1. THE IMPACT OF
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
ON CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS IN
KAMPALA DISTRICT,
UGANDA
PEKING UNIVERSITY:
Masters Oral proposal Defense Presentation
5. TABLE OF CONTENTS
RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND
BASIS
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
MAIN RESEARCH CONTENTS
RESEARCH METHODS
TECHNICAL ROUTE
EXPECTED RESULTS
FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
STUDY LIMITATIONS AND
MITIGATIONS
RESEARCH SCHEDULE
6. RESEARCH BACKGROUND (1)
● In December 2019, China reported novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
that has since spread rapidly and became a global public health
threat.
● The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak of
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a Public Health Emergency
of International Concern
● The government put in place robust measures to prevent and control
entry of the virus into the country and to prevent the spread COVID-
19 virus in Uganda.
7. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY (2)
Initially, the WHO recommended that countries adopt lockdown
measures, ensure social distancing, and encourage their populations
to stay at home and to practice hand hygiene to contain the further
spread of the virus. Most countries in Africa adopted these
measures without detailed models of their consequences.
8. ● On 20th march 2020, All schools and child care programs were
closed for 30 days initially and a stay-at-home advisory was
issued. In the months that followed, the need for social
distancing meant youth ages 5-18 were kept at home and
away from their peers, unable to attend school in-person. The
full impact of quarantine, social isolation, and the pandemic on
youth remains to be seen. However, preliminary research and
anecdotal observations suggest that there is a coming tidal
wave of behavioral health needs among youth, especially
youth from vulnerable and historically marginalized
communities. Though there is not yet extensive literature on
this recent and ongoing crisis, available research and
experiences from previous pandemics can inform our next
steps as we seek to identify and respond to the needs of youth
in the coming months and years.
9. RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
To assess the impact of covid-19 pandemic on
children and adolescents in Kampala district,
Uganda
10. Specific objectives
● To investigate the current status of health (physical and mental health,
nutrition), learning (education opportunity), and protection (early marriages
and sequel issues) needs of children during times of school closures, home
isolation/quarantine and community lockdown.
● To examine the impact of school closures, home isolation/quarantine and
community lockdown on children’s health (physical and mental health,
nutrition), learning (education opportunity), and protection (early marriages
and sequel issues).
● To provide implication to support the health, nutrition, learning, and
protection needs of children for local policy-makers as well as around the
world.
11. Statement of the problem
All over the world, Children are not the face of this pandemic but they risk
being among its biggest victims. While they have thankfully been largely
spared from the direct health effects of COVID-19 - at least to date – the
crisis is having a profound effect on their wellbeing. All children, of all ages,
and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic
impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently
do more harm than good. This is a universal crisis and, for some children, the
impact will be lifelong.
Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not be distributed
equally. They are expected to be most damag¬ing for children in the poorest
countries, and in the poorest neighborhoods, and for those in already
disadvan¬taged or vulnerable situations.
12. Statement of the problem continued…
Measures to control the pandemic, mostly lockdown- and social
distancing measures, have led to a disruption of societal functioning
in many countries worldwide. As SARS-CoV2 infection in children
leads mostly to mild disease, it is particularly the indirect impact of
the pandemic that affects children and adolescents. These indirect
effects are wide-ranging and include reduced access to or delays in
health care and immunization services; educational deficits as a
result of school closures; food insecurity; increased risk of child
abuse and violence against children; poor mental health and adverse
child development outcomes
13. Justification of the study
● There are three main channels through which children are affected
by this crisis: infection with the virus itself; the immediate
socioeconomic impacts of measures to stop transmission of the virus
and end the pandemic; and the potential longer-term effects of
delayed implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
● Therefore, conducting such a study will provide data that could help
in planning public health interventions to reduce the detrimental
effects of the still developing and already implemented measures of
controlling the pandemic and other effects on the children and the
adolescents. The study will also contribute to the existing literature
to guide future research on the impact of covid-19 pandemic on
children and adolescents in not only in Kampala district but the
country as a whole.
15. RESEARCH METHODS
● The study design will be a quantitative cross-sectional survey
● The study population children and adolescents. Age bracket 7
years to 19 years
● Sampling Technique
A random sample of Households within Kampala.
Stratified random sample of Households available for the exercise
where the eligible children will be allowed to take part in the data
collection exercise.
16. ● Data collection method
The study will employ the quantitative approach to data
collection. The measurement tool for the study will be a self-
administered questionnaire, available in English and Luganda
language.
The structured questionnaire will be developed and designed
according to the study in context and shall contain aspects related
to the study. The questionnaires will be first piloted at the Ministry
of Health Uganda to ensure that all questions are clear and
understood and if not clear, they will be adjusted.
The researcher will ensure to follow Novel Corona Virus
guidelines/SOPs for prevention of the disease spread in Uganda
17. Data management and Analysis
Quantitative Data collected will be captured in a database Statistical Package for the
Social Sciences for processing and analysis. (SPSS version 14) regression analysis
shall be used to predict the dependent variables from independent variables.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) shall be used to split the observed aggregated
variability that I may get in the data set
Qualitative Data collected using Key Informant Interviews will be analyzed using
qualitative tools
18. TECHNICAL ROUTE
Research Topic
Assess Uganda's health policies and systems towards epidemic response with the COVID-19 pandemic
as a case study.
Methodology
Data collection
Literature review
Questionnaire
Focus Group Discussion
Key Informant Interview
Data analysis
Results
Present findings obtained after data analysis
Discussion
Interpret results and evaluate if the research objective has been met
Conclusion and Recommendations
Summarize the research findings in relation to the research aim, provide recommendations based on
the findings.
19. EXPECTED RESULTS
Explore the effectiveness of the existing health policies and legislations to put in place to combat COVID-
19 pandemic in Uganda.
Explore the financing mechanisms adopted by the government of Uganda to combat Covid-19 and
whether these funds have been used effectively
Identify the gaps in the health system regarding the Human Resource Capacity in the prevention and
control of Covid-19
It will outline the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of the health policies and system responses for
effective prevention and control of COVID-19 Pandemic.
20. FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS
The proposed study shall select, adapt, and evaluate the targeted
health policies and systems.
This analysis will determine whether the policies, laws, health
systems, ideas, findings can be shaped to be relevant and
sustainable.
This proposed study shall identify not only what or if anything in
the research methods or protocols needs modification but also
show changes that may need to be addressed by the Government
to better respond to the pandemic
21. Feasibility study
The Areas of Focus will include:
Acceptability: To achieve better results, this study will focus on the reactions of the
targeted participants and those involved in implementing the policies and laws
Demand: This will involve gathering the relevant data on the estimated use or through
documenting the use of selected policies, laws and the targeted health systems.
Implementation: This proposed research shall focus on the extent, likelihood and
manner in which results can be fully implemented to better respond to the Pandemic.
Practicality: This proposed study shall explore the extent to which the policies, laws and
systems can be improved when resources, time and commitment are available
22. STUDY LIMITATIONS AND MITIGATIONS
Poor cooperation of the healthcare workers and Ministry of Health
officials.
Inadequate funding to conduct the proposed study as the
researcher will have to buy tablets and phones for collecting data,
train and employ enumerators who will collect the data which may
be costly.
Limited movement
23. Mitigation of Limitation
The researcher will ensure that he follows the study is approved by
the Ministry of Health Research Committee to ensure that it meets
ethical conduct. This will help him to get a letter from the relevant
authorities in the Ministry of Health to permit me to access the
relevant documents and participants
The Researcher will ensure that he introduces herself properly to
the relevant stakeholders and explain properly the purpose of the
study
The researcher will apply for funds from the school, potential
donors and personal funds in order to ensure that the research is
effected.
24. RESEARCH SCHEDULE
RESEARCH SECTION DURATION
Data Collection 3 months
Data Analysis 2 months
Data Interpretation 1 month
Summary Conclusion 1 month
Recommendations 2 weeks
Reviewing work for final submission 2 weeks
