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Objective: In many parts of Uganda, the demand for health education is greater than the conventional health sector can provide and community health education volunteers fill the gap. Using two case study non government organizations (NGOs) that heavily rely on volunteers as health educators, this article shows the problems of unsystematic preparation of volunteers for their roles in health education. Design: An exploratory cross-sectional design using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions was used. Setting Two case study NGOs that heavily rely on volunteers as health educators were selected in a rural district in eastern Uganda. Method: Focus group discussions and observation of health education sessions were conducted, as well as in-depth interviews with volunteers and staff of the selected NGOs. Results: The NGOs were enthusiastic about the role of volunteers in health education and regarded them positively. However, the process of recruitment was informal. Orientation of the volunteers was insufficient and rather unsystematic. A minimal focus was placed on methods of conducting health education during the training of the volunteers, suggesting a failure to view health education as a professional field. This left the practice of health education at the mercy of the volunteers' own less reflective self-designed pedagogical approach. Conclusion: While there is a high enthusiasm for the potential role of volunteers, by both the NGOs and the community, their preparation for health education so far does not measure up to the demands of the tasks they are to perform. The limited emphasis on skills in planning, organizing and methods of health education leaves the practice of health education haphazard and indicates failure to view the area as a professional field.

This ethnographic study explores the experience of men in long-term relationships with sex workers and their construction of masculine identities in Kampala, Uganda. Data were collected in 2019 and comprise in-depth interviews with 13 male partners and two group discussions of women with long-term male partners. Thematic analysis used an intersectional lens to frame reconfigurations of gender and masculinity in the context of relationships with sex workers. All men had been clients of sex workers before progressing to become long-term partners. We discuss the complex ways in which men participated in value systems of respectability and reputation to (re)configure gender relations that made sense of their long-term relationships with sex workers. Men viewed their relationships with women through the normative lens of traditional masculine roles associated with monopoly over a partner's sexuality, provider and father. However, poverty, HIV, the failure to have exclusive sexual rights over a partner, and the shame associated with sex work intersected and disrupted masculinities. Despite this, men found meaning in these relationships through the woman's commitment to the relationship, her financial support, her help in accessing HIV services, and the children from the relationship, thereby attaining respectability and avoiding a crisis of masculinity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Current data from Uganda indicate that, compared to women, men are under-represented in HIV treatment, seek treatment later and have a higher mortality while on antiretroviral therapy (ART). By focusing on a masculine work ethic as one of the most predominant expressions of masculinity, this study explores why for some men HIV treatment enhances their masculinity while for others it undermines masculine work identity, leading them to discontinue the treatment. Methods: Participant observation and 26 in-depth interviews with men were conducted in a gold mining village in Eastern Uganda between August 2009 and August 2010. Interviewees included men who were taking HIV treatment, who had discontinued treatment, who suspected HIV infection but had not sought testing, or who had other symptoms unrelated to HIV infection. Results: Many participants reported spending large proportions of their income, alleviating symptoms prior to confirming their HIV infection. This seriously undermined their sense of masculinity gained from providing for their families. Disclosing HIV diagnosis and treatment to employers and work colleagues could reduce job offers and/or collaborative work, as colleagues feared working with 'ill' people. Drug side-effects affected work, leading some men to discontinue the treatment. Despite being on ART, some men believed their health remained fragile, leading them to opt out of hard work, contradicting their reputation as hard workers. However, some men on treatment talked about 'resurrecting' due to ART and linked their current abilities to work again to good adherence. For some men, it was work colleagues who suggested testing and treatment-seeking following symptoms. Conclusions: The central role of a work ethic in expressing masculinity can both encourage and discourage men's treatment-seeking for AIDS. HIV testing and treatment may be sought in order to improve health and get back to work, thereby in the process regaining one's masculine reputation as a hard worker and provider for one's family. However, disclosure can affect opportunities for work and drug side-effects disrupt one's ability to labour, undermining the sense of masculinity gained from work. HIV support organizations need to recognize how economic and gender concerns impact on treatment decisions and help men deal with work-related fears. Keywords: masculinity; work ethic; HIV treatment., Introduction HIV prevalence remains highly gendered in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with women constituting approximately 60% of all people living with HIV-related disease [1]. Women's greater vulnerability to HIV infection arises [...]

There is limited epidemiological data on childhood injuries in developing countries. This study assessed the incidence, patterns and risk factors for injuries among children aged 0-5 years in Wakiso District, Uganda. To determine differences, chi-square and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used. Risk factors were assessed using Poisson regression. Overall, information from 359 children of mean age 32 months (SD: 18.4) was collected. Annual incidence of injuries was 69.8 per 1000 children/year (95% CI 58.8-80.8). One fatal injury due to burns was reported. Incidence of injuries was less associated with being female (IRR: 0.56, 95% CI 0.34-0.90) and increasing age of the caretaker (IRR: 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-0.99). The high incidence of childhood injuries necessitates the need for interventions to reduce injuries among children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]