Approved Research This page provides a searchable list of all research protocols that have been reviewed and approved by the Uganda National Council for Science and Technology(UNCST).
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Name Title Nationality Approval Date Expiry Date Field of Science/Classification Trial Type Research Type  
Georgina Pearson
ID:
Living the Everyday: Health-seeking in times of sickness and epidemics at Uganda’s borders
REFNo: SS878ES

1. To document everyday knowledge production on illness, among academics, media, public health practitioners and people living on and across border regions. 2. To identify patterns and practices of health-seeking across the border region., 3. To explore interactions between bodies of knowledge produced by various groups at the border, and detail convergences and divergences., 4. The above objectives will lead on to inform policies in response to potential and emergent threats in border regions.
 UK 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
Gertrude Kiwanuka
ID:
ETHICAL ISSUES IN RECRUITMENT AND CONDUCTING RESEARCH DURING OUTBREAKS IN RESOURCE LIMITED SETTING
REFNo: SS883ES

1. To determine community voluntariness, understanding and preparedness to participate in research during life threatening infectious disease outbreaks.
2. To explore the perceptions of investigators and policy makers regarding the conduct of research during outbreaks of life threatening diseases in a resource limited setting. Investigators and policy makers play a critical role in setting and driving the research agenda.
3. To examine the ethical issues raised by members of research ethics committees regarding enrollment of participants in research during epidemic situations and the application of alternative designs.
4. To develop a short course on ‘‘Ethical issues in research during epidemics in a resource limited setting”. This will be based on findings from community, investigators and policy maker interactions and extensive review of the literature.

Uganda 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Annet Khaoya Irene
ID:
Women (in VSLA) Respond
REFNo: SS847ES

The study will be guided by the following key objectives which will also inform the key assessment questions during the survey • To assess how VSLAs (as collectives) and VSLA members are being affected by and coping with the pandemic • To assess the role VSLAs (as collectives) are playing in local response, including not only financial but also social (including health) and political roles • What action and support VSLAs need or want to see from other stakeholders including local and national authorities
Uganda 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
PaweÅ‚ SzymaÅ„ski
ID:
Trade-off between species recognition and individual discrimination in tropical Turtur doves
REFNo: NS256ES

Song is a fundamental signal associated with sexual selection in birds. The processes that allow for species
recognition as well as for individual recognition are inextricably linked and prerequisite for subsequent
decisions about strategy of territory defence and mate choice. The two mentioned functions are somewhat
contradictory, as species recognition needs the uniform feature of a song within a species, whereas
individual recognition is only possible if individuals within a species are somehow acoustically
different. This may lead to conflicting selection pressures that are dependent on the chance of mistaken
species recognition and the importance of individual recognition. The problem that we want to deal with in
this project is the evolutionary compromise between species specific uniformity and individual-specificity of
acoustic signals produced in a sexual selection context. Our model system, the dove species from the Turtur
genus inhabit forest-woodland-savanna habitats in Sub-Saharan Africa. Firstly, we want to describe the
advertisement song variation among and within all Turtur species, in order to identify species and
individually specific song features. Second, we want to experimentally test how birds respond to songs of
the same species and different species in populations occurring allopatrically and sympatrically; and if birds
can discriminate between neighbours and strangers and how similar, co-existing species affect this process.
We plan to use molecular methods to confirm phylogenetic relatedness among the five species and analyse
the genetic structure of same- and different-species populations living in sympatry and allopatry.
 Poland 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Natural Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
JOAN TUSABE
ID: UNCST-2021-R013942
 Understanding knowledge, perceptions and healthcare seeking practices of rural communities in the management of snake bites in Kamuli district.
REFNo: SS912ES

1.To explore and learn from the knowledge, perceptions and preffered health care seeking practices for snake bites among the adult population aged 18-65 years in Kamuli district.

2.To explore knowledge, perceptions and the preferred health care-seeking practices for snake bites among health care workers in Kamuli district

3.To explore the knowledge, perceptions and preferred health care seeking bahaviour among victims of snakebites in Kamuli district.

 Uganda 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Francis Kalule Kizito
ID:
Molecular identification of benzimidazole resistance associated with beta-tubulin gene in adult Haemonchus contortus worms from goats slaughtered in Kalerwe abattoir in Uganda
REFNo: A133ES

1. To identify common intestinal parasites from goats slaughtered in Kalerwe abattoir in Uganda
2. To determine the prevalence of Haemonchus contortus species identified from goats slaughtered in Kalerwe abattoir in Uganda.
3. To determine the importance of ITS- 2 gene in analyzing genetic diversity among isolates of Haemonchus contortus.
4. To determine the frequency of benzimidazole resistant SNPS F200Y, F167Y and E198A in the partial β-tubulin isotype 1 gene of Haemonchus contortus identified from goats slaughtered in Kalerwe abattoir in Uganda.

 Uganda 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Agricultural Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
Noeline Nakasujja
ID: UNCST-2019-R001428
 ASSESSING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE POLICY AND REGULATIONS AGAINST SEXUAL HARASSMENT (PRASH) AT MAKERERE UNIVERSIT
REFNo: SS925ES

1. To assess the extent to which the recommendations from the 2018 committee on SM&H, and the 2018 amendments to PRASH have been implemented.
2. To conduct a dialogue among the University’s key stakeholders focused on addressing SM&H and creating a safe working and learning environment at the Makerere University.
3. To develop a set of recommendations to improve the monitoring and implementation of PRASH

 Uganda 2021-07-07 2024-07-07 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Daniel Murokora Murokora
ID: UNCST-2024-R002689
 Transition To Scale: Using the FREO2 Social Enterprise model and technology to scale up access to Oxygen in Uganda
REFNo: HS1238ES

The aim of this project is to evaluate the impact of a reliable oxygen system on improving a) oxygen reliability and affordability, b) clinical outcomes for children.

With a strong emphasis on clinical and technical training, the project activities should:
a) Improve the availability of oxygen, the detection of hypoxaemia, and the access of a sick child to oxygen when they require it
b) Reduce patient and health system costs of oxygen
c) Understand appropriateness, acceptability, and feasibility of the system in the specific context of health facilities in Western Uganda

 Uganda 2021-07-06 2024-07-06 Medical and Health Sciences Non-degree Award
Achilles Katamba
ID: UNCST-2019-R000540
 Evaluation of Xpert® MTB/XDR test for susceptibility testing of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to first and second line drugs
REFNo: HS1395ES

Secondary: To evaluate factors for lab uptake o Training needs o Recording and Reporting Needs o Error rates o Proportion of results interpretable o TAT o Work flow,Assess sensitivity and specificity of Xpert® MTB/XDR test in previously stored sputum samples (previously stored) compared to the WHO-endorsed genotypic (MTBDRplus and MTBDRsl) method as a gold standard.,Assess sensitivity and specificity of Xpert® MTB/XDR test in previously stored sputum samples (previously stored) compared to the WHO-endorsed MGIT960 culture-based drug susceptibility method as a gold standard,The main objective is to independently validate the performance of the Xpert® MTB/XDR test for susceptibility testing of MTB among presumptive XDR-TB patients. The test performance indicators will be compared with current standard drug susceptibility test methods including the MGIT 960 liquid culture drug susceptibility (DST) systems, Line probe Assay and Whole genome sequencing. ,
 Uganda 2021-07-06 2024-07-06 Medical and Health Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Frederick Mubiru Edward
ID:
Market Research on Service Delivery Implications for a 4-month Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate Subcutaneous (DMPA-SC) Product
REFNo: HS1520ES

1. To explore stakeholder perceptions of client-centered communication needs for a 4-month DMPA-SC product
2. To explore potential barriers and facilitators to the introduction of a 4-month DMPA-SC product
3. To assess implications for data systems, curriculums, training, supervision, logistics, and quality assurance of introducing a 4-month DMPA-SC product

 Uganda 2021-07-06 2024-07-06 Medical and Health Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Eugene Ruzagira
ID: UNCST-2023-R008282
 The impact of COVID-19 on primary health care service provision and utilization in Uganda, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo
REFNo: HS1430ES

I.To determine whether COVID-19 is having an impact on the number of people seen at a selection of healthcare facilities for antenatal care, outpatient visits, routine immunisations, family planning and HIV treatment services, using routine health registration data.
II.To document primary healthcare workers’ experiences in providing care during the outbreak and to identify barriers and facilitators to primary health care provision.
III. To estimate the level of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 among healthcare workers by conducting a repeated serosurvey over a period of 4 months.
IV. To document community members’ experiences in accessing primary healthcare during the outbreak and to identify barriers and facilitators to utilisation.
V. To formulate a set of key findings and recommendations in partnership with stakeholders.

 Uganda 2021-07-06 2024-07-06 Medical and Health Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Ronald Moses Galiwango
ID: UNCST-2024-R015239
 SARS-CoV-2 infection and variants surveillance in South-central Uganda (Also known as ‘SARS-CoV-2 surveillance study’)
REFNo: HS1510ES

2.1 Primary objective
To ascertain the burden and transmission patterns of SARS-CoV-2 infection within selected communities in South-central Uganda using rapid antigen tests.
2.2 Secondary objectives
A. To survey for SARS-CoV-2 infection and variants in communities at high-risk of COVID-19 transmission in South-central Uganda through sequencing of specimens positive on both rapid antigen and RT-PCR tests.
B. To determine the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 antigen rapid diagnostic tests among residents of South-central Uganda.
C. To assess SARS-CoV-2 transmission patterns/dynamics within households and in neighborhoods among communities in South-central Uganda.
D. To assess the burden of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in South-central Uganda using a validated IgM/IgG antibody test.

Uganda 2021-07-06 2024-07-06 Medical and Health Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
Lauben Kyomukama Amagara
ID:
MROP-Mesh versus Desarda technique for short-term surgical outcomes in open inguinal hernia repair at Kampala International University Teaching-Hospital: A randomized controlled trial
REFNo: HS1073ES

Purpose of the study/General objective: To compare the MROP-mesh and Desarda techniques for short-term surgical outcomes in open inguinal hernia-repair among patients at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital
Specific objectives
i. To assess the perioperative factors following open inguinal hernia repair with MROP mesh versus Desarda technique at Kampala International University Teaching hospital
ii. To compare the mean operative time used for open inguinal hernia repair with MROP mesh versus Desarda technique at Kampala International University Teaching Hospital.
iii. To evaluate the occurrence rates of pain following open inguinal hernia repair with MROP mesh versus Desarda technique at Kampala International University Teaching hospital.

 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Medical and Health Sciences Degree Award
Mary Kulabako Kulabako
ID:
Teachers burnout and students wellbeing in government aided public secondary schools in Uganda
REFNo: SS707ES

i. Examine examples and levels of burnout among secondary school teachers in selected public/government aided schools in Uganda.
ii. Explore how teacher burnout affect students’ wellbeing

 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Social Science and Humanities Degree Award
PETER NABENDE
ID:
Improving Point-of-Care Learning for Prostate Cancer Imaging using Machine Learning
REFNo: SIR59ES

1. To develop a competence-based educational curriculum and content for teaching prostate cancer imaging tailored to the PoC.
2. To develop an ML-driven gamified interactive PoC education model for prostate cancer imaging.

 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Engineering and Technology Non-degree Award
Adam Branch
ID:
Rethinking Vulnerability to COVID-19 Lockdowns in Gulu, Uganda
REFNo: SS786ES

Research questions
(1) Our first research question is: what are the mechanisms by which lockdowns are causing social and economic harm, in particular the hidden harms inflicted upon the most vulnerable?
(2) Our second research question is: How are people adapting to or innovating beyond lockdowns to secure livelihoods and ensure viable futures for themselves and others?
(3) How can lockdowns, and mitigation policies, be designed to minimize harm and support innovative strategies among those most vulnerable to lockdowns’ impacts?

Specific Objectives

(1) To describe the mechanisms by which lockdowns are causing social and economic harm, the hidden harms inflicted upon the most vulnerable people in urban and peri-urban areas of Gulu

(2) To explore people’s adaption to or innovation beyond lockdowns to secure livelihoods and ensure viable futures for themselves and others

(3) To explain how lockdowns and mitigation policies can be designed to minimize harm and support innovative strategies among those most vulnerable to lockdowns’ impacts

 USA 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Social Science and Humanities Non-degree Award
Julian Natukunda
ID:
Long-term retention and associated positive practices among Community Client Led ART Distribution groups (CCLADs) in Uganda
REFNo: SS895ES

3. To investigate the association between uncommon practices and long-term retention in CCLADs to confirm uncommon practices are PD behaviors,2. To identify uncommon practices (group and individual) among high retention groups, using the positive deviance approach,1. To assess retention and time for time to withdrawal from CCLAD groups since enrolment in the program ,
 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
Elodie Freymann Marion
ID:
Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Medicative Knowledge in Chimpanzees? Examining Putative Modes and Mechanisms of Information Transmission Between Chimpanzees
REFNo: NS257ES

Homo sapiens are not the only species to self-medicate. Over the last few decades, self-medication has been observed in a variety of primate and non-primate species and throughout a wide range of localities (Janzen, 1978; Huffman, 2016). Non-human self-medication takes many forms and involves a variety of medicinal resources. These include self-medicative resources (SMRs) known to be used in medicinal behaviors like leaf swallowing (Wrangham & Nishida, 1983) and bitter-pith chewing (Huffman & Seifu, 1989), putative therapeutic resources (PTRs) which are irregular dietary items with known bioactive properties, ingested when an individual is ill, and medicinal foods (MFs) which are foods eaten at low frequencies in the absence of symptoms, at certain times of year when their associated medicinal properties are likely most beneficial for preventing future infection or illness (Huffman, 1997). While bioactive and limitedly nutritious botanical species remain the best studied medicinal resources, clay, termite soil, and cambium beneath peeled tree bark are also widely acknowledged as possessing medicinal properties (Pebsworth et al., 2019). In recent literature, many other resource types have been proposed as candidates for further study, including driver ants, honey, ash, and mushrooms, although no studies thus far have empirically established the intentional use of these resources by sick chimpanzees.

Although chimpanzees have been shown to transmit medicinal information to their peers in experimental settings (Huffman & Hirata, 2004; Huffman et al., 2010), the modes, mechanisms, and social learning processes through which chimpanzees transmit medicinal knowledge and behaviors remain untested in free-ranging chimpanzees. This project, titled ‘Intergenerational Transmission of Self-Medicative Knowledge in Chimpanzees? Examining Putative Modes and Mechanisms of Information Transmission Between Chimpanzees’ will consist of three studies, all of which aim to test hypotheses related to intergenerational self-medicative knowledge transmission: the modes and mechanisms facilitating this transmission, and how this knowledge disperses across communities in wild populations. This research will be carried out as part of the completion of Ms Freymann’s DPhil at the University of Oxford.

The first study, titled ‘Gestural Communication During Chimpanzee Self-Medication Events? An analysis of multi-modal signaling between self-medicating models and observers’ will examine whether or not model individuals use specific multi-modal signals and/or increased signaling frequencies to communicate medicinal information to offspring or non-kin observers. The second study, titled ‘Mapping the Self-Medicative Landscape: Do wild chimpanzees revisit medicinal resource sites when seeking treatment?’ will evaluate the presence or absence of habitually utilized SMR sites, to determine whether or not preferred locational ‘hotspots’ exist for chimpanzees within their habitat, and may function as contextual clues to alert chimpanzee observers to the potential onset of a self-medicative event. The third study, titled ‘Evaluating Inter-Community and Intra-Community Variation in Resource Selection and Self-Medicative Behaviors' will evaluate whether or not medicating individuals demonstrate inter-group and/or intra-group variation in their employment of self-medicative behaviors and medicinal resource selection, as well as whether or not social and demographic variables can predict the presence of these variants.

There are two neighboring habituated chimpanzee communities in Budongo forest, the Sonso community, with has ~65 individuals, and the more recently habituated Waibira community which has ~120 individuals. While this research will begin with the Sonso community, if this group becomes unavailable for study due to other scheduled projects, Ms Freymann will flexibly move her data collection to the Waibira community to make the study a cross-community comparison.

Research Questions
1. Gestural Communication During Chimpanzee Self-Medication Events?
• Are gestural signals used at higher frequencies during medicinal events than during normal feeding events?
• Do models use signals at higher frequencies in the presence of an observer during medicinal ingestion events than during medicinal events in which the medicating individual is alone?
• Do medicators increase signaling frequencies during medicinal events based on relatedness to observers?
• Is the proportion of ‘successful’ begging outcomes higher during medicinal events than the proportion of ‘successful’ begging outcomes during normal feeding events?
• Do signaling frequencies between individuals during medicinal events vary based on demographic characteristics or health state?
• Are there specific signals that are used during medicinal events which are not commonly used during normal feeding events?
• Do signal types between models and observers exhibited during medicinal events vary based on social relationships, demographic characteristics, resource type, or behavioral type?

2. Mapping the Self-Medicative Landscape
• Are locations where SMR or PTR ingestion events took place spatially clustered into hot spots?
• Do individuals re-use the same SMR resource hotspots when they are sick?
• Do sick individuals utilize sites with high resource abundance scores over sites where the resource is scarce?
• Do any demographic variables (age, sex and reproductive status) predict which individuals visit which medicinal hotspots?
• When sick individuals travel away from the group to self-medicate, do they choose the most efficient route, foregoing nutritious resources and normal feeding sites to get to the closest available resource, or do they ignore closer sites and return to habitually used sites?

2. Evaluating Inter-Community and Intra-Community Variation in Resource Selection and Self-Medicative Behaviors
• Across all individuals in the community, are specific sickness behaviors correlated with an increase in ingestion of any specific resource type or species?
• Does there appear to be behavioral variation during medicinal events?
• If variation does exist, can horizontal or vertical transmission predict the diffusion pathways of the behavioral variants?
• Does variation in self-medicative behavioral techniques or resource selection appear to be cultural?

 USA 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Natural Sciences Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
Mary Grace  Nakate Nakate
ID:
The psychological experience and the Perceived Support of Nurses who Underwent Mandatory Quarantine or Self Isolation During Covid-19 Pandemic in Uganda and Kenya
REFNo: SS877ES

Major Objective
To explore the psychological experience and perceived support of nurses who underwent mandatory quarantine or self-isolation in Uganda and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specific Objectives
1.Describe the experiences of depression among the nurses who underwent mandatory quarantine or self-isolation in Uganda and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.
2.Examine the anxiety experienced by the nurses who underwent mandatory quarantine or self-isolation in Uganda and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3.Describe the stressful experiences of nurses who underwent mandatory quarantine or self-isolation in Uganda and Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic.
4.Describe the perceived psychological support of the nurses who underwent mandatory quarantine or self – isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. in Uganda and Kenya

 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Non-degree Award
ASIIMIRE  DONATH
ID: UNCST-2021-R013270
 Women's Economic Empowerment and Changing Family Patterns in Ankole Sub-region
REFNo: SS873ES

Women's eduction and changing family patterns in A nkole.
Earning of Income by women and changing family patterns in Ankole Sub-region.
Women's access and control over productive assets and changing family patterns in Ankole
 Uganda 2021-07-05 2024-07-05 Social Science and Humanities Non-Clinical Trial Degree Award
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