Barriers to Infant and Child-feeding Practices: A Qualitative Study of Primary Caregivers in Rural Uganda.

The purpose of this study was to explore the barriers to the use of appropriate infant and young childfeeding practices by primary caregivers living in a rural Ugandan district. A community-based qualitative design and focus group discussions were used for collecting data from primary caregivers of children aged 0 to 24 month(s). On an average, each of the four focus group discussions had 11 participants. The focus group discussions were conducted using a structured interview guide and were tape-recorded. The recorded data were later transcribed and analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis techniques. All the participants were females, and the majority had low levels of education and at least one child in the age-group of 0-24 month(s) in their household. The findings show that the main barriers to the use of appropriate infant and young child-feeding practices fall under four themes: caregiver’s knowledge about breastfeeding, caregiver’s knowledge about complimentary feeding, influence of culture custodians on the caregivers, and patterns and burden of other responsibilities the caregivers have in the household. The four categories of barriers imply that there are various missed opportunities to implement hospital and community-based interventions to improve infant and young child-feeding practices, which is one way of preventing malnutrition. Therefore, in rural areas of Uganda, the major factors responsible for the high prevalence of malnutrition among infants and children are still those related to knowledge, culture, and social status of the primary caregivers.

Continuing education in geriatrics for rural health care providers in Uganda: A needs assessment

Population trends in developing countries show an increasing population of older adults (OAs), especially in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to explore the geriatrics continuing education needs of health care providers (HCPs) working in rural Uganda. The study employed a descriptive design to collect data from HCPs working in Apac district, a rural district in northern Uganda. The 240 HCPs (mean age 33.8±10.5 years) from whom data were collected were nurses (52%), physician assistants (17%), social workers (12%), laboratory technologists (10%) and physicians (10%). Self-administered questionnaires composed of the Palmore's Facts on Aging Quiz (FAQ1) and Kogan's attitude towards old people (KAOP) scale were used for data collection. Results. Most HCPs (63%) regularly cared for OAs but their professional education did not include geriatric-specific courses (69%). The majority of HCPs had a poor or fair geriatric knowledge (88%) (FAQ1 mean score 11.6±2.3), but had a positive attitude towards OAs (80%) (KOAP mean score 115.9±11.5). Positive attitude was associated with personal experiences with OAs and a desire for a future career in geriatrics (p≤0.05). Conclusion. In Uganda training curricula for health professionals have not evolved to address the changing demographic trends showing increasing numbers of OAs. Consequently, there is a significant knowledge gap in certain aspects of health care, such as geriatrics, among currently practising HCPs. There is need for tailored geriatrics continuing education programmes to bridge the knowledge and skill gaps to ensure quality health care for OAs