Exploring lived experiences on the usage of removable complete dentures among edentulous patients attending Makerere University Dental Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Edentulism remains a major disability worldwide, especially among the elderly population, although the prevalence of complete edentulism has declined over the last decades. In Uganda, the prevalence of edentulism in people aged 20 years and above is 1.8%. The therapy for edentulous patients can be realized through the use of conventional removable complete dentures, implant-supported prostheses, and computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CADCAM), however, the provision of removable complete dentures continues to be the predominant rehabilitation for edentulous patients. However, no published study has explored the lived experiences with removable complete dentures among the Ugandan population. The aim of the present study was to explore patients' lived experiences on the usage of removable complete dentures among Ugandan edentulous patients attending Makerere University Dental Hospital. METHODS: This was a qualitative study approach using purposive sampling. Fifteen (15) respondents were selected across social demographics. Interviews were recorded and transcribed and themes were generated to draw a deeper meaning to the usage of removable complete dentures. A qualitative statistical package, Atlas Ti software was used to generate themes from the interviews followed by an interpretation of the generated data and the results were presented as text and in a table. RESULTS: The reported key positive experiences due to removable complete denture rehabilitation were the improvement in speech, eating ability, regaining good facial appearance, better oral hygiene management, self-esteem and confidence to smile in public, and a feeling of completeness. However, respondents complained of pain and discomfort due to the looseness of dentures, inability to eat certain foods, and regular cleaning of dentures. The respondents did not go through proper informed consent processes before getting removable complete dentures. CONCLUSION: The study found that patients were satisfied with their removable complete dentures rehabilitation due to the positive experiences registered, such as the ability to eat and talk well, and restoration of self-esteem, all of which improved their quality of life. However, they experience pain and discomfort due to the looseness of dentures.

Assessment of the knowledge, attitude and practices of the informed consent process in oral healthcare among dental students in Makerere University Dental Hospital, Uganda.

INTRODUCTION: Informed consent is an ethical and legal component of healthcare. It ensures patient autonomy and allows patients to make decisions regarding their treatment. In dental care, informed consent is particularly important because most dental procedures are invasive. Since dental students are future dentists, they need to learn about their ethical obligations and accountability through the informed consent process as this is critical to patients' well-being. This study aimed to determine dental students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the informed consent process for oral health care in Makerere University Dental Hospital, Uganda. STUDY METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study using quantitative methods. It was carried out at Makerere University Dental Hospital and third, fourth, and fifth-year students (n = 102) pursuing a Bachelor of Dental Surgery program took part in the survey. A self-administered structured questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices of informed consent for oral health care. Collected data were entered into Epi-data version 3.1, where it was cleaned, coded, and imported to STATA version 14 software for statistical analysis. RESULTS: About two-thirds 67 (65.7%) of the participants were males. The mean age was 25 (SD = 3.21) years. The majority (90%) of the students had a high level of knowledge of the informed consent process. About (80%) had a positive attitude towards informed consent and (85%) most often practiced the informed consent process. Based on bi-variate analysis, training on informed consent, year of study, age, and sex were significantly associated with the informed consent process. However, there was no significant risk factor associated with informed consent in multiple logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The study findings highlighted high levels of knowledge, positive attitude, and practice of the informed consent process among the clinical dental students. Continuous training is necessary to remind dental students about the importance of informed consent in healthcare, not only for complex procedures.

Assessment of the informed consent process in the provision of dental care in Mulago hospital, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Informed consent is grounded in the principle of autonomy and represents patients' right to participate in clinical decisions regarding their treatment. It is equally an ethical and legal requirement in dental care. The dental practitioner must offer appropriate information about all aspects of the treatment and ensure that a patient understands and makes an informed decision. There is limited literature on informed consent for dental care in Uganda. This study assessed patients' comprehension of the informed consent process and dental practitioners' practices in obtaining informed consent. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted in the Dental Outpatient Department of Mulago Hospital. Two separate questionnaires were employed to collect data from dental patients and dental practitioners, respectively. Data were entered into Epi-data, coded, and imported into STATA 14 for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Overall, the level of patients' comprehension of the informed consent process was 91.1%, with 96.3% who felt the dental practitioners satisfactorily explained to them the treatment received and, 65.1% understood very well the information given to them. About 93.5% of the patients confessed that they were given other options of treatment while 98.5% consented before the dental practitioners started treatment. Most dental practitioners 94.7% followed good clinical practices in obtaining informed consent and 98.7% gave information before initiation of treatment while 85.3% obtained consent from patients before starting any procedures. However, only 5.3% of the dental practitioners obtained written informed consent from patients. CONCLUSION: There is a need to devise ways of improving patients' understanding of the treatment information given to them to support them make better and informed decisions regarding their care. Dental practitioners need to put more emphasis on the use of written consent in dental care because documentation helps in providing accountability and protects dentists from medical litigation in case the patients were to sue them for any treatment-related complications.

A health care professionals training needs assessment for oncology in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Cancer incidence and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa are increasing and do account for significant premature death. The expertise of health care providers is critical to downstaging cancer at diagnosis and improving survival in low- and middle-income countries. We set out to determine the training needs of health care providers for a comprehensive oncology services package in selected hospitals in Uganda, in order to inform capacity development intervention to improve cancer outcomes in the East African region. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey using the WHO Hennessey-Hicks questionnaire to identify the training needs of health workers involved in cancer care, across 22 hospitals in Uganda. Data were captured in real time using the Open Data Kit platform from which the data was exported to Stata version 15 for analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Somers-Delta. RESULTS: There were 199 respondent health professionals who were predominately female (146/199, 73.37%), with an average age of 38.97 years. There were 158/199 (79.40%) nurses, 24/199 (12.06%) medical doctors and 17/199 (8.54%) allied health professionals. Overall, the research and audit domain had the highest ranking for all the health workers (Somers-D = 0.60). The respondent's level of education had a significant effect on the observed ranking (P value = 0.03). Most of the continuing medical education (CME) topics suggested by the participants were in the clinical task-related category. CONCLUSION: The "research and audit" domain was identified as the priority area for training interventions to improve oncology services in Uganda. There are opportunities for addressing the identified training needs with an expanded cancer CME programme content, peer support networks and tailored training for the individual health care provider.

Concurrently wasted and stunted children 6-59 months in Karamoja, Uganda: prevalence and case detection.

We assessed prevalence of concurrently wasted and stunted (WaSt) and explored the overlaps between wasted, stunted, underweight and low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) among children aged 6-59 months in Karamoja, Uganda. We also determined optimal weight-for-age (WAZ) and MUAC thresholds for detecting WaSt. We conducted secondary data analysis with 2015-2018 Food Security and Nutrition Assessment (FSNA) cross-sectional survey datasets from Karamoja. Wasting, stunting and underweight were defined as <-2.0 z-scores using WHO growth standards. Low MUAC was defined as <12.5 cm. We defined WaSt as concurrent wasting and stunting. Prevalence of WaSt was 4.96% (95% CI [4.64, 5.29]). WaSt was more prevalent in lean than harvest season (5.21% vs. 4.53%; p = .018). About half (53.92%) of WaSt children had low MUAC, and all were underweight. Younger children aged <36 months had more WaSt, particularly males. Males with WaSt had higher median MUAC than females (12.50 vs. 12.10 cm; p < .001). A WAZ <-2.60 threshold detected WaSt with excellent sensitivity (99.02%) and high specificity (90.71%). MUAC threshold <13.20 cm had good sensitivity (81.58%) and moderate specificity (76.15%) to detect WaSt. WaSt prevalence of 5% is a public health concern, given its high mortality risk. All children with WaSt were underweight and half had low MUAC. WAZ and MUAC could be useful tools for detecting WaSt. Prevalence monitoring and prospective studies on WAZ and MUAC cut-offs for WaSt detection are recommended. Future consideration to integrate WAZ into therapeutic feeding programmes is recommended to detect and treat WaSt children.

Prevalence and Treatment Needs for Early Childhood Caries Among 3-5-Year-Old Children From a Rural Community in Uganda.

Introduction: Early Childhood caries (ECC) is the term used to describe dental caries in children aged 71 months and below. ECC causes a lot of pain and discomfort in the affected children and is expensive to treat. There is limited data on the prevalence of ECC in preschool children resident in the rural Uganda. Aim: To determine the prevalence and treatment needs for ECC among 3-5-year-old nursery school children in a rural community in Rukungiri District, Uganda. Study Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study in which 432 nursery school children aged 3-5 years from rural Nyakagyeme sub-county in Ugandan, participated. Informed consent for participation in the study by the children was obtained from their parents/guardians prior to the commencement of the study. The examination of the participants was done under field conditions, with the child lying his or her back of the neck on the PI's lap, with both of them seated on a bench and using natural light augmented with a headlamp to examine the oral cavity. The findings of the examination were recorded on individualized modified WHO Oral Health Assessment Forms for children. Data Analysis: The data gathered were analyzed using Windows SPSS Version 23.0 computer programme, and descriptive results for the variables obtained and Mann Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests used to compare and relate the variables. The P<0.05 was considered statistically significant with the Confidence interval set at 95%. The findings were presented in Tables and Figures. Results: A total of 230 (53.2%) male and 202 (46.6%) female participants, with 118 (27.3%), 145 (33.6%), 169 (39.1%) aged 3, 4, and 5 years old respectively, participated in the study. The overall prevalence of dental caries among the participants was 48.6%, with 11.6%, 18.5% and 18.5% recorded for the 3-, 4-, and 5-year old children, respectively. The male participants had a higher prevalence (26.1%) than the female counterparts (22.5%). The mean "dmft" for the participants was 2.04 (SD = 3.01) with the decay component (dt) having the highest value (M = 1.97, SD = 2.89), and contributing to 88.6% of the dental caries experience. The mean "dmft" was 1.79, 2.37 and 1.91 for the 3-, 4-, and 5-year old children, respectively, and the difference in the mean "dmft" among the age groups was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The prevalence of ECC of 48.6% was moderate in this study population. The high level of unmet treatment need as exemplified by the high dental caries experience, was a cause for concern as this forms a risk factor for caries in the permanent dentition.

Prevalence and dental effects of infant oral mutilation or Ebiino among 3-5 year-old children from a rural district in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Ebiino, a form of Infant Oral Mutilation (IOM), involves the gauging or enucleation of primary canine tooth buds in infants, and is believed to be a form of remedy to a range of childhood diseases. The effects of this practice have ranged from the child experiencing excessive bleeding, opportunistic infections and even death, besides the potential negative dental effects on primary and the developing permanent dentition of the affected child. The purpose of the study was to establish the occurrence of Ebiino and its dental effects in a rural child-population in Uganda. METHODS: This study formed part of a larger descriptive cross-sectional study on dental caries and gingivitis, in which 432 children aged 3-5 years old from Nyakagyeme Sub-county, Rukungiri District, Uganda, participated. All the 432 participants (230 males and 202 females, mean age 4.1 SD = 0.8) who had been recruited through stratified random sampling procedure, and whose caregivers had provided a written informed consent, were included in the study. Initially the past dental history of each participant was obtained, and all the children had an oral examination carried out to establish their dental status. RESULTS: The data gathered were entered in a computer and analysed using Windows SPSS version 23.0. The results of the analysis showed the prevalence of missing teeth not due to reasons like caries or trauma was 8.1%, with the primary canine being the most commonly missing tooth. These unusual missing teeth were attributed to a traditional practice called Ebiino. Chi-square test showed no statistically significant association of Ebiino with gender and age (p = 0.352 and p = 0.909, respectively). Also found in the study were enamel hypoplasia or damage of some primary canines and/or the primary lateral incisors and first primary molars, as well as displacement of adjacent teeth, a result found to be associated with the practice. CONCLUSION: The practice of Ebiino appears to be endemic within the communities in Rukungiri region in spite of the negative impacts in form of hypoplasia, midline shift, trauma, dental displacement and missing adjacent teeth that it had on the primary dentition of the child.

Assessing causal effects of early life-course factors on early childhood caries in 5-year-old Ugandan children using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs): A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effect of distal and proximal early life-course factors on early childhood caries (ECC) in 5-year-old Ugandan children, particularly focusing on the causal effect of exclusive breast feeding (EBF) on ECC using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) for confounder selection. METHODS: This study had a nested prospective cohort design, focusing on 5 years of follow-ups of caregiver-children pairs from the PROMISE-EBF trial (ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT00397150) conducted in 2011 in Eastern Uganda. Data were from recruitment interviews, 24-week, 2-year and 5-year follow-ups of a cohort of 417 mother-children pairs. Trained research assistants performed interviews with caregivers in the local language and ECC was recorded under field conditions using the World Health Organization's (WHO) decayed missing or filled teeth (dmft) index. Early life-course factors in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, EBF and other feeding habits were assessed at the various follow-ups. The outcome (ECC; dmft>0) was assessed at the 5-year follow-up. Causal diagrams as DAGs were constructed to guide the selection of confounding and collider variables to be included in or excluded from the final multivariable analysis. Negative binomial regression analyses were performed based on two comparative DAGs representing different causal models. RESULTS: Model 1 based on DAG 1, showed EBF to be a protective factor against ECC, with an IRR and 95% CI of 0.62 (0.43-0.91). According to Model 2 based on DAG 2, EBF and having both parents living together had protective effects: the corresponding IRRs and 95% CI were 0.60 (0.41-0.88) and 0.48 (0.25-0.90), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both plausible models indicated that being exclusively breastfed for 24 weeks had a protective causal effect against ECC. Further research, examining the unmeasured variables included in the DAGs is necessary to strengthen the present finding and allow stronger causal claims.

Effect of Breastfeeding Promotion on Early Childhood Caries and Breastfeeding Duration among 5 Year Old Children in Eastern Uganda: A Cluster Randomized Trial.

BACKGROUND: Although several studies have shown short term health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), its long term consequences have not been studied extensively in low-income contexts. This study assessed the impact of an EBF promotion initiative for 6 months on early childhood caries (ECC) and breastfeeding duration in children aged 5 years in Mbale, Eastern Uganda. METHODS: Participants were recruited from the Ugandan site of the PROMISE- EBF cluster randomised trial (ClinicalTrials.gov no: NCT00397150). A total of 765 pregnant women from 24 clusters were included in the ratio 1:1 to receive peer counselled promotion of EBF as the intervention or standard of care. At the 5 year follow-up, ECC was recorded under field conditions using the World Health Organization's decayed missing filled tooth (dmft) index. Adjusted negative binomial and linear regression were used in the analysis. RESULTS: Mean breastfeeding duration in the intervention and control groups (n=417) were 21.8 (CI 20.7-22.9) and 21.3(CI 20.7-21.9) months, respectively. The mean dmft was 1.5 (standard deviation [SD] 2.9) and 1.7 (SD 2.9) in the intervention and control groups, respectively. Corresponding prevalence estimates of ECC were 38% and 41%. Negative binomial regression analysis adjusted for cluster effects and loss-to-follow-up by inverse probability weights (IPW) showed an incidence-rate ratio (IRR) of 0.91 (95% CI 0.65-1.2). Comparing the effect of the trial arm on breastfeeding duration showed a difference in months of 0.48 (-0.72 to 1.7). CONCLUSION: PROMISE EBF trial did not impact on early childhood caries or breastfeeding duration at 5 years of age. This study contributes to the body of evidence that promotion of exclusive breastfeeding does not raise oral health concerns. However, the high burden of caries calls for efforts to improve the oral health condition in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00397150.

Prevalence and factors associated with dental caries among children and adults in selected districts in Uganda.

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with dental caries among adults and children in seven districts of Uganda. METHODS: Participants aged 11-13 (n=1230) and 35-44 years (n=648) were randomly selected from urban and rural areas of Gulu, Soroti, Jinja, Masaka, Kabale, Kabarole and Hoima districts. They were examined by 4 trained and calibrated dentists for dental caries using Decayed, Missing and Filled teeth index as described by World Health Organisation. RESULTS: Overall mean DMFT score was 0.73 for children and 4.71 for adults. Generally, there was a higher mean DMFT score in the rural (2.19) compared to urban areas (1.97). In all the districts, except Hoima, there was a higher mean DMFT score of children in rural compared to urban. In adults, similar trend was mainly registered in Masaka, Hoima and Gulu districts. Most participants (79.9%, n=1309) occasionally ate sugared snacks. Overall, 95% (n=1795) of the participants cleaned their teeth with plastic tooth brushes (71.7%) and chewing sticks (8.3%). CONCLUSION: Although the severity of dental caries was low, the disease was widespread in the study population. A high proportion of participants reported consumption of sugared snacks and drinks, which calls for oral health education.

Periodontal conditions, low birth weight and preterm birth among postpartum mothers in two tertiary health facilities in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Literature reports have indicated an increase in research evidence suggesting association between periodontal disease and the risk of pre-term birth (PTB) and low birth weight (LBW). Periodontal diseases in Uganda have been documented as a public health problem, but their association to adverse pregnancy outcomes is unknown. This study was conducted to assess the association between periodontital diseases in postpartum mothers and PTB and LBW of babies in Mulago and Mbarara referral hospitals. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study using medical records, clinical examination and oral interview of mothers at the two tertiary health facilities. Mothers with singleton babies from Mulago (n = 300) and Mbarara Hospital (n = 100) were recruited for the study. The women were clinically examined for periodontal disease by 2 trained and calibrated dentists. Data on PTB and LBW were retrieved from medical records. The data were analyzed to determine the relationship between the four parameters for periodontal disease (bleeding gingiva, periodontal pockets, gingival recession and calculus with plaque deposits) and the adverse pregnancy outcomes. Frequency distribution was used to describe the data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to study the association between the periodontal diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes. RESULTS: Approximately 26% and 29% of the postpartum mothers examined had bleeding gingiva and periodontal pockets of 4 mm or more deep, respectively. Advanced periodontitis i.e. pocket depth ≥ 6 mm was recorded in 13 (3.6%) of the mothers. Calculus with plaque deposits were recorded in 86% (n = 343) of the mothers. Gingival recession was recorded in 9.0% of the mothers and significantly and directly related to birth weight (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Periodontal conditions of postpartum mothers in this study were found to be better than previously reported amongst the Ugandan population. Bivariate analysis showed a significant association only between gingival recession and low birth weight. However, this finding should be interpreted with caution as it could have occurred by chance.

Determinants of periodontal health in pregnant women and association with infants' anthropometric status: a prospective cohort study from Eastern Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Preterm-low birth weight delivery is a major cause of infant morbidity and mortality in sub Saharan Africa and has been linked to poor periodontal health during pregnancy. This study investigated predisposing and enabling factors as Determinants of oral health indicators in pregnancy as well as the association between periodontal problems at 7 months gestational age and the infants' anthropometric status. METHOD: A community -based prospective cohort study was conducted in Mbale, Eastern Uganda between 2006 and 2008. Upon recruitment, 713 pregnant women completed interviews and a full mouth oral clinical examination using the CPITN (Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need) and OHI-S (Simplified Oral Hygiene) indices. A total of 593 women were followed up with anthropometric assessments of their infants 3 weeks after delivery. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent determinants of periodontal problems and use of dental services during pregnancy. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to investigate the relationship between periodontal problems and the child's anthropometric status in terms of wasting, underweight and stunting. RESULTS: A total of 67.0% women presented with periodontal problems, 12.1% with poor oral hygiene, 29.8% with recent dental visit and 65.0% with periodontal symptoms. Of the infants, 2.0% were wasted, 6.9% were underweight and 10.0% were stunted. The odds ratio of having CPI > 0 increased with increased maternal age and single marital status, and was lower in primiparous women and those who used mosquito bed nets. Mean wasting scores discriminated between mothers with CPI = 0 and CPI > 0 as well as between mothers with good and poor OHI-S scores. CONCLUSIONS: Socio-demographic factors and information about oral health were associated with oral health indicators in pregnant women. Second, the height- for- age status at 3 weeks postpartum was worse in infants of mothers having periodontal problems and poor oral hygiene during pregnancy. Efforts to prevent oral diseases during pregnancy should be part of the local state and national health policy agenda in Uganda.

Information and communication technology and community-based health sciences training in Uganda: perceptions and experiences of educators and students.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been advocated as a powerful tool for improving health education in low-resource settings. However, few evaluations have been performed of ICT perceptions and user experiences in low-resource settings. During late 2009, an internet-based survey on ICT was administered to students, tutors, and faculty members associated with a Community-Based Education and Service (COBES) program in Uganda. 255 surveys were completed. Response rates varied (students, 188/684, 27.5%; tutors, 14/27, 51.9%; faculty, 53/335, 15.8%). Most respondents owned mobile phones (98%). Students were less likely (p < 0.001) to own laptops (25%) compared to tutors (71%) and faculty (85%). Internet access at rural sites was uncommon; mobile phone coverage was almost universally present. Laptop ownership and internet and mobile phone access was not associated with high valuation of students' COBES experiences. Free text responses found that respondents valued ICT access for research, learning, and communication purposes. In summary, ICT penetration in this population is primarily manifest by extensive mobile phone ownership. Internet access in rural educational sites is still lacking, but students and educators appear eager to utilize this resource if availability improves. ICT may offer a unique opportunity to improve the quality of teaching and learning for COBES participants.

Oral Manifestations in HIV/AIDS-Infected Children.

OBJECTIVES: To assess factors influencing the distribution of oral manifestations in HIV/AIDS-infected children attending the Paediatric Infectious Disease Clinic in Mulago Hospital, Kampala. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study comprising 237 children (males/females: 113/124) aged 1 to 12 years. The parents/guardians were interviewed to obtain demographic information, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and health seeking behaviours as well as any medications taken. The children were clinically examined for oral lesions based on World Health Organization criteria with modifications. RESULTS: About 71.7% of the children cleaned their teeth. About 16.9% of the children had visited a dentist since birth, mainly for emergency care. One or more oral lesions were recorded in 73% of the children of whom 19.0% experienced discomfort during oral functions. Cervical lymphadenopathy, oral candidiasis and gingivitis were the most common soft tissue oral lesions: 60.8%, 28.3% and 19.0%, respectively. Except for dental caries, the overall frequency distribution of soft tissue oral lesions was significantly lower in children on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) as compared to their counterparts not on HAART. The prevalence of dental caries in deciduous and permanent dentitions was 42.2% and 11.0%, respectively. Tooth brushing and previous visits to the dentist were indirectly and significantly associated with dental caries. About 5.9% (n=14) of the children had <200 CD3 + CD4 T-lymphocyte cells per µl of blood. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of the children had one or more oral lesions, particularly in the group not on HAART. Some of the lesions were associated with discomfort during oral functions.

The organization and implementation of community-based education programs for health worker training institutions in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Community-based education (CBE) is part of the training curriculum for most health workers in Uganda. Most programs have a stated purpose of strengthening clinical skills, medical knowledge, communication skills, community orientation of graduates, and encouragement of graduates to work in rural areas. This study was undertaken to assess the scope and nature of community-based education for various health worker cadres in Uganda. METHODS: Curricula and other materials on CBE programs in Uganda were reviewed to assess nature, purpose, intended outcomes and evaluation methods used by CBE programs. In-depth and key informant interviews were conducted with people involved in managing CBE in twenty-two selected training institutions, as well as stakeholders from the community, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, civil society organizations and local government. Visits were made to selected sites where CBE training was conducted to assess infrastructure and learning resources being provided. RESULTS: The CBE curriculum is implemented in the majority of health training institutions in Uganda. CBE is a core course in most health disciplines at various levels - certificate, diploma and degree and for a range of health professionals. The CBE curriculum is systematically planned and implemented with major similarities among institutions. Organization, delivery, managerial strategies, and evaluation methods are also largely similar. Strengths recognized included providing hands-on experience, knowledge and skills generation and the linking learners to the communities. Almost all CBE implementing institutions cited human resource, financial, and material constraints. CONCLUSIONS: The CBE curriculum is a widely used instructional model in Uganda for providing trainee health workers with the knowledge and skills relevant to meet community needs. Strategies to improve curricula and implementation concerns need further development. It is still uncertain whether this approach is increasing the number graduates seeking careers in rural health service, one of the stated program goals, an outcome which requires further study.

Perception and valuations of community-based education and service by alumni at Makerere University College of Health Sciences.

BACKGROUND: Training of health professionals can be deliberately structured to enhance rural recruitment by exposing the trainees to the realities of rural life and practice through Community-Based Education and Service (COBE) programs. Few studies have surveyed the alumni of these programs to establish their post-university views and whether the positive impact of COBE programs endures into the post-university life. This study surveyed the alumni of COBE at Makerere to obtain their perceptions of the management and administration of COBE and whether COBE had helped develop their confidence as health workers, competence in primary health care and willingness and ability to work in rural communities. OBJECTIVES: • To assess the efficiency of the management and administration of COBES.• To obtain the views of the impact of COBES on its alumni. METHODS: A mixed qualitative and quantitative study was conducted using focus group discussions (FGD) and a telephone administered questionnaire. From a total of 300 COBES alumni 150 were contacted. Twenty four Alumni (13 females and 11 males) were purposefully selected by discipline, gender and place of work, and invited for the focus group discussion. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed using a manifest content analysis table. The thematic issues from the FGDs were used to develop a structured questionnaire which was administered by telephone by the authors. The data were entered into Microsoft excel template and exported to Stata for analysis. The findings of the telephone survey were used to cross-match the views expressed during the focus group discussions. RESULTS: The alumni almost unanimously agree that the initial three years of COBES were very successful in terms of administration and coordination. COBES was credited for contributing to development of confidence as health workers, team work, communication skills, competence in primary health care and willingness to work in rural areas. The COBES alumni also identified various challenges associated with administration and coordination of COBES at Makerere. CONCLUSIONS: This study has established that the positive impact of COBES endures with the alumni of the program. Health planners should take advantage of the impact of COBES and provide it with more support.

Assessing community perspectives of the community based education and service model at Makerere University, Uganda: a qualitative evaluation.

BACKGROUND: Community partnerships are defined as groups working together with shared goals, responsibilities, and power to improve the community. There is growing evidence that these partnerships contribute to the success and sustainability of community-based education and service programs (COBES), facilitating change in community actions and attitudes. Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS) is forging itself as a transformational institution in Uganda and the region. The College is motivated to improve the health of Ugandans through innovative responsive teaching, provision of service, and community partnerships. Evaluating the COBES program from the community perspective can assist the College in refining an innovative and useful model that has potential to improve the health of Ugandans. METHODS: A stratified random sample of 11 COBES sites was selected to examine the community's perception of the program. Key Informant Interviews of 11 site tutors and 33 community members were completed. The data was manually analyzed and themes developed. RESULTS: Communities stated the students consistently engaged with them with culturally appropriate behaviour. They rated the student's communication as very good even though translators were frequently needed. Half the community stated they received some feedback from the students, but some communities interpreted any contact after the initial visit as feedback. Communities confirmed and appreciated that the students provided a number of interventions and saw positive changes in health and health seeking behaviours. The community reflected that some programs were more sustainable than others; the projects that needed money to implement were least sustainable. The major challenges from the community included community fatigue, and poor motivation of community leaders to continue to take students without compensation. CONCLUSIONS: Communities hosting Makerere students valued the students' interventions and the COBES model. They reported witnessing health benefits of fewer cases of disease, increased health seeking behavior and sustainable healthcare programs. The evidence suggests that efforts to standardize objectives, implement structural adjustments, and invest in development of the program would yield even more productive community interactions and a healthcare workforce with public health skills needed to work in rural communities.

Lessons learnt from comprehensive evaluation of community-based education in Uganda: a proposal for an ideal model community-based education for health professional training institutions.

BACKGROUND: Community-based education (CBE) can provide contextual learning that addresses manpower scarcity by enabling trainees acquire requisite experiences, competence, confidence and values. In Uganda, many health professional training institutions conduct some form of community-based education (CBE). However, there is scanty information on the nature of the training: whether a curriculum exists (objectives, intended outcomes, content, implementation strategy), administration and constraints faced. The objective was to make a comprehensive assessment of CBE as implemented by Ugandan health professional training institutions to document the nature of CBE conducted and propose an ideal model with minimum requirements for health professional training institutions in Uganda. METHODS: We employed several methods: documentary review of curricula of 22 institutions, so as to assess the nature, purpose, outcomes, and methods of instruction and assessment; site visits to these institutions and their CBE sites, to assess the learning environment (infrastructure and resources); in-depth interviews with key people involved in running CBE at the institutions and community, to evaluate CBE implementation, challenges experienced and perceived solutions. RESULTS: CBE was perceived differently ranging from a subject, a course, a program or a project. Despite having similar curricula, institutions differ in the administration, implementation and assessment of CBE. Objectives of CBE, the curricula content and implementation strategies differ in similar institutions. On collaborative and social learning, most trainees do not reside in the community, though they work on group projects and write group reports. Lectures and skills demonstrations were the main instruction methods. Assessment involved mainly continuous assessment, oral or written reports and summative examination. CONCLUSION: This assessment identified deficiencies in the design and implementation of CBE at several health professional training institutions, with major flaws identified in curriculum content, supervision of trainees, inappropriate assessment, trainee welfare, and underutilization of opportunities for contextual and collaborative learning. Since CBE showed potential to benefit the trainees, community and institutions, we propose a model that delivers a minimum package of CBE and overcomes the wide variation in the concept, conduct and implementation of CBE.

Perceptions and valuation of a community-based education and service (COBES) program in Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Community-based education and service (COBES) has been promoted to improve the education of health professionals, particularly in low-resource settings. However, few evaluations have been performed to guide program development. AIM: This study assessed student and educator perceptions and valuation of a Ugandan COBES program. METHODS: We administered an internet-based survey to students, faculty, and site tutors associated with the Makerere University College of Health Sciences COBES program. RESULTS: 255 surveys were completed. Response rates varied (students, 188/684, 27.5%; faculty-site supervisors, 15/23, 65.2%; faculty general, 38/312, 12.2%; site tutors, 14/27, 51.9%). Students valued the COBES program (93.5% some/high value). Tutors enjoyed their work (92.9% agreeing/strongly agreeing). Faculty (n = 53) felt COBES was valuable (90.2% agreeing/strongly agreeing). High student valuation was associated with high quality accommodation (aOR 4.7, 95% CI = 1.6-13.4), free accommodation (aOR 2.9, 95% CI = 1.2-6.8), and tutors who demonstrated enthusiasm for teaching (aOR 3.4, 95% CI = 1.1-10.0). Areas identified for improvement included financial support, student preparation, and tutor training, feedback, and supervision. CONCLUSION: In this study, COBES was perceived positively by students and educators and learning environment and quality of teaching both contributed to valuation of COBES. Well-implemented COBES programs may offer an opportunity to enhance health sciences education.

Socio-demographic factors related to periodontal status and tooth loss of pregnant women in Mbale district, Uganda.

BACKGROUND: Information on the socio-behavioral distribution of periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnancy emanating from sub Saharan Africa is sparse. This study examined periodontal status and tooth loss in pregnant Ugandan women and assessed the relationship with socio-demographics factors, parity, dental care and oral hygiene. METHODS: Mothers were participants of a multicentre cluster-randomized behavioral intervention study (PROMISE-EBF Safety and Efficacy of Exclusive Breast feeding Promotion in the Era of HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa). In Uganda, these were pregnant women resident in Mbale district, recruited into the PROMISE EBF study between January 2006 and June 2008. A total of 886 women were eligible to participate of whom information became available for 877 (participation rate 98.9%, mean age 25.6) women who participated in the recruitment interview and 713 (mean age 25.5) women who got a clinical oral examination. Periodontal status was assessed using the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN). RESULTS: The prevalence of tooth loss was 35.7%, 0.6% presented with pockets shallow pockets (4-5 mm), whereas 3.3% and 63.4% displayed bleeding and calculus, respectively. A total of 32.7% were without any sign of periodontal disease. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that older women, women from larger households and those presenting with microbial plaque were respectively, 3.4, 1.4 and 2.5 times more likely to have CPI score >0. Rural (OR = 0.9), nulliparous (OR = 0.4) and women who never visited a dentist (OR = 0.04) were less likely, whereas women from larger households (OR = 1.5) were more likely to have lost at least one tooth. CONCLUSION: The results revealed moderate prevalence of bleeding and tooth loss, high prevalence of calculus, low frequency of pockets 4-5 mm. Disparity in pregnant women's oral health related to parity suggests that education of maternity care providers concerning oral health in pregnancy is warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00397150.