Research Articles

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Browsing Research Articles by Author "Arwinyo, Baifa"

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    Characteristics of the COVID-19 Patients Treated at Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, Northern Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Study
    (Journal of Infectious Diseases & Therapy, 2022) Okot, Christopher; Baguma, Steven; Alema Onira, Nelson; Odong Agings, Willis; Arwinyo, Baifa; Elima, James; Apiyo, Paska; Layet, Paska; Pebalo Pebolo, Francis; Acullu, Denis; Oloya, Johnson Nyeko; Oyat, Freddy Wathum Drinkwater; Oola, Janet; Aloyo, Judith; Ikoona, Eric Nzirakaindi; Kitara, David Lagoro
    Background: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a severe respiratory disease that results from infection with a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). One of the most critical issues related to the COVID-19 is the high rate of spread, millions of people have been infected around the world, and hundreds of thousands of people have died till now. However, reports from Africa paint a different picture of the SARS-CoV-2 and its effects on the population. Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the characteristics of the COVID-19 patients treated at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital and determine factors associated with COVID-19 manifestations, socio-demographic characteristics, and treatment outcomes from March 2020 to October 2021. Methods: A retrospective data abstraction of all COVID-19 hospital admissions registered in the Gulu Health Management Information System (HMIS) database and other tools were conducted. The period of study was from March 2020 to October 2021. Data that met the inclusion criteria were consecutively abstracted from the Gulu Hospital HMIS database. A local IRB approved the study. SPSS version 25.0 was used for data analysis, and a p-value of 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Data suggests there were three waves of COVID-19 in Uganda. Those with comorbidities, e.g., Diabetes mellitus 38(5.7%), hypertension 83(12.5%), cardiovascular diseases 58(8.7%), HIV and AIDS 61(9.2%), and other comorbidities such as liver cirrhosis and Hepatitis B 40(6.0%) were more susceptible and presented with more severe forms of the disease. Antibiotics 662(99.7%), steroids 73(11.0%), vitamin C 564(84.9%), Ivermectin 7(1.1%), and Vitamin D 24(3.6%) were the most used medicines for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Most COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated 661(99.5%). However, the recovery rate was 632(95.2%). The commonest complications were pneumonia 60(9.0%), chronic fatigue 49(7.4%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 37(5.6%), depression 20(3.0%), systemic infections 19(2.9%), nightmares 15(2.3%) and septic shock 8(1.2%). The Adjusted Odds Ratios (AOR) on factors associated with recovery were treatment with steroids AOR=138.835 at 95% CI:12.258-1572.50;p<0.000 and Vitamin D AOR=31.4780 at 95% CI:1.902520.98; p=0.016. Conclusion: This study showed successful management of COVID-19 patients in low-resource settings with a recovery rate of 95.2%. The admission pattern suggests Uganda had three waves of COVID-19, contrary to the official government position of two. Treatment with steroids and Vitamin D is associated with the recovery among COVID-19 patients. There is a need to conduct more extensive studies on the role played by the two drugs in the successful recovery of COVID-19 patients.
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    Comparing Flipped Classroom with Traditional Instruction for Post-Partum Intra-Uterine Device Training Among Medical Students in a Ugandan Public University:
    (Research squares, 2023-09-07) Pebalo, Francis Pebolo; Bongomin, Felix; Awor, Sylvia; Arwinyo, Baifa; Ojara, Sande; Opee, Jimmy; Ayikoru, Jackline; Okot, Jerom; Ssenuni, Eric; Ouma, Simple; Nakimuli, Annettee
    A two-arm, quasi-experimental design was used. The FC group underwent a pre-recorded lecture and video on PPIUD insertion, followed by interactive sessions and procedural practice. The traditional group received an hour-long lecture and onsite skills demonstration, followed by skill practice. Paired t tests were used to determine knowledge and skills acquisition in each group and independent samples t tests was be used to compare groups. Stata version 17 and GraphPad Prism version 9 were used for analysis. Results A total of 67 students were included in the final analysis, 37 in the traditional group and 30 in the FC group. There was a significant improvement in post-test scores compared to pre-test scores in both groups p < 0.001. The mean post-test score was higher for FC compared to the traditional teaching methods group although, it was not statistically significant (p = 0.069). Certain categories of students performed better with FC, especially those who failed pre-tests p = 0.021), in bachelor or of medicine and bachelor of surgery (MBChB) year 3 class (p = 0.011), students who joined the university directly from advanced level certificate (p = 0.018) and aged younger than 25 years (p = 0.002). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean procedure performance score between the intervention and the traditional teaching methods (p = 0.634). Conclusion The FC had shown a positive impact on the knowledge and skills of medical students indicating its role in reproductive health training in resource-limited settings. Additionally, future studies could investigate how FC can combined with other teaching methods to create a blended learning approach that maximizes the benefits and enhanced learning.