Research in Uganda

Research in Uganda

LIGHT partners at MLI are conducting research to bridge the gap in TB healthcare services and ensure that men receive adequate screening and care, addressing a current disparity in healthcare-seeking behaviours. To achieve this, researchers are codesigning and evaluating a health facility-based TB screening intervention that aims to increase active TB case detection by improving access to TB screening and care services, particularly among men.

The research study will:

  • Engage various stakeholders through collaborative workshops to co-design a gender-responsive health facility-based TB screening intervention tailored to the unique needs of men in Uganda.
  • Implement and evaluate the acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility of the co-designed intervention targeting men.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in increasing the number of poeple identified with TB and have initiated treatment. The data will be disaggregated by sex over the study period.
  • Evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the health facility-based TB screening intervention.

Methods:

A pilot will be conducted before and after quasi-experimental non-equivalent comparison group study divided into two phases:

  1. During phase 1, the research team will engage key stakeholders, utilising an iterative codesign approach through participatory workshops, to refine the proposed intervention, develop its theory of change and a health facility process map for TB screening, diagnosis and management.
  2. During phase 2, the team will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, potential effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the final intervention. Potential effectiveness will be evaluated by measuring the additional TB cases attributable to the intervention.
 
This research is primarily led by LIGHT's Early Career Researcher, Dr Jasper Nidoi.

For more information about this research, read the one page project summary.

 

 

 

You can also watch this video, where Jasper outlines how her research aims to improve access to tuberculosis (TB) screening, diagnosis, and care services for men in Uganda. Jasper has engaged a wide range of stakeholders from healthcare workers, TB champions, politicians, and researchers to co-design an intervention that will help find missing TB cases among men that have been previously missed by current healthcare services.