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I was excited to begin my ACHIEVE project after a great head start with the NIH Research Orientation in July 2024. The process began with the IRB submission, which I believed would be easy, and I was expecting to get the ethical approval within 6 weeks. However, became much more challenges and complex then previously […]

My favorite part about undertaking any research endeavor is the time when I get to go to the field. I love it! During fieldwork, I lean into an old nursery school lesson that has remained with me over the years – the power of the five senses. Utilizing my visual, auditory, and olfactory cues allows […]

As of September, I’ve been setting up shop to undertake the work of my study, Adapting a nutrition intervention to address low fruits and vegetables intake, a cancer risk, among people living with HIV receiving care in HIV clinics in Uganda. I expected a very processed based, check-list type of start-up to the project similar […]

Greetings everyone! I write this update off the back of the SVRI (Sexual Violence Research Initiative) conference in Cape Town. This was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with colleagues and collaborators, old and new, and to meet fellow early career researchers. It served me a reminder of the importance of community. Last summer, during my […]

It has been over a month since my last post and although a lot of work on the “Early Childhood Development for Maternal Mental Health” study –now rechristened the “Maternal Mental Health and Early Childhood Development in Kawempe” study–there is little observable progress to share. I’m stuck in IRB limbo:  I am just a few […]

Before participating in the ACHIEVE program, I held the belief that rigorous research was synonymous with adhering strictly to established scientific protocols and methodologies. However, my visits to the Greater Masaka and the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Uganda profoundly reshaped my understanding of research practices. I gained insights through observation and was motivated by the […]

Neonates with gastrointestinal disorders often face substantial nutritional challenges. These may arise due to conditions such as congenital anomalies or postoperative complications that impair nutrient absorption or oral intake. This is what has inspired me to start my ACHIEVE study on the barriers to evaluating the nutritional status of neonates with gastrointestinal disorders in Kampala, […]

My ACHIEVE project, The Early Childhood Development for Maternal Mental Health study (ECD4MMH), will explore the potential for improving maternal mental health (MMH) during the critical “first 1,000 days” of child growth and development through a community-based early childhood development (ECD) program delivered by community workers in a peri-urban area of Kampala, Uganda. Many of […]

As the mother of an adolescent girl who could benefit from the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and as a medical provider in Uganda, it pains me greatly to see other parents refusing to vaccinate their children because of myths and misconceptions that are spread in the community. With the HPV vaccine, this includes the belief […]

It has taken 7 months for my 1-year observational pilot study – Maternal Mental Health and Early Childhood Development in Kawempe (MMH4ECD) – to get through the triple-layer ethical review gauntlet. Although most of the work of obtaining ethical clearance is done prior to and during the local review, for an American researcher anyway, unanticipated […]

My project- A Community Engaged Approach to Investigating the Transferability of Youth Readiness Intervention (YRI) for Adolescents facing Adversity in Post conflict School-Based Settings in Northern Uganda- is situated in predominantly rural low resource public schools. Prior to my Fogarty year, I was working largely in school-based settings, first in Uganda and in more recently […]

For my ACHIEVE fellowship, I am exploring domestic-level barriers to individual accountability for sexual violence in low- and middle- income countries. Sexual violence is an international public health concern, given it takes place in every nation and often results in severe physical and mental health consequences for survivors and their communities1,2. Accountability is generally considered […]

In October, I embarked on an exciting journey preparing to travel to the United States as a visiting scholar and applying for my J-1 visa. While working to get my travel documents in order, I had to ensure that my ACHIEVE research project, ‘Implementation and Effectiveness of PROACT Delivered by Social Workers to Children and […]

My project seeks to test the feasibility of using social media-based edutainment videos to enhance the access and utilization of HIV/AIDS preventive services among young single mothers working in alcohol-serving venues in Rwanda. The first round of phase one of my project corrected data about the challenges young single mothers must navigate through as they […]