Mbarara University of Science and Technology

About: Mbarara University of Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Mbarara, Uganda. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 1145 authors who have published 1845 publications receiving 43184 citations.

Barriers for nurses’ participation in and utilisation of clinical research in three hospitals within the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

Abstract: Introduction Scientific research results are a necessary base for high quality nursing practice. The level of implementation of research in the clinical setting, including nurses' participation in and knowledge of research results, have gained considerable attention internationally. However, the remarkable international increase of such studies does not apply to the Ghanaian context. We therefore set out to evaluate the degree of involvement of nurses in research, as well as their utilization patterns of research findings in Ghana. Objectives: the study sought to investigate the proportion of nurses involved in clinical research as well as barriers for nurses' participation and utilization of research findings, within the Kumasi Metropolis area, Ghana. Methods A descriptive and analytical cross-sectional study design was used in this study. A 47 item questionnaire elicited data on 158 participants' demographics, the proportion and the barriers to participation, which was then analyzed using SSPS version 17 software. Qualitative interviews with key informants complemented quantitative survey data. In-depth interviews with nurse managers at the hospitals in focus was conducted and analyzed thematically. Results The study shows that 36.1% of the nurses, included in the study, had participated in research and only 25.3% of these had (knowingly) used specific research results in clinical practice. However, the level of research participation differed greatly between nurses working at different hospitals. Nurses' participation in clinical research was shown to be associated with their perception of benefit of research to practice as well as their understanding of time as a factor for them engaging in reading scientific articles. In addition, barriers associated with nurses' integration of research findings into the daily practice was their perceived lack of support from the collegium and their perception of research as not part of the nursing role. Conclusion Findings from the study suggest that there is a need to create institutional support to facilitate and encourage nurses' participation in research, yet also to formalize nurses' continuous professional development. This, could change nurses' attitudes towards research, and contribute to improving health care as it would increase nurses' role as agents for evidence based clinical practice.

Prevalence and associated factors of mental disorders among prisoners in Mbarara municipality, southwestern Uganda: a cross-sectional study

Abstract: Research in high income countries reports higher prevalence of mental disorders among prisoners than in the general population. Lack of published data from low resource settings affects planning and eventual service provision to the prisoners. This study aimed to determine the burden of mental disorders and associated factors among prisoners in Mbarara municipality in southwestern Uganda. This was a prison facility based cross sectional study among 414 inmates in Mbarara municipality. We consecutively enrolled them by simple random sampling from 3 prison facilities. Participants completed a sociodemographic and clinical factor questionnaire, and the M.I.N.I. Version 6.0. Data were analyzed using STATA 12.0. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the prevalence, and associated factors using the individual odds ratios with their 95% Confidence Intervals and P-values as a measure of association, clinical and statistical significance respectively. A total of 354 (86%) prison-inmates met criteria for a psychiatric disorder. Of these, 338 (95%) had one or more diagnoses. Major depression was the most common diagnosis (44%). Factors associated with mental disorders included history of traumatic brain injury (OR = 2.57; 95% CI = 1.22–5.42; P-value = 0.01), low income status (OR = 0.32; 95% CI = 0.16–0.63; P-value = 0.001) and authoritarian parenting (OR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.18–0.75; P-value = 0.006). There is a high prevalence of psychiatric illness among prisoners in Mbarara municipality with most of them having more than one diagnosis. Majority of the prisoners with mental illness go undiagnosed and untreated.

A Modest Proposal for Wealthy Countries to Reforest Their Land for the Common Good

Abstract: We discuss a recent press release calling on wealthy countries to do more to combat climate change and protect their biodiversity. We examine some further examples of how questionable views are imposed unilaterally on conservation problems. Until we better engage with local perspectives we shall be less credible and less effective as conservationists.

A simple prognostic index based on admission vital signs data among patients with sepsis in a resource-limited setting.

Abstract: In sub-Saharan Africa, vital signs are a feasible option for monitoring critically ill patients. We assessed how admission vital signs data predict in-hospital mortality among patients with sepsis. In particular, we assessed whether vital signs data can be incorporated into a prognostic index with reduced segmentation in the values of included variables. Subjects were patients with sepsis hospitalized in Uganda, who participated in two cohort studies. Using restricted cubic splines of admission vital signs data, we predicted probability of in-hospital death in the development cohort and used this information to construct a simple prognostic index. We assessed the performance of the index in a validation cohort and compared its performance to that of the Modified Early Warning Score (MEWS). We included 317 patients (167 in the development cohort and 150 in the validation cohort). Based on how vital signs predicted mortality, we created a prognostic index giving a score of 1 for: respiratory rates ≥30 cycles/minute; pulse rates ≥100 beats/minute; mean arterial pressures ≥110/<70 mmHg; temperatures ≥38.6/<35.6°C; and presence of altered mental state defined as Glasgow coma score ≤14; 0 for all other values. The proposed index (maximum score = 5) predicted mortality comparably to MEWS. Patients scoring ≥3 on the index were 3.4-fold (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.6 to 7.3, P = 0.001) and 2.3-fold (95% CI 1.1 to 4.7, P = 0.031) as likely to die in hospital as those scoring 0 to 2 in the development and validation cohorts respectively; those scoring ≥5 on MEWS were 2.5-fold (95% CI 1.2 to 5.3, P = 0.017) and 1.8-fold (95% CI 0.74 to 4.2, P = 0.204) as likely to die as those scoring 0 to 4 in the development and validation cohorts respectively. Among patients with sepsis, a prognostic index incorporating admission vital signs data with reduced segmentation in the values of included variables adequately predicted mortality. Such an index may be more easily implemented when triaging acutely-ill patients. Future studies using a similar approach may develop indexes that can be used to monitor treatment among acutely-ill patients, especially in resource-limited settings.