Browsing by Author "Opio, Bosco"

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    PublicationOpen Access
    COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and associated factors among the business community in Lira City, Uganda: a cross-sectional research
    (Epidemiology Biostatistics and Public Health, 2023-08) Kigongo, Eustes; Achan, Everlyne; Opio, Bosco; Akello, Anne Ruth; Musinguzi, Marvin; Tumwesigye, Raymond; Kabunga, Amir; Puleh, Sean Steven
    Background: As of November 26, 2021, at least seven different vaccines across three platforms have been distributed globally. These vaccines include Pfizer/BioNTech released on December 31, 2020, AstraZeneca on February 16, 2021, Janssen by Johnson and Johnson on March 12, 2021, Moderna on April 30, 2021, Sinopharm on May 7, 2021, Sinovac CoronaVac on July 1, 2021, and COVAXIN on November 3, 2021. Despite this unprecedented scientific discovery, vaccine hesitancy is seen as a stumbling block towards achieving herd immunity in the battle to control this global pandemic. The effec- tiveness of vaccines has been based on the principle that the community was willing to take up the vaccine to achieve herd immunity. This study aimed to assess COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and associated factors among the business community in Lira City, Uganda. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional design was conducted among the business community from Lira City in Northern Uganda. The sample size was 421, however, only 407 members of the business community who responded were included in the analysis. Results: Of the 407 participants, 57.3% were females, 52.5% were married, 88.4% were Langi by Tribe, 43.5% had tertiary education, 33.4% were Anglicans, and 40.1% were market vendors. Results also show that about 32.3% of the respondents had either delayed or refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine. The correlates of vaccination hesitance were education level (aOR; 3.63, 95%CI; 1.49-8.79, p=0.04), having a chronic medical condition (aOR; 2.7, 95%CI; 1.39-5.38, p=0.04) and certainty in the COV- ID-19 vaccines (aOR; 0.27, 95%CI; 0.017-0.51, p=0.02). Respondents who had primary level education had a more than 2-fold increased odds of acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination compared to those who had not attained any formal education. Individuals who had chronic medical conditions had more than 2-fold increased odds of accepting the COVID-19 vaccine compared to those who did not have any chronic medical conditions. Those who were certain about the COVID-19 vaccine were 73% less likely to hesitate vaccination as compared to their counterparts who were uncertain. Conclusion: The study found a substantially high level of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy in Lira City and its predictors were level of education, chronic medical conditions and certainty in COVID-19 vaccines. For this reason, it is important to raise awareness among the business community about the vaccine. To increase uptake, policymakers and other stakeholders need to create effective communication techniques for behavior change.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Factors associated with first antenatal care (ANC) attendance within 12 weeks of pregnancy among women in Lira City, Northern Uganda: a facility-based cross-sectional study
    (BMJ Open 2, 2023-07) Acup, Walter; Opollo, Marc Sam; Akullo, Betty Nancy; Musinguzi, Marvin; Kigongo, Eustes; Opio, Bosco; Kabunga, Amir
    Objective This study aimed at assessing factors associated with first antenatal care (ANC) attendance within 12 weeks of pregnancy among women in Lira City. Design A cross-sectional study. Settings The study was conducted in health facilities offering ANC services in Lira City, Northern Uganda. Participants The study was among 368 pregnant mothers attending their first ANC in the three selected facilities (Lira Regional Referral Hospital, Ober Health Center IV and Pentecostal Assembly of God Mission Health Center IV) in Lira City. Primary and secondary outcome measures Level of first ANC attendance within 12 weeks of pregnancy and associated factors. Results Early ANC attendance was 36.1%. Women who were: unmarried (adjusted OR (aOR): 0.40, 95% CI: 0.16 to 0.99), took >2 hours to reach a health facility (aOR: 0.21, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.62), or not visited by village health teams or healthcare workers at home (aOR: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.92) were less likely to attend their first ANC early. On the other hand, women who were: not knowing first that ANC guides parents on infant care (aOR: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.06 to 4.67); pregnant without consent of spouse (aOR: 4.29, 95% CI: 1.75 to 10.55); attending ANC from a private facility (aOR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.27 to 6.15); and having two to three healthcare workers present at the ANC clinic (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.03 to 3.13) were more likely to attend ANC early. Conclusions Despite the fact that the WHO recommends that all women begin ANC within 12 weeks after conception, Lira City in Northern Uganda had a low overall incidence of timely ANC initiation. Being unmarried, distance to reach a health facility, and being visited by village health teams or healthcare workers at home were all linked to timely ANC commencement. As a result, intervention efforts should concentrate on the highlighted determinants in order to promote ANC initiation in Lira City, Northern Uganda. This can be accomplished by providing information and education to the community on the timing and necessity of ANC in Northern Uganda.
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    PublicationOpen Access
    Prevalence of diarrhea and water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) associated factors among children under five years in Lira City Northern Uganda: Community based study
    (PLOS ONE, 2024-06-07) Auma, Brenda; Musinguzi, Marvin; Ojuka, Edward; Kigongo, Eustes; Tumwesigye, Raymond; Kabunga, Amir; Opio, Bosco
    Background Children under the age of five experience a significant disease burden from diarrheal illnesses. This poses a severe public health risk as the second leading cause of infant death worldwide, after pneumonia. Lira City in Uganda is one of the developing urban areas with limited information about the diarrheal disease among children under the age of 5 years. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and assess the water, sanitation and hygiene related factors associated with diarrheal diseases among children under five years in Lira City. Methods The study was conducted among 492 care takers of children under the age of 5 years in Lira City between August 2022 and September 2022. Data was collected using an interviewer administered questionnaire and a multi-stage sampling was used to select study participants. Data was analyzed by bivariate and multivariate logistic regression using STATA version 17. P-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Out of 541 participants, 492 responded. The majority of the respondents, 425(86.4%) were female, 146(29.7%) had children aged 1–12 months, 192 (39%) had primary level education, and 155(31.5%) were self-employed. The prevalence of diarrhea among children under five years was 130(26.4%) and the associated factors with diarrheal disease were children between 49–60 months old (AOR = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03–0.39, P = 0.001), cleaning the latrine more times (AOR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.22–0.81, P = 0.010) and not treating water (AOR = 1.84, 95% CI: 1.11–3.06, P = 0.018). Conclusion There is high prevalence of diarrhea among children under 5 years of age. The study’s findings highlight the need for ongoing efforts to lower the prevalence of diarrheal illnesses among children under the age of five in Uganda’s emerging urban areas.