1. CoHeRe Project Makerere University, School of Social Sciences, Kampala, Uganda Presentation by Denis Muhangi, PhD
Project Title: Developing Sustainable Community Health Resources in Poor Settings in Uganda
5 Year Project ( )
Aim: To contribute to the development of sustainable interventions that will mitigate the effects of the human resource deficit in healthcare and contribute to the achievement of the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

2. Focus of the Project
Identifying locally existing resources (social, economic, cultural, etc.) that can be used to promote better health
Utilize existing community resources to:
Spread health information
Encourage health promoting behaviors
Bring vulnerable community members into better contact with existing health services.
Develop local capacity for applied public health related social science research.
Generate lessons to promote low-cost community based health approaches.

3. Focus of the Project -2 Exploratory Anthropological Research on:
Indigenous community information resources
Social processes and spaces that generate and sustain social capital as a health resource
Existence and functioning of informal social support mechanisms

4. Focus of the Project - 3
2. Small-scale pilot interventions based on the research findings on the above three topics:
“Social Groups for Health” Initiative – work with pre-existing groups to improve household health
Referral vouchers – to promote care seeking from formal health facility
The “grapevine” - spread health information through informal channels
Health Improvement Modelling – through support towards a community latrine

5. Policy Relevant Questions
How can local/indigenous social roles, networks and information processes be used to transmit health information to communities, skills, and behaviours, and link vulnerable community members to existing health resources?
What motivation mechanisms for voluntary behaviour in the community can be harnessed for replication to support health related interventions?

6. Progress Main data collection phase completed
Data analysis and writing up on-going
Small-scale interventions being implemented
Supplemental and monitoring data being collected

7. Main stakeholders Primary stakeholders
Community members (men, women, youth, children)
Secondary
Community Leaders (LCs, Women ….)
Community groups (CBOs, SACCOs)
Traditional/cultural leaders (Buganda Kingdom officials, clan heads)
Religious leaders
Health workers
Village Health Teams (VHTs)
Traditional healers and TBAs
Schools
Tertiary
District local government (Health Department, Community Development Department)
Ministry of Health (Directorate of Community Health, Environmental Health, MIS)
Uganda National Health Research Organization
National Level Politicians (Area MPs)
Researchers
Academicians
The Media
NGOs, CSOs (AMREF, KOICA)
KTNet
Donor agencies

8. Stages of the project at which stakeholders been involved
Project conceptualization and design
Data collection
Pilot intervention

9. Institutions with the responsibility of packaging and disseminating research in Uganda
Universities (departments and schools)
Research institutes (MISR)
Think tanks (Centre for Basic Research, ACODE)

10. Stakeholder engagement strategies
Meetings
Workshop
One to one formal and informal talks
Participation in on-going events
Through the pilot intervention
Newspaper article
Blog article

11. Key messages & the findings
Individuals and households can play a key role in supporting each other to address health problems - Much use is already made of a strong underlying sense of local reciprocity and solidarity during funerals, weddings, farming, etc.
Many perceived health problems could be solved by strengthening linkage with formal health facilities – many residents believe they have syphilis [kabotongo], though they have never tested for it.

12. Key messages & findings
There are numerous local groups/ processes/ venues that bring people together and serve as sources of information and social influence. These could be utilized, but this needs to be ‘from below’ as appropriation from outside has a negative effect on local solidarity and sustainability – Groups that have been formed with strong external influence have fractured pre-existing social relations or ended in conflicts

13. Key messages & findings
Small motivations and inputs from external agents can spark off far reaching effects and changes – following construction of the communal latrine, local leaders are demolishing unhygienic latrines

14. KT related Challenges Encountered
Our approach – subtle approach, intended to be bottom-up and low–cost, so not keen to portray ourselves as a project
Primary researchers (PhD candidates) not on ground most of the time – busy writing up their papers/theses
Still at data analysis and intervention stage – results and lessons not yet concretized and agreed

15. How has your project over come these challenges?
Tried to do more translation with the community itself without involving so much the media

16. Opportunities to overcome the challenges
Planning to use every opportunity with the PhD candidates when in the country

17. KT Products
One dissemination meeting with local stakeholders in Luwero
Presentation at conference in Tanzania (November 2014)
Newspaper article
Blog article

18. Additional KT products and activities for 2015 and beyond
Dissemination meetings
More newspaper articles
More blog articles
Policy briefs
Media briefings

19. Support Needed Training in media engagement
Training and editorial support in writing policy briefs