COVID-19 is an emerging and highly infectious disease that is becoming a global health challenge affecting all sectors. To prevent COVID-19 transmission, all education institutions were closed and advised to turn to online learning. The present study sought to determine the factors affecting the acceptance and use of electronic learning among Ugandan University students in three universities. The study relied on two data collection instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on a population of students in three pre-selected universities: Kyambogo (KYU), Makerere (MAK), and Kampala International University (KIU). Of the 614 questionnaires returned, 578 were valid; 65.4% of the respondents were males; 60.7% were from MAK and the majority being in their third year of study (49%). Overall, 69.2% had good knowledge, 22.5% had positive attitudes toward e-learning. The semi-structured interviews revealed connectivity and skills challenges as the main barriers to the implementation of e-learning. For better implementation of e-learning by Universities, effective planning needs to be done with active students’ involvement to avert negative attitudes. We recommend more studies be done on the Universities’ preparedness for the implementation of e-learning. Universities should collaborate with telecommunication companies to provide subsidized prices for internet costs and information and communications technology (ICT) equipment to students.

Background: COVID-19 has become a major global health challenge, with Uganda reporting over 20,000 cases. There is, however, a scarcity of data on the perception of patients in Uganda towards the highly infectious disease. We aimed to assess the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 preventive measures among patients at Mulago National Referral Hospital (MNRH), Uganda. Methods: A cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted in August, 2020, among patients in surgical and medical wards at MNRH. An interviewer-administered, pre-validated questionnaire was used to collect data that was entered into Google Forms and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and STATA 16. Descriptive statistics was used to present data from univariate analysis. Patients whose knowledge and practice scores were greater or equal to the average score were regarded to have good knowledge and practices respectively. Chisquare, Fisher's Exact tests and binary logistic regression were used to assess factors associated with COVID-19 knowledge and practices. A P<0.05 was statistically significant. Results: Overall, 114 patients were approached and 102 consented to participate. Most were females (53.8%), aged above 45 years (31.4%) with 40.2% reporting primary level as the highest level of education. About 55.9% (n=57) had adequate knowledge for COVID-19 and its related practices, and 52% (n=53) had good COVID-19 related practices. Knowledge significantly differed by marital status at bivariate analysis (P=0.020), however this lost significance at logistic regression. Female patients were thrice more likely to have good COVID-19 prevention practices compared to males (COR: 2.59, 95% CI: 1.2 to 5.8, P=0.020). Some 47 (46.1%) participants perceived that COVID-19 preventive measures were not difficult at all to observe. Conclusion: About half of the patients at Mulago National Referral Hospital lack adequate knowledge and practice on COVID-19 prevention. Continued patient education is required to increase knowledge which will in turn improve adherence to COVID-19 preventive practices.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has become a major global health challenge, with Uganda reporting over 25,000 cases. Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) are the most at risk population for mental health disorders yet their well-being is key to combating the pandemic. We explored the psychosocial wellbeing and job satisfaction of COVID-19 Frontline HCWs in Uganda.METHODS: This was a qualitative study done at Entebbe regional Referral hospital (ERRH) and Mulago National Referral hospital (MNRH) in September 2020. Data collection was through 3 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with 5 participants for each FGD. 2 FGDs were at MNRH and 1 at ERRH. Participants included; doctors, nurses, laboratory personnels, hygienists and a security personnel. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed thematically using Nvivo version 12 software.RESULTS: Despite the challenges HCWs faced, they were motivated to work when they saw patients recover and go home safely. Participants felt the Pandemic was unprecedented and as a result no person or government was fully prepared. Big unexpected patient crowds caused limited and/ or inconsistent medical supplies. Additionally, Poor Procurement lines affected sufficiency of medical supplies and equipment such as medical gowns, drugs, PPE, alcohol, beds, and COVID-19 testing kits. There was knowledge gap among the HCWs regarding COVID-19 management. This put the staff in a Panic situation hence practicing “trial and error” treatment. Poor remuneration in terms of low or delayed Salary, lack or delay of risk allowance caused dissatisfaction among staff and were affected mentally given that they were involved in risky work yet their families were suffering economically.CONCLUSION: HCWs were remarkably stressed, exhausted and burnt-out due to the heavy workload and inadequate personal protective Equipment. These findings depict a need of creating a conducive environment for these HCWs. Government and ministry should re-strategize on how well to take care of Covid 19 frontline HCWs to save lives.