Table 1 Attachment sites and spectrum of projects by Afya Bora global health leadership fellows in Uganda*
Attachment site | Type of site | Fellow’s project | Project outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
Ministry of Health—AIDS Control Program | Public (MOH) | HIV counselling and testing (HCT) | HCT policy review processes were analyzed and results widely disseminated. Recommendations were made to inform future policy formulation and review processes at MOH (Tumwesigye et al. Health Res Policy Syst. 2013). |
Policy review processes | |||
Ministry of Health—AIDS Control Program | Public (MOH) | Early infant diagnosis of HIV and the PMTCT cascade | Bottlenecks in the PMTCT cascade were identified including gaps in delivery of EID results to mothers/care takers of HIV-exposed children at local facilities. Recommendations were made to increase completion of PMTCT cascade for antenatal care to EID and enrollment into pediatric care (Elyanu P et al. IAS 2013). |
Ministry of Health—AIDS Control Program | Public (MOH) | Early infant diagnosis of HIV and the PMTCT cascade | Predictors of perinatal HIV transmission in EID program at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital; presented at annual Afya Bora meeting and at the site. Results were used to improve follow-up systems for mothers and their HIV-exposed children after delivery at health centers served by Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. |
Research Triangle International (RTI) | PEPFAR-funded HIV program | Implementation of PMTCT option B | Barriers to scale up of option B plus in a military setting in Bombo. Results were used to scale up uptake of PMTCT option B plus to mothers in the military HIV program at Bombo military barracks. |
Ministry of Health—AIDS Control Program | Public (MOH) | Family-planning methods in HIV care programs | Utilization of birth control methods within HIV/AIDS care programs. Results were disseminated to the ministry of health to inform programs that scale up utilization of birth control methods (Muhindo et al., International Journal of Population Research, 2015). |
Medical Research Council (MRC)/Uganda Virus Research institute | HIV/AIDS care program for risk populations | HIV risk in fishing communities | Access to HIV prevention methods for fishing communities in Uganda. Results were used to apply for a larger study to pilot use of HAART for prevention in high-risk fishing communities. |
Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) | Academic PEPFAR-funded HIV care outreach program at eight districts | Intra-facility linkage of HIV-infected mothers and HIV-exposed babies to long-term HIV care after PMTCT program | Analysis of routine PEPFAR HIV care program data to inform strategic implementation and health system strengthening (Mugasha et al. PLoS One 2014). |
IDI, Makerere University | Male circumcision program | Factors influencing access to medical male circumcision (MMC) among IDI-supported clinics in Kampala. Results will be used to increase uptake on MMC. | |
Mbarara University for Science and Technology (MUST) | Academic/MOH referral hospital | Analysis of 10-year routine laboratory data for antibiotic resistance | Trends of antibiotic resistance were analyzed and disseminated widely to inform routine presumptive antibiotic prescriptions and essential drug lists at the MUST regional referral and teaching hospital (Bazira et al. British Microbiology Research Journal, 2014) |
Strengthening Uganda’s Systems for Treating AIDS Nationally (SUSTAIN), Uganda | PEPFAR at 19 MOH AIDS care sites in Uganda | Outcomes of PMTCT program at regional referral hospitals in Uganda | Breastfeeding practices and antiretroviral therapy (ART) predicted outcome of PMTCT. Scale up of ART and DNA PCR were recommended (presented at the national pediatric HIV conference, Uganda, 2014). |
Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) training department | Academic regional center for HIV/AIDS care training in Africa | Continuing health professionals’ education | Provision of continuing health professionals’ education in HIV/AIDS care at IDI; was presented at the annual Afya Bora end-of-fellowship meeting. Results were used to develop other curricula in the department of nursing, Makerere University |
Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) training department | Academic regional center for HIV/AIDS care training in Africa | Monitoring and evaluation of PMTCT training module | Knowledge, competence, and experiences of health workers in Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) facilities 1 year following PMTCT option-B plus training for health workers. Results were used to modify the PMTCT training module to include more practical sessions. |
Makerere University College of Health Sciences | Academic institution, nursing department | Ethics training for nurses | Nurses’ knowledge in ethics and their perceptions regarding continuing ethics education; a cross-sectional survey among nurses at referral hospitals in Uganda. Results will be used to improve pre-service and in-service ethics training for nurses (Osingada et al. BMC Res Notes. 2015) |
Makerere University College of Health Sciences | Academic institution, nursing department | Psychosocial adaptation during antiretroviral therapy | Psychosocial adaptation and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence of HIV+ adults in Kampala, Uganda. Results will be used to improve adherence counselling for patients receiving life-long ART at IDI and other HIV-treatment programs |