Browsing by Author "Okello, Stephen"

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    Optimizing Highly Infectious Disease Isolation Unit Management: Experiences From the Infectious Diseases Isolation and Research Unit, Fort Portal, Uganda
    (Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 2021) Alum, Susan; Asiimwe, Moses; Kanyomozi, Gerald; Nalikka, Jacqueline; Okwaro, Peace; Migisha, Isabella; Muhindo, Brenda; Wailagala, Abdullah; Okello, Stephen; Blair, Paul; Waitt, Peter; Bhadelia, Nahid; Ayebare, Rodgers; Kwiecien, Antonia; Saunders, David; Lamorde, Mohammed; Kibuuka, Hannah; Clark, Danielle
    Infectious disease outbreaks on the scale of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are a new phenomenon in many parts of the world. Many isolation unit designs with corresponding workflow dynamics and personal protective equipment postures have been proposed for each emerging disease at the health facility level, depending on the mode of transmission. However, personnel and resource management at the isolation units for a resilient response will vary by human resource capacity, reporting requirements, and practice setting. This study describes an approach to isolation unit management at a rural Uganda Hospital and shares lessons from the Uganda experience for isolation unit managers in low- and middle-income settings.
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    Pre-positioned Outbreak Research: The Joint Medical Emerging Diseases Intervention Clinical Capability Experience in Uganda
    (Health security, 2020) Martins, Karen A.; Ayebare, Rodgers R.; Bhadelia, Nahid; Kiweewa, Francis; Waitt, Peter; Mimbe, Derrick; Okello, Stephen; Naluyima, Prossy; Brett-Major, David M.; Lawler, James V.; Millard, Monica; Walwema, Richard; Cardile, Anthony P.; Ritchie, Chi; Kwiecien, Antonia; Badu, Helen; Espinosa, Benjamin J.; Beckett, Charmagne; Bavari, Sina; Zaman, Saima; Christopher, George; Clark, Danielle V.; Lamorde, Mohammed; Kibuuka, Hannah
    The West Africa Ebola virus disease outbreak of 2014-2016 demonstrated that responses to viral hemorrhagic fever epidemics must go beyond emergency stopgap measures and should incorporate high-quality medical care and clinical research. Optimal patient management is essential to improving outcomes, and it must be implemented regardless of geographical location or patient socioeconomic status. Coupling clinical research with improved care has a significant added benefit: Improved data quality and management can guide the development of more effective supportive care algorithms and can support regulatory approvals of investigational medical countermeasures (MCMs), which can alter the cycle of emergency response to reemerging pathogens. However, executing clinical research during outbreaks of high-consequence pathogens is complicated and comes with ethical and research regulatory challenges. Aggressive care and excellent quality control must be balanced by the requirements of an appropriate infection prevention and control posture for healthcare workers and by overcoming the resource limitations inherent in many outbreak settings. The Joint Mobile Emerging Disease Intervention Clinical Capability was established in 2015 to develop a high-quality clinical trial capability in Uganda to support rigorous evaluation of MCMs targeting high-consequence pathogens like Ebola virus. This capability assembles clinicians, laboratorians, clinical researchers, logisticians, and regulatory professionals trained in infection prevention and control and in good clinical and good clinical laboratory practices. The resulting team is prepared to provide high-quality medical care and clinical research during high-consequence outbreaks.