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Helen Nelly NaigaBScN, MPH (MUSPH), Advanced Field Epidemiology Fellow (UPHFP) Host Site: Nutrition Division, Community Health Department, Ministry of Health
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ABOUT THE FELLOWNelly Helen Naiga is a field epidemiologist with a Masters of Public Health, and a background degree in Nursing science. Before the fellowship, she worked with the Uganda Ministry of Health as an Epidemiologist during the COVID-19 response. During her time as a fellow, she was attached to the Nutrition division, under the community health department, Ministry of health. Time at the host site has helped to improve Nelly’s understanding of nutrition health issues in the country through her participation in policy formulation; Setting standards & quality assurance of different food products (Nutrient profile model), leading teams in organizing different campaigns like improving breastfeeding among working mothers, Vit A supplementation and de-wormers among children among others. During her two years tenure, Nelly has gained experience in advanced outbreak detection and investigation skills, improved her scientific writing skills, grant and proposal writing skills, grant management, and oral presentation skills. She has refined her skills in data management and analysis using statistical packages like STATA, Epi info and QGIS. She has improved her leadership skills and gained immeasurable technical capacity through the various learning sessions, meetings, trainings and workshops attended. She has led and participated in several outbreaks in different districts like Blackwater Fever Outbreak, recent Ebola outbreak, Yellow fever, Anthrax and Rift valley Fever. She led and participated in other investigations of public health importance. Nelly has skills in scientific communication both written and oral presentation. She has edited and published reports in the National Institute of Public Health (UNIPH) bulletins. She has authored manuscripts as led author and co-authored on others. Achievements at the Host Site
Fellowship program specific achievements
Wrote fifteen manuscripts; lead author on five still under review and have co-authored more than ten others. Summary of Epidemiological Study:Title: Community Beliefs and Practices on the Spread of Ebola in Uganda, September 2022 Background: Traditional community beliefs and cultural practices can facilitate the spread of ebola viruses during outbreaks. On September 20, 2022, Uganda declared a Sudan Virus Disease (SVD) outbreak after a case was confirmed in Mubende District. During September–November 2022, the outbreak spread to eight additional districts. We investigated the role of community beliefs and practices in the spread of SUDV in Uganda in 2022. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in Mubende, Kassanda, and Kyegegwa districts in February 2023. We conducted nine focus group discussions (FGDs) and six key informant interviews (KIIs). FGDs included SVD survivors, household members of SVD patients, traditional healers, religious leaders, and community leaders. Key informants included community, political, and religious leaders, traditional healers, and health workers. We asked about community beliefs and practices to understand if and how they contributed to the spread of SUDV. Interviews were recorded, translated, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Results: Frequently-reported themes included beliefs that the community deaths, later found to be due to SVD, were the result of witchcraft or poisoning. Key informants reported that SVD patients frequently consulted traditional healers or spiritual leaders before seeking formal healthcare or visited them after formal healthcare failed to improve their health conditions. They also noted that traditional healers treated patients with signs and symptoms of SVD without protective measures. Additional themes included religious leaders conducting laying-on-of-hands prayers for SVD patients and symptomatic contacts, SVD patients and their symptomatic contacts hiding in friends’ homes, and exhumation of SVD patients originally buried in safe and dignified burials, to enable traditional burials. Conclusion: Varied community beliefs and cultural practices likely promoted SVD outbreak spread during the 2022 outbreak in Uganda. Controlling ebola virus outbreaks in Uganda could be aided by the involvement of formal public health systems, traditional healers, and religious leaders. Community engagement during inter-epidemic periods could aid in the effective management of future outbreaks in Uganda by identifying socially acceptable and scientifically supported alternatives for infection control. Key lessons learnt during the fellowship
Next StepsI hope to apply skills gained during the Public Health Fellowship Program to serve in relevant public health organizations. I am interested in applying my expertise and experience in surveillance and infectious diseases control, and activities that contribute to Uganda’s health security objectives. Pictorial
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