Browsing by Author "Okiria, John Charles"

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Agony resulting from cultural practices of canine bud extraction among children under five years in selected slums of Makindye:
(BMC Oral health, 2018) Atim, Fiona; Nagaddya, Teddy; Nakaggwa, Florence; Mboowa, Mary Gorrethy N; Kirabira, Peter; Okiria, John Charles
Background: Canine Bud Extraction (CBE) is a process of removing or gouging children’s healthy canine tooth buds embedded underneath the gum using traditional unsterilized tools. The practice of CBE commonly known as false teeth removal continues to be an adopted cultural intervention of choice, in the prevention of morbidity and mortality from common childhood illnesses. However, it is a practice against the rights of children with serious consequences. While CBE is associated with the perceived myth of curative gains, the agony emanating from the cultural practice exposes children to ill-health conditions such as dehydration, malnutrition, blood-borne diseases like HIV/AIDs, septicemia, fever and death. This research sought to understand the factors underpinning the practice of CBE among urban slum dwellers. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from five randomly selected slums in Makindye division; 298 household heads or guardians with children below 5 years, who had ever suffered from false teeth were interviewed. The variables measured included guardians’ socio-demographic profiles, determinants of CBE, common childhood illnesses assumed to be treated with CBE and the reported side-effects associated with the practice. Results: Of the 298 respondents with children who had ever suffered from “false teeth” interviewed, 56.7% had two or more children below 5 years and 31.9% were from the central region. The proportion of households practicing CBE was 90.3%; 69.8% of the caretakers mentioned that it was done by traditional healers and for 12.1% by trained health workers (dentists). Number of children (OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.1–7.2) and the belief that CBE is bad (OR = 0.1, 95% CI: < 0.001, p < 0.001) had a statistically significant association with CBE. Additionally, number of children (χ2 = 4.9, p = 0.027) and 2 sets of beliefs (CBE treats diarrhea (χ2 = 12.8, p = 0.0017) and CBE treats fever (χ2 = 15.1, p = 0.0005) were independent predictors of CBE practice. A total of 55.7% respondents knew that there were side effects to CBE and 31% mentioned death as one of them. Conclusion: The high proportion of households practicing CBE from this study ought to awaken the perception that the practice is ancient. CBE in this community as the study suggests was strongly driven by myths. The strong belief that CBE is bad provides an opportunity for concerted effort by primary health care providers, policymakers and the community to demystify the myths associated with false teeth and the gains of CBE.
Factors Influencing Annual Procurement Planning of Medicines and Medical Supplies in Public Health Facilities in Kampala District
(AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE, 2021-09-10) Ajulong, Martha Grace; Okiria, John Charles; Owako, Martin
Background: Despite significant progress made by many countries towards meeting the millennium development goals and now sustainable development goals, there has been little improvement in access to essential medicines in developing countries. Objectives The main aim of this study is to assess the factors influencing annual procurement planning of medicines and medical supplies in the public health facilities in Kampala district. Methods: This study targeted respondents from government Health facilities in Kampala with a total population of 424 employees and applied simple random sampling to select 206 health workers. The researcher adopted mixed research approach with application of descriptive statistics, correlational and explanatory research designs that were used to maximize reliability and validity of findings. While the qualitative data was gathered through reviewing logistics tools, a physical count of the 30% purposively selected stock cards and interview of the staffs was carried out in health facilities in Kampala district, a Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 was used to analyze the quantitative data. Accordingly, a chi-square was used to determine the association between independent and dependent variables. Results: The findings indicated that 37.8% of the staff responded positively about the availability of annual procurement plan while the rest were from various health facilities. A significant association was observed between knowledge and availability of annual Procurement planning (X2 = 34.7; p value =.0001), as well as management support and Annual Procurement Planning (X2 = 9.87; P value = .008). Conclusion: In conclusion, the finding generated from analysis of quantitative and qualitative data revealed that a majority of the factors influencing annual procurement planning had a positive effect on medical supplies in public health facilities in Uganda although the capacity and capability of health workers, quality of logistics management information systems, and management support desires improvement.
Prevalence of Anemia and Its Associated Socio-Demographic Factors Among Pregnant Women Attending an Antenatal Care Clinic at Kisugu Health Center IV, Makindye Division, Kampala, Uganda
(Dovepress, 2020) Mahamoud, Naimo Khalif; Mwambi, Bashir; Oyet, Caesar; Segujja, Farouk; Webbo, Fred; Okiria, John Charles; Taremwa, Ivan Mugisha
Aims/Objectives: This study sought to determine the prevalence, morphological character- ization and associated socio-demographic factors of anemia among pregnant women attend- ing Kisugu Health Centre IV, Makindye Division, Kampala, in Uganda. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study that employed laboratory analysis of blood samples to determine hemoglobin concentration, and a structured questionnaire to obtain socio-demographic factors associated with anemia during pregnancy. Results: We enrolled 345 pregnant women aged 15 to 43 years. The median, interquartile range, and mean Hb levels were 8.1g/dL, 6.4 ± 2.1g/dL and 7.9g/dL, respectively. There were 89 participants whose Hb levels were indicative of anemia, giving anemia prevalence of 25.8% (95% confidence interval: 21.6–29.8). Of these, 25 (28.1%) had mild anemia, 46 (51.7%) had moderate anemia, while 18 (20.2%) had severe anemia. Thin blood film examination showed normocytic-hypochromic (75.3%), then microcytic-hypochromic (21.6%), and macrocytic- hypochromic red blood cells (3.4%). The socio-demographic factors of gestational age, parity, and mother’s occupation were significantly associated with the risk of anemia (p< 0.05). Conclusion: We report a high prevalence of anemia among pregnant women; with a majority of hypochromic-microcytic anemia. This may necessitate more anemia awareness and it requires institution of nutritional interventions to avert fetal-maternal complications