Seed Global Health, formerly known as Global Health Service Corps, is a non-profit organization started in 2011 which helps to provide nursing and medical training support in resource-limited countries. Seed Global Health collaborates with the Peace Corps to create the Global Health Service Partnership (GHSP). This program has established the first "Peace Corps for doctors and nurses". Since launch, GHSP has had 97 volunteers train more than 8,300 students in 5 African countries.
BackgroundPre-eclampsia and other hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are the second leading cause of maternal mortality globally, with 95% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. In Uganda, these conditions account for approximately 16% of maternal deaths. Despite their burden, little is known about women's knowledge, perceptions, and management practices regarding pre-eclampsia in such settings, yet early recognition and care-seeking are critical to improving outcomes.ObjectiveTo explore community awareness, perceptions, and management practices related to pre-eclampsia in Mbale City, Eastern Uganda.MethodsAn exploratory qualitative study was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 81 women aged 18-49 years during a community outreach event on pre-eclampsia. Data was collected over six days (21st-26th May 2024) by 28 trained research midwives stationed at various community sites. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using ATLAS.ti software.ResultsParticipants exhibited limited and mixed understanding of pre-eclampsia, often associating it with symptoms such as swollen feet, headaches, body weakness, and high blood pressure, but also with misconceptions such as witchcraft, marital stress, and multiple pregnancies. Many lacked a local term for the condition. Women reported varied care-seeking responses, with some turning to traditional birth attendants and herbal remedies, while others sought biomedical care. Fear of death was a motivator for some to seek timely medical attention.ConclusionThere was a critical gap in accurate knowledge and awareness of pre-eclampsia among women in Mbale City. Misconceptions and reliance on traditional remedies contribute to delayed care-seeking. Targeted, culturally appropriate educational interventions are urgently needed to improve early recognition, promote biomedical care, and enhance maternal and newborn outcomes.
BACKGROUND:Domiciliary care is a midwifery continuity of care given to a mother by midwives in the hospital, clinic, or home during pregnancy, labor, and puerperium. While evidence exists on the benefits of continuity of midwifery care models to women and neonates, little is known about the perceptions of women who received domiciliary midwifery from midwifery students in Uganda. AIM:This study explores women's perceptions of midwifery continuity of care provided by Bachelor of Midwifery students. METHODS:An exploratory, descriptive qualitative study was conducted in Lira city, Uganda, from April to August 2024. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted using semi-structured interviews among eighteen purposively selected postnatal women who received domiciliary care from Bachelor of Midwifery students. Data was transcribed verbatim and analysed using the thematic technique and NVivo version 20. FINDINGS:The analysed data revealed that women appreciated the continuity of care received. Thematic analysis identified four themes: experience of care, empowerment through knowledge and skills, access to the health care system, and innovation approach to care, as well as 12 sub-themes from the study. CONCLUSION:The study's findings show that women had positive experiences with the rendered care as it provided an opportunity for continuity of information and care. They felt empowered with knowledge, skills and information that they had not received in their previous deliveries and wished for the continuation of this care. There is also a need for stakeholder involvement and support to ensure continuation, maximize the impact of the care, and ensure the sustainability of the program.
Background Multiple initiatives addressing global health architecture (GHA) reform have materialised following recent changes in development assistance, risking complexity for countries navigating them. We aimed to map these initiatives to identify areas of consensus, divergence and emerging themes. Methods We conducted a comparative qualitative document analysis. Initiatives launched between January 2023 and October 2025 were identified via a PubMed search (February 14, 2026) for “global health architecture” (English only), screened for relevance, and augmented by snowballing from literature and policy convenings. Predefined criteria that included initiatives with publicly available documents and addressed health system financing, global health governance, multinational health coordination, or country engagement in global health with multi-stakeholder coordination and excluded those disease- or products-focused were applied independently, plus two purposively reincluded for their catalytic influence. Data were independently extracted into an analytical framework refined iteratively during pilot coding, identifying areas of consensus, duplication, fragmentation and emerging themes. We conducted a case study of health financing in Uganda to illustrate how these initiatives are coordinated within one country context. Findings A total of 11 initiatives were included with Alignment and Efficiency and Financing and Funding emerging as the most common primary domains (four initiatives each), followed by Country Sovereignty (three, all originating in Africa). Capacity Building appeared only as a secondary domain (four initiatives). We found diverse approaches to governance and accountability, while few operationalised plans on how to increase fiscal space. Donor accountability was emphasised by seven initiatives but its operationalisation remained unclear. The Uganda case illustrated how four coexisting financing logics generate duplication and gaps at the country level. Interpretation The initiatives converge to advocate for increased alignment and domestic financing while diverging in their financing mechanisms and underprioritising capacity building, creating a disconnect between reform ambitions and country-level capacity to deliver. This heterogeneity is itself a finding. Coordinated clarity on mandates, financing, and accountability is needed for reform to translate into practice. Funding The Rockefeller Foundation.
Background Health professions education is increasingly expected to produce graduates who are clinically competent, ethical, confident and able to work in teams across complex health systems. In many low-resource settings, however, undergraduate nursing students may complete training without a structured approach to recognising and responding to acutely ill and injured patients. This paper describes the process of embedding the WHO-ICRC Basic Emergency Care (BEC) course within undergraduate nursing education in Uganda. Methods We report a health professions education case study informed by education quality improvement. The intervention began in 2018 as an externally supported short course and was incorporated into the fourth-year Emergency and Trauma Nursing course unit during curriculum review in 2019. Anonymous voluntary feedback from 32 fourth-year nursing students from one of the cohorts that completed a five-day BEC course was analysed using inductive content analysis. Results The embedding process moved through five stages. These were recognising the emergency-care preparation gap, introducing BEC as a pre-service training intervention, piloting delivery, incorporating BEC into the curriculum, and planning for sustainable university-led delivery. Student feedback generated four themes, which were translating ABCDE into structured first-response practice, building confidence to recognise, prioritise and communicate emergency problems, using simulation and team-based learning as safe rehearsal, and strengthening system readiness for transfer of learning. Conclusion BEC can support competency-based, learner-centred emergency-care education for undergraduate nurses. Embedding BEC before graduation may strengthen clinical readiness, teamwork and a common language for first response, while offering a scalable model for health professions education in low- and middle-income countries.
Background Dual protection, defined as the use of condoms together with an effective contraceptive method, provides protection against both unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Despite the availability of modern contraceptive methods, the use of dual protection remains suboptimal among women of reproductive age. Evidence on knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and utilization of dual protection among women accessing family planning services in Eastern Uganda is limited. This study assessed knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and factors associated with dual protection utilization among women aged 15–49 years accessing modern contraceptive services at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, Eastern Uganda. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among women aged 15–49 years attending the family planning clinic at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital. A sample of 312 participants was determined using the Kish-Leslie formula, and participants were recruited using consecutive sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using Stata version 15. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participants' characteristics and levels of knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, and dual protection utilization. Associations between independent variables and dual protection utilization were assessed using chi-square tests and logistic regression. Statistical significance was assessed at p < 0.05. Results Of the 312 participants targeted, 311 were included in the reported analysis of age and outcome measures. Overall, 73.31% (n = 228) of participants had good knowledge of dual protection, while 62.70% (n = 195) had a positive attitude. However, 52.90% (n = 164) had poor perceptions regarding dual protection. More than half of the participants (53.05%, n = 165) reported that they had never used a condom in addition to their current modern contraceptive method. Among participants who reported never using dual protection, partner refusal (45.83%, n = 77), fear of side effects from using two methods (28.57%, n = 48), and reduced sexual pleasure (19.05%, n = 32) were the most frequently reported reasons. In multivariable analysis, HIV testing history, awareness of dual protection, positive attitude towards dual protection, and number of sexual partners were associated with utilization. Women who had never tested for HIV, had never heard of dual protection, or had two sexual partners had lower odds of dual protection utilization, while women with a positive attitude had higher odds of utilization. Conclusion Although most participants demonstrated good knowledge and positive attitudes towards dual protection, reported utilization was low and perceptions were frequently unfavorable. Partner-related barriers, concerns about side effects and sexual pleasure, and limited provider discussion of condom use may contribute to low utilization. Integrating dual protection counselling into family planning and HIV services, together with strengthening condom negotiation and partner communication, may help address these barriers.
