Browsing by Author "Topher, Byamukama"

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    Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of Hand Washing with Soap among Mothers and Caregivers of Children under Five years in Ntungamo District, Uganda
    (Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2020) Topher, Byamukama
    Background: The study of hand washing practices in Ntungamo district is part of a larger strategy being implemented in different countries to decrease the prevalence of childhood diarrhea, in the frame work of the global public – private partnership for hand washing with soap. Purpose: This study of hand washing practices using soap in Ntungamo district aimed at reducing childhood diarrhea prevalence in the district. It represents a preliminary study designed to collect the information necessary to design appropriate strategies to reduce diarrhea prevalence in under five years of age. Methods: The study used quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data from a representative sample of several supervision areas of Ntungamo district. Results: The practice of hand washing after latrine use among the respondents was very low (52%) compared to washing hands before and after meals (77%). The study also revealed a low use of soap during hand washing where (52%) who washed their hands after contact with feces, only 14.6% used soap. Whereas whose who washed their hands while handling food were77%, but out of 77% only 28% used soap There was no diarrhea reported among respondents that had A-level education and only 20% of those that had post-secondary education reported having diarrhea episodes among the under-five compared to 64% that reported diarrhea among the under-fives for those that had incomplete primary level of education, 57% among the households of functional adult learning graduates and 49% for those that completed primary level of education.
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    Factors Associated with Hand Washing Practices among Secondary School Students in Ndorwa East Constituency in Kabale District
    (Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2021) Benja, Twinomuhwezi; Topher, Byamukama; Nathan, Nshakira
    Despite the worldwide Global Hand Washing Day campaign, which targets school children as the most effective agents for behaviour change, there is limited documentation in various school settings. The purpose of the study was to assess the factors associated with hand washing practices among secondary school students in Ndorwa East Constituency in the Kabale district. The study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data from a sample of 291 students from five schools. Results: Of the 291 respondents enrolled, 219(77%) washed their hands after the rest room. Factors associated with a higher likelihood of hand washing practice among secondary school students in Ndorwa East Constituency–Kabale District were being aged <18 years (aOR =8.1, 95%CI: 2.65-21.61, p<0.001), presence of water for hand washing (aOR =50.7,95%CI:11.50-309.38,p<0.001), presence of hand washing stations (aOR=7.3,95%CI:2.72-30.37, p<0.001), and cleanliness of hand washing stations (aOR=70.0,95%CI:10.44-605.6, p<0.001). The factors associated with hand washing practices were presence of water for hand washing, the presence of hand washing stations in schools, cleanliness of hand washing stations. The study suggests that the school administrators should sensitize all students to continue practicing washing hands. This would help in preventing students from diseases associated with poor hand hygiene practices.
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    Factors influencing exclusive breast feeding among women attending maternal and child health clinic at Kyanamira health centre 111, Kabale district
    (International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2022-10-17) Topher, Byamukama; Patience, Akandind
    Background: There is an increasing trend of mothers failing to exclusively breastfeed their babies and this has led to an increasing number of malnourished babies worldwide. This study was aimed at determining the factors that influence exclusive breastfeeding in Kyanamira HC III. Methods: A systematic random sampling technique was used to get all the 175 study participants. Results: 64% of the study participants were aged between 20 and 30 years, and 86.6% of them were peasants. The study found out a strong negative statistical association between community perception and exclusive breast feeding (p=-0.141, r=0.182), and majority of the mothers (62.6% do not support Exclusive breast feeding. There was no positive significant value related to exclusive breastfeeding in our study. Conclusions: Factors that are negatively influencing exclusive breast feeding in Kyanamira HC III are social, cultural and maternal physiological factors
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    Factors Influencing Solid Waste Management in Nansana Municipal Division Council- Nansana Municipality, Wakiso District-Uganda
    (Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2020) Evan, Nuwamanya; Topher, Byamukama
    Background: Poor solid waste management is still a great challenge being faced by urban authorities in Uganda includingNansana Municipality where in particular there is still a challenge of indiscriminate and open dumping of solid waste along the streets that has led to other related health challenges currently affecting the Municipality. Purpose: Assessing factors influencing solid waste management in Nansana Municipal division in order to provide stakeholders with information that would be used to design appropriate interventions towards proper solid waste management. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Stratified cluster sampling procedure was used to obtain the households of respondents while the Purposive sampling was used to obtain the key informants. Results Majority of the respondents, 55.6 % (151/272) had moderate knowledge about solid waste, 29.6% (80/272) of the respondents had high knowledge on solid waste management. While 14.8% (40/272) had low knowledge on proper solid waste management. 73.5% (200/272) of the waste is generated in form of food remains while solid waste in form of plastics and raw vegetables compose 52.2% (142/272). 84.2% (229/272) store waste before disposing it off but only 40.2% (92/229) of them store it in refuse bins. Majority 82.2% (222/272) of the respondents were disposing off waste at the road side. Majority of the respondents, 91.5% (249/272) of the respondents were not engaged in segregating solid waste.
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    Influence of Community-Based Interventions on Routine Immunization Uptake among Children Under Five Years in Ntungamo District-Uganda
    (Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2021) Topher, Byamukama; Margaret, Keraka; Eliphas, Gitonga
    Evidence of the effectiveness of community-based interventions in improving immunization coverage in populations of low coverage is limited. Vaccine-preventable diseases is a major public health challenge in low-income countries where Uganda lies, and immunization is the only reliable strategy for child survival. The study's objective was to assess the influence of a community-based intervention on the uptake of immunization services to recommend strategies to health stakeholders to improve immunization coverage. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in three phases. Structured and key informant interviews were used as data collection tools. Phase one provided baseline data before the intervention, the second phase was a community-based intervention, and the third phase was post-intervention evaluation. There was no significant difference on the uptake of BCG, POLIO-0, POLIO-1, POLIO-2, DPTHeP-Hib1, DPTHeP-Hib2, PCV1 and PCV2 immunizations between the intervention and control group post-intervention (P= 1.00, α =0.5). The level of knowledge on immunization was 68.8% and 29.6% in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The difference between the two was statistically significant (P=0.00 = α= 0.5). There was a significant association between the level of knowledge of the caregivers on immunization and the uptake of immunization services (P=0.00, α=0.5). There was also a statistically significant difference in immunization coverage between the intervention and control groups (97.5%) and (75.1%) for the intervention and control groups, respectively. The difference was statistically associated with the community-based intervention (P =0.00, α=0.5). Community-based interventions influenced the uptake of routine immunization services.
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    Perceptions of caregivers on immunization in Ntungamo district, Uganda
    (International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health | December 2021 | Vol 8 | Issue 12 Page 5729 International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health, 2021) Topher, Byamukama; Margaret, Keraka; Eliphas, Gitonga
    Background: Immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions to reduce child mortality and morbidity associated with infectious diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the perceptions of caregivers on immunization in Ntungamo district. Methods: Quasi-experimental study was used with health centres assigned to intervention and control groups. Purposive sampling was used to select the two counties where the study was done. Proportional sampling was done to get study samples from each health facility, while systematic sampling was done to get study participants. A total of 787 children from twelve health facilities provided the study sample. A post intervention evaluation was conducted to determine the effect of these interventions. Association of variables was tested using Mann Whitney U-test and Chi-square. Results: On benefits, most caregivers in the intervention group (85.3%) and in the control group (54.3%) regarded immunization as very highly and moderately beneficial to their children respectively. On risks, most caregivers in the intervention group (85.5%) and control group (43.1%) regarded the risk factor associated with immunization as very low and moderate respectively. From hypothesis testing, there was a significant difference on the perceived benefits and risks of immunization between the intervention and control group. Conclusions: Most caregivers in the intervention and control group regarded immunization as very highly beneficial and moderately to their children respectively. Most of the caregivers in the intervention and control group regarded the risk factor associated with immunization as very low and moderate respectively.