Brenda Ssimbwa

Brenda Ssimbwa

BSc. CS, MSc. CEB, Fellowship in Field Epidemiology
Email: Uganda bsimbwa@uniph.go.ug /nakafeerob@gmail.com
Telephone: +256774038653

Host Site: Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization

Host Mentor: Dr. Fred Nsubuga

ABOUT THE FELLOW

Brenda is an Epidemiologist and Biostatistician. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a Master’s of Science in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and a fellowship in Field Epidemiology.

Prior to joining the fellowship, Brenda worked as a health management information officer at Ndejje University, a biostatistician in several projects in college of health science, Makerere University and an epidemiologist in the ministry of health.

During the fellowship, Brenda was hosted at the Uganda National Expanded Program on Immunization (UNEPI) of the Ministry of Health (MoH). Her time at the host site gave her deeper understanding and appreciation of infection prevention through vaccination of children and high-risk populations

Brenda possesses competences in several areas of public health/ epidemiology such as: disease outbreak investigation and control, evaluation of surveillance systems, research, scientific writing and communication, grant and proposal writing, grant management, data analysis, program design and management, quality improvement and assurance. In addition, Brenda has excellent communication and leadership skills.

The fellowship has exposed her to both clinical diseases investigation skills that have made her adequately prepared to contribute to the advancement of public health on international platforms.

  Achievements at the Host Site

• Led a rapid health assessment in a refugee hosting community in Kisoro District, Uganda, July 2023.
• Co-investigated several outbreaks and public health emergencies including: Malaria deaths in Namutumba District, COVID-19 outbreak in refugee communities, Anthrax outbreak in Ibanda District, Measles outbreak in five refugee communities, POPCAB in Kampala District, and the 2022 Ebola Disease outbreak in Uganda.
• Conducted a descriptive analysis of surveillance data on trends of routine immunization and incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases among infants, Uganda, 1980–2020
• Conducted a Knowledge, attitude, and practice study of traditional healers on Sudan Virus Disease in affected communities, Uganda, September 2022
• Conducted an epidemiological study on HPV vaccination uptake, drop-out rate and associated factors in out of school girls in Kisoro District, Uganda 2018-2022.
• Implemented a quality improvement project on improving the integration of non-communicable diseases (Hypertension and Diabetes) and HIV treatment in Kayunga Uganda January – July 2023.
• Authored 3 manuscripts that are under review in peer-reviewed journals.
• Presented at several national and international conferences including:

• • 8th African Field Epidemiology Network conference.

• • 3rd international conference on Public health in Africa held.
  • 8th and 9th NFEC Conferences
  • 17th JASHC conference.

• Published two articles in the Uganda National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH) quarterly public health bulletin.
• Co-editor of the April-June 2023 edition of the UNIPH quarterly public health bulletin.
• Published 2 newspaper articles in the local newspaper, “New vision titled enforce restriction of access to drugs without a prescription” and “Join the fight against Yellow fever”.
• Trained and mentored the Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) intermediate tier.

Summary of Epidemiological Study: 

 Title: Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of traditional healers regarding management of Ebola virus disease (EBOD) in Kassanda and Mubende districts, Uganda, September 2022.

Background: Traditional healers (TH) often serve as initial healthcare providers in Uganda. During September to November 2022, 164 Sudan virus disease cases were registered in Uganda. We assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of TH regarding Ebola Virus Disease (EBOD) among affected communities in Mubende and Kassanda Districts.

Methods: We surveyed TH in Mubende and Kassanda Districts during April–May 2023. We randomly sampled 62 TH registered with an official association and used snowballing to identify 103 additional unregistered TH. We assessed socio-demographics; knowledge of EBOD symptoms and transmission; attitudes towards using recommended IPC measures and referral of suspected EBOD patients; and IPC practices during management of suspected EBOD patients. We scored participants’ responses as “1” (correct) or “0” (incorrect); adequate knowledge was ≥8/16, positive attitude was ≥4/8, and good practices was ≥11/21. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with KAP.

Results: Among 165 respondents, 57% were male; the mean age was 53 years. In total, 62% had adequate knowledge, 40% had a positive attitude, and 4% had good practices. Having formal education (aOR=7.6, 95%CI: 3.6–11.8) and being registered with a TH association (aOR=3.4, 95%CI: 1.5–9.5) were associated with adequate knowledge. Being aged <40 years (aOR=3.8, 95%CI: 1.2–16.3) and female (aOR=4.3, 95%CI: 1.3–12.7) were associated with good practices. Having formal education (aOR=3.0, 95%CI:2.7-8.8) and being aged <40 years (aOR=4.5, 95%CI: 1.3–15.6) were associated with a positive attitude.

Conclusion: Practices of TH interviewed in Kassanda and Mubende put them at risk for EBOD during an outbreak. Younger, female TH were more likely to have good practices and those with formal education were more likely to have good knowledge and a positive attitude. Structured training programs by the Ministry of Health to address specific knowledge and practice gaps among TH could facilitate EBOD control.

Key words: Sudan virus, traditional healers, KAP, Uganda 

Key lessons learnt during the fellowship

• Outbreak detection, Investigation, response and control
• Scientific writing; concepts, proposals, manuscripts, abstracts, policy briefs, bulletin articles and Newspaper articles
• Editorial skills for scientific articles including weekly, monthly, quarterly e bulletins, and epidemiological bulletins
• Data analysis using Epi info, STATA, SPSS, R, and QGIS and interpretation of results
• Development of surveillance systems
• Leadership and management skills acquired from the various projects led and assignments
• Designing and implementation of Quality Improvement Projects
• Conducting Data Quality assessment
• Evaluating a surveillance system
• Communication skills including presentation, written and negotiation skills
• Networking skills

Next Steps

With the skills Phoebe has acquired throughout the period of the fellowship, she hopes to further her career in the field of Epidemiology through service in an organization that will leverage on her knowledge, experiences, skills, and networks.
Phoebe plans continue with writing abstracts, manuscripts and publishing all the work done during the fellowship period as well as the work she will do post the fellowship period.

Pictorial