lights in Nakawa Division, Kampala City so as to inform policy makers and stake holders in formulating policies, creating awareness channels and interventions that will help in making road transport safer for every road user. Methodology: A cross-sectional study that utilized both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods was employed. In the quantitative method, structured questionnaires were used and key informant guides were used to collect qualitative data. Also, an observational checklist was used in the study. The collected data was entered and cleaned using Epi-data version 3.0 after which it was exported to Stata for univariate analysis. The qualitative data from key informants was analysed using thematic code analysis. Results: Almost all commercial motorcyclists, 99.5% (382/384) were knowledgeable about how road traffic lights work. Only about one third of respondents, 29.2% (112/384), had ever received information on compliance with road traffic lights. Majority, 90.1% (346/384) respondents agreed that failure to comply with road traffic lights results into road traffic crashes, but only 52.3% (201/384) of the respondents agreed that it is necessary to comply with road traffic lights. Few commercial motorcyclists, 42.7% (164/384) reported that they comply with road traffic lights. This was reported to be so because of; competition for passengers 98.2% (216/220), followed by pressure from their passengers 89.1(196/220). On observation, less than a third, 22% (84/384) complied with road traffic lights. Conclusion: Generally, commercial motorcyclists had good knowledge, poor attitudes and low compliance with road traffic lights. Therefore, this calls for strict enforcement of laws on compliance with road traffic lights and sensitization of commercial motorcyclists and the general public about the importance of compliance with road traffic lights.
Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices on handwashing among mothers/caregivers of under five children in paediatrics wards, Mulago specialized national referral hospital

( 2020-09) Nabukalu, Jalidah

Poor hand washing make hands a major path way through which fecal-oral diseases are transmitted. About 80% of the world s communicable diseases are transmitted by a mere touch of unhygienic hands. A disproportionate burden of child mortality is in Low and Middle Income Countries where more than 30% of all diarrheal deaths occur. One in four Ugandans washes hands properly- with soap and water- after using a latrine/ toilet, explaining why about 75% of the country s disease burden is preventable and linked to poor hygiene and inadequate sanitation facilities and practices. The government of Uganda recommends hand washing as the best way to control nosocomial infections among children. However the compliance to hand washing among people is very low because only 28% of the population has access to hand washing facilities, meaning most Ugandans are susceptible to diarrheal diseases. OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices on hand washing at critical times among mothers/care givers of under five children in pediatrics ward Mulago hospital. METHODOLOGY: This was a cross sectional study, employing quantitative data collection methods including a structured non self-administered questionnaire designed in epi collect software. A sample size of 113 mothers/caretakers took part in the study. Data was then exported to STATA for univariate analysis to come up with results from the collected data. RESULTS: A total of 113 mothers/care takers participated in the study. There were more females 101(89.38%) than males 12 (10.62%) with majority 60 (53.10%) belonging to age group of 30-35 years, with mean age 31.39 (± 6.68 SD). Many of them 58 (51.33%) belonged to primary level of education. High proportion of respondents 91 (80.53%) had adequate knowledge on hand washing with most of them 110 (97.55%) knew that hand washing is important and reduces chances of spreading infections. The overall positive attitude towards hand washing was 80 (70.80%) with 99(87.61%) claiming that hand washing is not regularly talked about at the ward. The majority 84(74.34%) never felt comfortable reminding their neighbors about hand washing and the reasons were; they mind their own businesses, it s never their job and fear to be abused .More than half of respondents never mentioned at least three diseases resulting from poor hand washing practices. CONCLUSION: Despite the good knowledge, attitudes and practices on hand washing, health workers should continue sensitizing the mothers/caregivers about good hand washing practices and also improving on the hand washing facilities to further promote hand washing at wards. KEY WORDS: Hand washing, practices, knowledge, attitude, mothers/caregivers, children under five years of age
Assessing levels of solid waste management implementation plans/systems in health facilities in Rubaga Division, Kampala City

(Makerere University, 2024-05) Apangu, Lichowa Gylian

The demand and need for the establishment and improvement in the levels of implementation of these solid waste management systems in the different institutions in Kampala City is on an increase. This is due to the increase in the numbers of different newly set up medical institutions and new treatment procedures and equipment. These are generating different types of solid waste that impact on environmental health and affect the public health of the community they are located in. These require different solid waste management practices with the capacity to sustain the growing quantities and newly emerging healthcare solid waste. An improvement in the levels of implementation of the solid waste management systems is required dependent on the quality, quantity and hazard risk the solid waste pose to the Kampala Community. The study aimed at assessing the available levels of solid waste management implementation systems/plans in health facilities. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with quantitative data collection methods. Quantitative data was collected amongst 130 health facilities using interviewer administered questionnaires designed in kobo collect and using the kobo collect android application for data entry. The health facilities were selected using a mixtures of stratified and simple random sampling to limit biases. Collected data was downloaded into an Excel sheet, cleaned and analyzed using Excel and exported to Stata MP 14 for uni-variate analysis. A total of 130 health facilities participated in the study (34 clinics, 42 HC IIs, 11HC IIIs, 11HC IVs and 32 general hospitals), more than a half of the facilities were private facilities (84, 66.9%) and the minority being the public facilities (46, 33.1%). All the sampled facilities generated more than one type of solid waste (healthcare waste, food waste, glass paper and plastic). The facilities practiced multiple solid waste management practices, sorting being the most practiced (92.3%), open dumping and open burning (13.85 and 13.1% respectively) being least practiced. Despite the majority of sampled facilities having SWM systems in place and administrative policies and procedures, less acknowledgement and significance is accredited to the importance of proper solid waste management especially in the lower level facilities generating less quantities of solid waste. Hence, more awareness on importance of proper solid waste management should be done in health facilities and enforcements activities to improve of already existing practices and introduction of newly introduced modern day practices to supplement the existing ones.
Assessing occupational hazards and factors contributing to the health effects faced by female market traders in Nakasero Market, Central Kampala Uganda (unpublised undergraduate dissertation). Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

(Makerere University, 2022-10-10) Waneloba, Ronald

BACKGROUND: Informal sector workplaces in Uganda that include: public markets, street side and roadside trade display a wide range of poorly controlled workplace hazards to mostly female traders who dominates the business. Female market trader’s health needs attention since they are more vulnerable to these hazards resulting into various health effects threatening their lives. It is unfortunate that less is done to unearth the occupational hazards faced by female market traders so as to intervene in the situation. OBJECTIVES: To assess the occupational hazards and factors contributing to the health effects among female market traders in Nakasero market, central Kampala. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among female market traders in Nakasero market, central Kampala. Data was collected from market women dealing mainly in selling fresh fruits, vegetables and foods in stalls and road-sides of the market. The study utilized mixed-methods approach with both quantitative and qualitative methods used to analyze the research findings. Information regarding socio-demographic factors, environment and work-related factors, occupational hazards and health effects was collected by face to face, interviewer administered, semi-structured questionnaires and key informant interviews. Quantitative data analysis was done by EPIDATA 3.02; STRATA 14 and Microsoft excel software for fine presentation of findings. Qualitative analysis was conducted by applying deductive thematic analysis. Results: 4 key informants and 183 female market traders were enrolled into this study. The mean age of participants was 38 years (SD) 9.37 with majority (36.6%) aged 30 to 39 years. Most of the respondents (43.1%) were married, and had attained primary education (38.2%) as their biggest level of education. The results identified various hazards and health effects faced by female market traders and those included: biological hazards where majority reported suffering from mosquito bites in the market (87.36%) and UTIs’ causing micro-organisms from dirty toilets (80.46%). Physical, ergonomic and psychological hazards were also revealed by the study as a threat to health of female market traders. Factors contributing to the health effects faced by female market traders include: long working hours without rest or sleep (47% of the female market traders spent more than 12 hours in the market), majorityof the respondents were not using PPE (70.49%) and minor though a reasonable number (42%) reported of not washing hands in the market, problems with use of sanitary facilities on issues like few stances, dirty toilets and water insufficiency at times, poor market structures, working space inadequacy and overcrowding in the market.Various health effects/problems reported by female market traders were musculoskeletal pain, malaria, UTIs, respiratory problems, covid-19, skin problems, headache and obesity. Conclusion: Female market traders continue to face occupational hazards and health effects in public markets within Uganda basing on various factors that contributes to a set of health effects. The most pronounced health effects among these market women are musculoskeletal pain, malaria due to frequent bites in the market, UTIs got from unsanitary public toilets in the market, respiratory problems and covid-19. The factors responsible for increased exposure to hazards and contributing to health effects faced by female market trader include not wearing all necessary protective equipment; not washing hands in the market, working overtime, sitting ,problems with use of sanitary facilities on issues like few stances, dirty toilets and water insufficiency at times, poor market structures and working space inadequacy hence overcrowdings in the market. Collaborative effort of the government, market authority (KCCA) and local leaders is needed in intervening to mitigate these hazards faced by female traders in the market.
Assessing risk factors for indoor air pollution exposure in households in Bulamu Ward, Kasangati Town Council, Wakiso District

(Makerere University, 2019-10-22) Serunjogi, Davis Tamuzadde

Abstract Background: Globally, indoor air pollution from various forms of pollutants is an increasing problem. The most common form of indoor air pollution is that caused by inefficient burning of solid and fossil fuels like wood, charcoal and kerosene in indoor environments. Indoor air pollution is therefore a significant problem particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) including Uganda where use of such solid fuels is most common. There is however little attention drawn to understanding the problem specifically in Uganda to come up with tailor-made solutions. Objectives: To assess risk factors for indoor air pollution exposure in households in Bulamu ward, Kasangati town council, Wakiso district so as to provide information that could be used to make proper decisions and design measures to reduce indoor air pollution. Methodology: A cross sectional study was carried out among 96 households in Bulamu ward, Kasangati town council, Wakiso district. From the 5 villages within the ward, 1 was randomly selected. The 96 households were then selected from the village by systematic sampling applying a sampling interval of 21 households obtained by dividing the sum of households in the ward by the calculated sample size. Data was then collected using a researcher-administered questionnaire by means of Epi-collect 5 software with a mobile phone. The data was analyzed using STATA 2013 software and presented in various forms including graphs and tables. Results: The study found the most known sources of indoor air pollution as solid-fuel smoke 99.0% (95/96), dust 89.6% (86/96) and indoor smoking 60.4% (58/96). The most mentioned potential health effects due to indoor air pollution were cough/cold 79.2% (76/96), difficulty in breathing 59.4% (57/96) and lung complications 53.1% (51/96). The most suggested measures against indoor air pollution were cooking outdoors 95.8% (92/96) and stopping indoor smoking 70.83% (68/96). The majority of households, 87.5% (84/96) used charcoal for cooking and 11.5% (11/96) of the respondents cooked inside their houses. Over half of the respondents, 54.2% (52/96) lived in a house with only one window and only 30.2% (29/96) houses had windows that allowed cross or through ventilation. Conclusion: There was considerable knowledge on common sources, potential health effects and measures to reduce indoor air pollution which can be used as a basis for successful interventions against the problem.
Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of nonresident students of Makerere University towards fire prevention

(Makerere University, 2021-11-04) Ongebo, Ivan

Background: Fire outbreak is still posing a great challenge to public health globally with greater challenge in developing countries where less capital is invested in fire prevention. Objective: This study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Makerere University students who sleep outside the university concerning fire prevention in their hostels to give relevant stakeholders evident-based information for further action. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was used to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices among 405 students between Septembers to November, 2021. The data was collected using pre-tested self-administered questionnaires, cleaned, analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2007 and presented in frequency tables with proportions and percentage. Result: Out of 405 nonresident students who participated in the study, majority were males, 53.09%. The mean age of the participants was 22.84(Standard Deviation, 1.27) and ages ranged between 18 to 31 years. Majority of students were in second year of their studies, 55.56%. 91.36% of the participants knew importance of oxygen in fire outbreak, 84.44% believed that their hostels are not safe against fire; only 10.12% had been trained on how to use fire extinguishers as well as only 10.62% reported the presence of at least one type of fire extinguisher in their hostels. Conclusion: The study revealed that there was significant knowledge and attitude but poor practices among nonresident students so; more effort should be put to promote safe practices among nonresident students concerning fire prevention. Keywords: knowledge, attitude, practices, non-resident students, fire prevention
Assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of households towards cholera outbreak preparedness and prevention in Kalerwe Village, Kawempe Division, Kampala City

(Makerere University, 2019-05) Niyongabo, Filimin

Background: Cholera is still a great public health threat to the global community and more particularly in the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. It is endemic in areas where access to safe water and adequate sanitation is a challenge especially in high density areas like slums, refugee camps. Kalerwe village is one of the high-density urban slums in Kampala City in Uganda. Kalerwe has continuously received cholera outbreaks during the rainy seasons of the year. It is therefore vital to understand the knowledge, attitude and practices of the community households towards cholera preparedness and prevention. Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of households towards cholera outbreak preparedness and prevention so as to mitigate the spread of cholera in the country. Methodology: A cross sectional study design utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection was carried out in Kalerwe village, Kawempe division in Kampala City. Random sampling method was used to select 138 households where an adult member was interviewed. Two key informant interviews were carried out. Observations during the transect walk were taken. Data was collected using questionnaires on Epicollect 5 and analyzed using STATA software. Results: About 98.6% of the participants knew that cholera was caused by germs from poor sanitation. 93.5% of the participants knew that severe diarrhea and vomiting were typical signs of cholera and 97.8% knew that prevention of cholera can be achieved by supply of safe water and ensuring adequate sanitation. 90.6% of the participants were interested in preventing cholera and 100% of all the participants believed that hands should be washed before eating. The respondents reported to be having good sanitation practices, however from the observations and key informant interviews it was realized that the households practiced open defecation, indiscriminate dumping of solid waste, consumption of unsafe water among others. Conclusion: The households of Kalerwe village had poor sanitation and food hygiene practices regardless of being aware of how cholera is transmitted and prevented. It is therefore paramount to promote cholera outbreak prevention and preparedness activities like safe water supply and adequate latrine construction in Kalerwe village. Government should continue to carry out massive cholera risk reduction measures like providing sanitation infrastructure in such urban informal settlements.
Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing among pupils in private and public school in Pader Town Council.

(Makerere University, 2022-01-14) Omwony, Thomas

ABSTRACT Background Globally, hand washing is low despite the fact that it would prevent communicable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea which annually results in the death of 2 million children as well the loss of 300 million school days. In Uganda, children spend a lot of their early childhood time in schools which has made the Government of Uganda integrate health education on sanitation into their syllabus so that they grow with this knowledge and can easily translate it into practice.Therefore proper hand washing practices among school children would amicably prevent infections thus keeping them in school contributing to better school attendance and child development. Study objective This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing among pupils in private and public primary schools in Pader Town Council, Pader District Methodology The study involved a cross sectional study using quantitative methods. Quantitative data was obtained using semi-structured questionnaires through face to face interviews. The collected data wasbe entered using EpiData. It was then cleaned and analyzed using STATA. The results were then be presented in tables and graphs. Results 183 children were interviewed with (71.59%) of the children having good hand washing knowledge, (66.67%) of the children had positive attitudes towards hand washing with (80.87%) of the children having good hand washing practices. Only(19.14%) could correctly demonstrate hand washing. (54.10%) of the children knew that they could get exposed to diarrheal diseases if they didn’t wash their hands. (68.85%) and (65.03%) of childrenagreed that frequent hand washing and hand washing with soap before eating respectively were important. Conclusion The local government through its health authorities should ensure continuous health education through media and community talks ensure, schools have soap, water and hand washing facilities.
Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing at household level in Sindi ward, Mparo town council, Rukiga district

(Makerere University, 2020-10-09) Twinomugisha, Daniel

Introduction: and washing is the act of cleaning hands for the purpose of removing soil, dirt and micro-organisms; which results into reduction of the burden of diseases due to poor Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). However, in Rukiga district, the habit of handwashing at critical times is not a common practice. Diarrhoea alone, one of three major childhood killers in Uganda, kills 33 children every day in the country and Rukiga district is not exceptional. Among the contributing factors to this burden is inadequate knowledge and poor attitudes towards hand washing at household level. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing at household level in Sindi ward, Mparo town council, Rukiga district. Methods: A cross-sectional study design which used a qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used. The study was conducted among a random sample of 130 households in Sindi ward, Mparo town council, Rukiga district. Data was collected on background information, knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing at household level. The data was entered into Epi-data and analyzed using Stata software to establish the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hand washing at household level. Results: The study found out thatover two thirds of the respondents, 69.0% had knowledge about hand washing and the main source of that information was community health workers, 55.6%. Almost three quarters, 73.1% of the respondents were practicing hand washing, with the main material used,being water only, 87.4%. Majority of the respondents, 84.6% believed that there was a possibility of food contamination if hands were washed without soap, 80.8% desired to possess a hand washing at home and 93.1 % believed that water only could wash their hands thoroughly. Conclusion: Respondents from Sindi ward Mparo town council were knowledgeable about hand washing; however,their practices were poor, withonly 12.6% washed their hands with water and soap/detergent. Recommendations: The district health team of Rukiga district should sensitize community members of Mparo town council on the necessity of washing hands with soap/detergent since using water only does not effectively clean hands.
Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding use of modern contraception among undergraduate students at Makerere University, Uganda

(Makerere University, 2024-03) Adhel, Angelina Malek

Various studies done among university students still show low uptake and use of modern contraceptives despite the many forms of modern contraceptives that are available today, with mass campaigns aimed at educating these students on contraception and its benefits. Among those that use contraceptives, majority are inconsistent in their use. This therefore calls for more research to be carried out to find the loopholes and hence device strategic interventions aimed at increasing uptake, correct and consistent use of contraceptives among university students. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards use of modern contraceptive methods among undergraduate students at Makerere University. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two colleges; College of Health Sciences and College of Humanities and Social Sciences which enroll undergraduate students every academic year. A pre-designed semi-structured self-administered questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from undergraduate students of age 18-30 years that study in any of the two chosen colleges. The study used the modified Kish-Leslie formula (Leslie-Kish, 1965) for cross-sectional studies and from the method the sample size was 227 students. A systematic random sampling procedure was used to obtain the respondents. Data was collected electronically and analyzed at univariate level using STATA 14 software. A total of 227 undergraduate students were enrolled into this study. Fifty two percent (52%, 118/227) of the participants were females, the rest being males. Majority of the students (56.8%) were aged between 18-22 years and most of them were never married (91.6%). More than half (59.5%) of the study participants were third year students. Majority of the participants had heard about modern contraceptives with the major sources of information being friends (93.8%), social media (70.4%), Literature (54.9%), health worker (51.2%) and Radio/TV (38.5%). Most of the participants knew of more than one modern contraceptive method with male condoms (89.4%) and contraceptive pills (84.6%) being the most mentioned whereas the LAM and the Standard days method were the least known methods. Participants had positive attitudes towards modern contraception. Almost half (44.5%) of the participants were currently in sexual relationships at the time of the study. Male condoms were the most used contraceptive method followed by contraceptive pills (23.6%). Knowledge levels on modern contraceptives were high among the participants and they also had positive attitudes towards use of modern contraceptive methods. However, there was low contraceptive use. This shows that knowledge of modern contraceptive methods coupled with positive attitudes towards contraceptive use does not necessarily translate into usage. There may be need for comprehensive information beyond awareness of methods.
Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to use of helmets among commercial motorcycle passengers in Mbarara Municipality, Mbarara District

( 2019-12-02) Tumusiime, Brenda

Introduction: Motorcycles are associated with the increase of road traffic injuries. Motorcycle related injuries are a cause of head injury, and disability in case of a crash. These head injuries are more severe if passengers do not use helmets. In spite of the risks involved while using a motorcycle, passengers’ helmet utilization remains very low. An assessment of the knowledge and attitude of commercial motorcycle passengers towards helmet use is thus necessary. Methodology: A cross sectional study was done, this employed both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected using structured questionnaires among commercial motorcycle passengers in the Central Business District. A sample size of 231 motorcycle passengers was interviewed. Quantitative data was entered and cleaned using epicollect® data collection software, and then exported to Stata® 13 for cleaning and analysis. Microsoft word and excel 2007 were used to generate descriptive statistical summaries. Results: Majority of the respondents 215/231 (93.1%) know that it is necessary to use a helmet. Most respondents are not aware of an existing law about helmet use 138/231 (59.1%). More than half 132/231 (57.1%) have not received or had any education related to helmet use. Most respondents reported that use of helmets depended on whether the rider provided it or not with 44/231(36.1%) respondents arguing that riders do not provide the helmets. Majority of the respondents strongly agree that helmets can protect users from severe head injury 127/231 (55.0%). More than half 117/231 (50.6%) agreed that if police enforced helmet use, they would wear them every time they used a motorcycle. Conclusion: There was generally low knowledge, negative attitude and low practices among motorcycle passengers regarding helmet use. In addition, a very small proportion of passengers was found to have owned or had ever used a helmet. However, this calls for community sensitization about helmet use that will improve their knowledge and consequently their attitudes and practices.
Assessing the knowledge, attitudes and practices towards maintenance of safe water chain among community members of Western Ward in Butogota Town Council, Kanungu District in Uganda

(Makerere University, 2021-10) Baguma, Frank

Introduction: Maintenance of safe water chain is still a challenge both in the developing and under developed world leading to numerous waterborne diseases that account for 80% of all the diseases in the world (WHO, 2019). Majority of the people in Western ward consume contaminated water which has led to increased incidence of water borne diseases. The major causes of this tragedy are poor knowledge and attitudes that work against the practices of ensuring water is safe. Objectives: The study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of households in Western ward, Butogota Town Council towards maintenance of safe water chain during collection, transportation, transportation, storage and treatment of drinking water in their homes. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study design involving 216 households from the 4 villages of Western ward, Butogota Town Council, Kanungu district. Quantitative data was collected among household heads using semi structured questionnaires, analyzed using SPSS and stata soft wares and results summarized in tables, graphs and charts. Qualitative data was collected from 20 key informants using key informants guides and analyzed using content analysis. Results: Almost all the respondents were knowledgeable about the maintenance of safe water chain. Majority agreed cleaning of ware sources. Majority used jerrycans for collection of water. Majority did not seperent cups for drawing water from the storage facility. Conclusion: The knowledge and attitude of the community towards maintenance of safe water chain was generally high but their practices were poor. The challenge being hygiene and sanitation practices. Therefore more community sensitizations by health workers and community leaders about good safe water practices and WASH practices along the chain should be emphasized to improve drinking water quality in residents of western ward in Butogota Town council.
Assessing the relationship between mother's nutrition knowledge and her child's nutritional status in Naguru Parish, Nakawa Division, Kampala City

(Makerere University, 2022-08-05) Kembabazi, Racheal

Introduction: Developing countries face a huge burden of different forms of malnutrition. Previous studies in Uganda focused on assessing the nutrition status of children leaving out an important aspect of mothers’ nutritional knowledge. This influences the dietary intake and feeding practices of children which in turn affects the nutrition status of children due to differences in nutrient intakes. This study will generate important information to create an understanding of the current mother’s nutrition knowledge in Naguru parish. Objective: To assess mothers’ nutrition knowledge and nutritional status of children under five years in Naguru Parish, Nakawa Division Method: A quantitative study was carried out in Naguru Parish, Nakawa division in Kampala District from May-June 2022 among 351 mothers and their children under 5 years of age. We used interviewer-guided questionnaires were used to collect data on mothers’ knowledge of child feeding and anthropometry to capture children’s weight and height measurements. Data was managed using STATA version 13. During univariate analysis of social demographic factors and mothers’ nutritional knowledge, data was analysed in tables and graphs whereas for bivariate analysis, we used Pearson’s Chis square χ2 to assess and the association between maternal nutrition knowledge and other variables of interest. Results: In this study, 56.70 % of the mothers were knowledgeable. The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting was 54.13%, 7.69%, and 7.41% respectively. There was a significant association between occupation (p=0.030), education (p=0.001), marital status (p=0.002) of mothers, and nutritional knowledge. There was no significant association between knowledge and nutritional status. Conclusion and recommendation; The majority of the mothers (43.3%) were not knowledgeable and the prevalence of stunting (54.13%) among children under five was too high. Knowledge of mothers was not associated with the nutritional status of children. Occupation, education, and marital status of the mothers are associated with their knowledge about child nutrition. This study recommends that nutrition campaigns should be put in place to create awareness about the effects of undernutrition in children
Assessment of body mass index (BMI) and physical activity of Undergraduate students in Makerere University, Kampala

(Makerere University, 2020-11) Kimunyu, Ferdinand Treasure

Background Physical activity levels of university students have in recent years been low but with most of the students having a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). The factors determining these physical activity levels influence students’ BMI including their lifestyles at Makerere University which have also been influential towards their health, well-being and academic performance. Makerere University was chosen as the area of study due to its location and its exposure to all these factors that lower the physical activity levels of the students Objective To assess the BMI and the factors that influences the levels of physical activity amongst undergraduate students in Makerere University in order to determine the potential risk factors towards Non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Methodology This was a crossectional study employing a quantitative data collection method. A total of 303 undergraduate students of Makerere University were interviewed. Data was collected using EpiCollect5 software uploaded on mobile phone and then analysed using stata13.0 version. Results From the findings, 220 of the 303 participants reported themselves to being physically active while 27.4% (83/303) reported physically inactive. For BMI assessment, 45% of the respondents had a normal body weight, 24% of the respondents were overweight,16% of the respondents being below the normal and 15% of the respondents being overweight. Basing on the major factors influencing physical activity participation, 96.7% (296/303) of the respondents agreed that physical exercises are safe and 95.4%(289/303) of the respondents agreed that they carry out physical exercises for their health and well-being. Conclusion Physical activity levels and BMI affect students’ health, and wellbeing considering the physical, social and individual environment they live in. However, Makerere university students should take up critical steps towards having a positive attitude towards maintaining their health and well-being through practicing health lifestyles.
Assessment of community management of water sources in Pakele Town Council, Adjumani District, Uganda

( 2023-07) Mapkwe, Fred

In Uganda today, the operations and maintenance of Urban and Rural Water Facilities are largely based on the Community Based Management Systems, which emphasizes community’s responsibility and authority over operations and maintenance of their water facilities. Pakele town council being one of the newly created town councils in Uganda, water supply is largely from old existing deep boreholes and new piped water taps under the management of the community. However, the community still faces a number of water supply challenges which is believed to be due to poor management of existing resources. This study aimed to establish the status of existing community water sources; to determine knowledge of users on community management, to establish attitudes of community towards management of their water sources and to ascertain community’s operation and maintenance practices of water sources. The study utilized simple random sampling design of which 344 households were selected. Semi-structured questionnaires and checklists were used to collect information that was analyzed in both qualitative and quantitative data. The average age of respondents was 35.6 (SD 11.1). Majority were females 250 (72.7%), farmers 150 (43.6%) and Catholics 256 (74.4%). The major source of water in Pakele town council was public deep boreholes. Majority of the boreholes 31/32 (96.9%) were community owned, were functional 31 (96.9%) and had a water source committee 30 (93.8%). However, the water source committee was trained in only 10 (31.3%) of the boreholes. The knowledge of critical hand washing times was poor as only 45 (13.1%) mentioned after visiting the toilet, 14 (4.1%) mentioned before and after eating and only 12 (3.5%) mentioned after cleaning babies bottom as the critical hand washing moments. From qualitative data, respondents had mixed reactions on who should take care of the community water sources. Some said it should be government while others said it should be community members. Majority of the respondents reported that they were okay paying monthly fees for water source maintenance. Community management of public water sources in Pakele Town Council was good despite the knowledge and attitudes of community members towards management of community water sources. The study recommends community sensitization, empowerment and support so as to address the identified knowledge/attitude gaps.
Assessment of factors affecting solid waste management in the markets of Bukoba Municipality, Tanzania

(Makerere University, 2020-11) Sempija, Arafat

Background: Solid waste management (SWM) is one of the challenges in many developing countries including Tanzania. This has led to a number of public health challenges within the markets and the surrounding populations. The accumulation of solid wastes at market collection points is causing serious problems within surrounding areas such as blocking drainage system which causes poor disposal of wastewater and polluting of different surface and ground water sources. Persistent poor SWM has led to enabling environment for diseases like cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria which are the major cause of morbidities and mortalities among the people in Bukoba town. Objective: This study aimed at assessing factors affecting solid waste management in the markets of Bukoba urban area, Bukoba municipality, in order to generate information that can be improve solid waste management in markets of Bukoba town. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design using qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection. Multi stage sampling procedure was used to select 5 markets in Bukoba. A total of 288 respondents were randomly selected in addition to the 7 key informants. Data was then be cleaned before analysis. Analysis included frequencies, percentage and counts. Qualitative data was recorded and analysed manually. Results were presented according to the main themes. Permission was sought from relevant authorizes before data collection Results: Majority of the respondents 59.4% (171/288) were females and the rest (117/288) were males. All respondents were aged between 18-48 years with an average of 30.7±7.6 years. Market vendors aged 25-31 years were the majority (67/288) 23.3%. Also majority 50.7% (146/288) of the respondents had attained a secondary level of education. The highest level of education attained by the market vendors was tertiary education with (9/288) 3.1% and 4 out of 10 had no formal education (72/288). About 86.5% (249/288) knew what solid waste was but only 21.9% (63/288) knew what solid waste management was. In addition 85.3% (246/288) agreed that it was the town council’s responsibility to keep the markets clean. Two thirds 75% (216/288) of study respondents had waste receptacle. Seven out of 10 respondents (210/288) reported that the local councils are the responsible bodies for waste collection and disposal. Conclusion: All market vendors reported that there play an important role in solid waste disposal thus there want their markets clean and free from solid waste but a significant number didn’t know any proper solid waste management option. There were generally good attitudes and bad practices like not having waste receptacle and non-segregation of waste. There should be intensive health education and sensitization of market vendors regarding solid waste management.
Assessment of factors associated with early antenatal care attendance among mothers in Bukedea district

(Makerere University, 2020-11-06) Oleico, Francis

Introduction: Early antenatal care (ANC) attendance refers to pregnant mother visiting ANC clinic within 0-12 weeks of pregnancy (first trimester). Early ANC attendance plays a significant role in ensuring good maternal and new-born child health. It is a critical point for health providers to deliver care and support and to give information, to pregnant women in the first trimester of pregnancy. ANC aims mainly at prevention, early detection and management of general medical and pregnancy-associated disorders. However, the aim of antenatal care can be attained by following the recommended practices as far as antenatal care is concerned especially through early ANC attendance. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the level of early antenatal care attendance and associated factors among pregnant women to inform prioritization of interventions on antenatal care utilization in Bukedea district. Methodology: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study. All health facilities were considered. Systematic sampling was used to select pregnant and childbearing women (women who had a child less than three years old) from the health facility. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were collected using Epicollect5, a mobile application, and uploaded to the central web server. Collected data were cleaned using Microsoft Excel and then exported to Stata 14 for statistical analysis. Multiple Poisson regression was used to establish factors associated with the level of early ANC attendance in Bukedea district. Results: The study interviewed 403 mothers. Of these, 33% had a high level of early ANC attendance. The respondent’s home distance from the health facility, the source of health information during pregnancy, experience of any health problem during pregnancy, and the primary occupation of respondents were significantly association with the level of early ANC attendance among pregnant women in Bukedea.

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