Implementation of Staff Recruitment Policies and Diversity Management in Universities in Central Uganda

Universities in Central Uganda exhibit shortfalls in the area of staff diversity management. This is threatening the development of the universities. However, hitherto, the reasons for the said shortfall were not clear. This paper reports on the findings of a study that delved into these reasons, with specific reference to staff recruitment policies and their implementation. It reports that the fairness of the universities’ employee recruitment guidelines and the way these are implemented are significantly and positively with the universities’ diversity management. The failure to manage staff diversity in a fair manner is attributed to unfairness of some of the universities’ recruitment policy guidelines albeit partially; adherence to the guidelines was found to be more significantly related to effectiveness in diversity management. Subsequently, the paper recommends elimination of recruitment guidelines that discriminate against some would be qualifying applicants and strict adherence to the policy guidelines that promote staff diversity.Keywords: Diversity management; Human Resource Management; Governance

官庁内部のコーディネーションの失敗 : ウガンダの事例

国家建設と経済発展プログラム / State Building and Economic Development Program政策研究大学院大学 / National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies論文審査委員: 園部 哲史（主査）, 木島 陽子, Alistair Munro, 峯 陽一（同志社大学

Instructional Leadership and Lecturers’ Job Performance in Public Universities in Uganda

Uganda’s public universities are still grappling with the challenge of lecturers’ job underperformance. While a growing body of research has identified various factors to explain this underperformance, it has not paid much attention to the analysis of whether instructional leadership is among the causes and if it can provide a solution to this challenge. Therefore, this study provides this analysis. The study employed a cross-sectional correlational survey involving collection of questionnaire data from 341 lecturers and 35 heads of departments (instructional leaders) selected from Makerere University and Kyambogo University using stratified sampling. The data was analysed using descriptive, data transformation, and linear regression analysis. Findings established instructional leadership as a positive and significant predictor of lecturers’ job performance. These findings suggest that improving instructional leadership by availing lecturers with adequate instructional resources and supervising and monitoring them effectively can improve their job performance. Accordingly, the study recommends to the management of Uganda’s public universities to stock sufficient teaching resources and to ensure that their heads of departments play their supervisory and monitoring roles effectively

Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices towards Medical Waste Management among Health Workers at Mityana District Hospital, Mityana District. A Cross-sectional Descriptive Survey

Introduction:  The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Uganda with support from the Government of Uganda highly advocates for proper Hospital waste management, this is because poor medical waste disposal and management pose serious health consequences and significant impact on the health workers, patients, and waste handlers and the environment. However, there is a general paucity of information on the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of health workers towards medical waste management in Mityana district hospital and Uganda at large.  Objective:  The purpose of the study, therefore, was to ascertain the knowledge, attitude, and practices of health workers towards hospital waste management in Mityana district hospital. Methods:  A cross-sectional descriptive survey was carried out among 116 health workers at Mityana District hospital. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Statistical significance of association between variables was assessed using the Chi-square test at p<0.05. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of Makerere University. Results:  All 116 respondents returned the completed questionnaires. sixty-three (54.3%) males and fifty-three (45.7%) females. The mean age of respondents was 36.3 years. 81 (69.8%) had heard of hospital waste management while, 35(30.2%) had never had about it. Out of the total respondents, 83 (71.6%) were aware that medical wastes are classified and segregated into their bags according to colors, although the majority of 74(63.8%) reported storage containers are not cleaned every day. In general, the respondents had average knowledge of medical waste management although 40.5 % lacked some knowledge at all. The majority of 101 (87.1%) use latex gloves when handling waste. Conclusion:  Most of the respondents knew what healthcare waste management means, but very few practiced appropriate healthcare waste management. Recommendation: Health education and training are recommended for the health care workers periodically and regularly

In-vitro proliferation of Musa balbisiana improves with increased vitamin concentration and dark culturing

Musa balbisiana is a wild banana genotype with important traits such as drought tolerance and disease resistance. Uniform and clean plants are often required to study these traits in different laboratories but plants can only be generated through a tissue culture process yet for a long time a protocol for regeneration of the same has not been available. Here, we demonstrate that modification of the anti-oxidant content of the in- vitro plant proliferation medium through adjusting the concentration of ascorbic acid and thiamine HCl in the basal MS medium together with subjecting the explants to dark culturing conditions improved proliferation of M. balbsiana by over 10 fold. These treatments resulted in 40 shoots per initial explant material at the best performance

Enhancing the Quality and Relevance of Teaching and Learning through University Community Partnerships: the Case of Art at Makerere University

A key gap in writing on the University Community Partnership (UCP) approach to higher education delivery relates to the fact that, in general, the fruitfulness of the approach is taken for granted. Furthermore, the usefulness of UCPs is tacitly expected to be two-way with universities helping their communities to address some of their challenges and the experience of partnership helping the universities to enhance their relevance. However, this paper reports the findings of a study that presents a different picture. Investigating the implementation and impact of the UCP approach to the delivery of the Bachelor of Industrial and Fine Arts program at Makerere University’s Margaret Trowel School of Industrial and Fine Arts (MTSIFA), the study found that contrary to the widely held view that the approach to higher education delivery results into universities helping their communities to deal with some of their challenges, at the MTSIFA, the approach has not resulted into service learning. However, it has helped the school to close critical gaps in studio support for its students, thereby enhancing the quality and relevance of teaching and learning. Therefore, using this case, the study argues that UCPs present a panacea to some of the resources constraints inherent to massification that many HEIs in Africa are grappling with

MIDWIVES’ KNOWLEDGE OF BABY FRIENDLY HOSPITAL INITIATIVE IN UGANDA

The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a worldwide programme well known to midwives globally for supporting the initiation of successful breastfeeding. In low resource countries, initiation of breastfeeding immediately after birth would help to reduce neonatal complications such as infection. Knowledge of the 10 steps is critical for midwives in developing countries, yet our research in Uganda suggested that midwives’ knowledge is poor, despite a commitment at government level. There is a disconnect between policy and practice which must be addressed to ensure that midwives give standardised advice to new mothers to ensure successful and exclusive breastfeeding. This is especially important in Uganda, as there is no postnatal community care, so women receive no support once they leave hospital

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PREVALENCE OF SURGICAL SITE INFECTION AMONG POSTOPERATIVE PATIENTS ON THE SURGICAL WARD AT HOIMA REGIONAL REFERRAL HOSPITAL.

Background: Surgical site infections refer to infections occurring up to 30 days after surgery and affecting either the incision or deep tissue at the incision site. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of surgical site infection among postoperative patients in the surgical ward at Hoima Regional Referral Hospital. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study design employed quantitative methods of data collection. 50 respondents (postoperative patients) were obtained by simple random sampling technique. Convenient sampling was also employed to select 20 nurses to participate in the study. Results: This study established that 7(14%) of the participants had developed surgical site infection, 3(42.9%) of those suffering from diabetes, 1(14.2%) required minimal assistance, 3(42.8%) required moderate assistance and 3(42.9%) required significant assistance, 1(14.3%) was aged less than 20 years, 2(28.9%) were in the 40-49 age group while 4(57.1%) were aged 50 years or greater while none of them smoked or had a history of smoking. Out of the 7 patients with SSI, 5(71.4%) had emergency surgeries, and 2(28.6%) had elective surgeries. 5(71.4%) did not have their operation site shaved before surgery while 2(28.4%) had shaved. 3(42.9%) of 7 patients with SSI had an operation duration between 1-3hours while 4(51.9%) had a duration of greater than 3 hours. 3(42.9%) had a postoperative stay between 7-14 days while 4(57.1%) had had an operative stay greater than 14 days. Conclusion. There was a 14% prevalence of surgical site infection related to illnesses such as diabetes, patient dependence and age 40 years or greater, healthcare factors, emergency surgery, abdominal surgery, not shaving the operation site, operation duration 1 hour or greater and postoperative stay 7 days or more. Recommendations: The staff of Hoima Regional Referral Hospital, particularly in the surgical department should strengthen preoperative care given to patients before surgery especially those undergoing abdominal surgerie

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO DISPENSING ERRORS AMONG HEALTH WORKERS AT KAWOLO HOSPITAL, BUIKWE DISTRICT. A DESCRIPTIVE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the; individual factors, health facility-related factors, and medicines-related factors contributing to dispensing errors among health workers. Methodology. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was used to address the relationship between the study variables from 50 respondents with a simple random technique to select the study participants. Results. 56% had ever experienced preventable dispensing errors, 75% didn’t report it, 54% got tempted to be distracted at work, 66% said the quality of prescription writing of fellow workmates was fair, 72% were satisfied with their jobs, 68% noted that their fellow workmates are friendly and 50% had fair computer skills. 52% didn’t have enough dispensers as per the ratio of patients,92% reported that the condition of their working environment was organized, 58% reported that sometimes workmates from different departments accessed the dispensing unit, 70% reported that medicines were assembled on shelves according to pharmaceutical therapeutic order, 60% never had enough space between medicines on shelves in their dispensing units, 90% agreed that the facility had policies related to dispensing. 58% agreed that they had ever experienced drug strength confusion during dispensing, 59% reported endocrine system agents as the classes of medicines they had ever experienced drug strength confusion during dispensing, 78% had never dispensed expired medicines accidentally, 48% had fair labelling strength for medicines, 54% agreed that the packaging of the medicine was decent. Conclusion. Poor reporting systems, distraction at work, quality of handwriting skills, unauthorized access to dispensing units, the inadequacy of dispensers as per the ratio of patients, lack of enough space, and drug strength confusion were factors contributing to dispensing errors among health workers. Recommendations. The administration should minimize the work overload, limit unauthorized access to dispensing units, and enforce protocol for patient identification and verification of drugs dispensed

FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ADHERENCE TO ANTIHYPERTENSIVES AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS ATTENDING HYPERTENSIVE CLINIC OF MBALE REGIONAL REFERRAL HOSPITAL MBALE DISTRICT. A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY .

Background: Adherence to antihypertensive medication is a major challenge today, this study was meant to determine the factors associated with adherence to AHM. The study was to assess the socioeconomic factors, identify the Demographic factors, to determine the Health system-related factors affecting adherence to antihypertensive drugs among hypertensive patients attending Mbale Regional Referral Hospital Mbale district. Methodology: The research design was a cross-sectional study where quantitative approaches were used, the sample size was 97 patients, and was determined using Kish and Leslie formula. The sampling method used was random sampling. Data were analyzed using pencils, pens, and a calculator and then presented using figures, tables, and pie charts. Findings: Most of the respondents 42(43.3%) said that they spent more than ugshs10,000 to purchase anti-hypertensive medications per week, 48 (48.5%) respondents said that they spent above ugshs 5000 for transport to the health facility every hypertensive clinic day. The majority of the respondents 55(56.7%) said that their families reminded them when to take their medications, 72 (74.2%) said that they did not receive all their medications from MRRH. 34 (47.2%) of the respondents said that most of the medications prescribed to them were not always available at the facility. Conclusions: The study revealed that the patient’s economic status and family support played a vital role in ensuring adherence to AHM, it also revealed that the absence of the prescribed medication and the patient’s inability to access the hospital for reviews was a major hindrance to adherence Recommendations: From the study, the researcher recommends that the hospital should put up support groups and ensure continuous education of the patients on the importance of adherence to hypertensive medication and the consequences of non-adherence. The government and its partners should always ensure the timely supply of antihypertensive medicines to the health facility