Catherine Birabwa
Biographic Data
| ID | 5992473 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Catherine Birabwa |
| GIVEN NAMES | Catherine |
| FAMILY NAME | Birabwa |
| SIGNATURE | BIRABWA C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Makerere University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2916-9275 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 12 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2022 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Development of a multidimensional deprivation index for emerging municipalities and cities in Uganda
This study advances the measurement of urban living standards deprivation by developing a context-specific multidimensional deprivation index and estimating the extent of deprivation in Uganda’s newly gazetted municipalities and cities. The analysis draws on household listing data collected in November 2021 from 5987 households in Jinja City and Iganga Municipality. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify latent depriva…
Maternal and child healthcare coverage and trends
Novel approach - leveraging routine facility data, revealed MCH coverage was modestly consistently higher in RH districts over the years and RH status influenced ANC4 coverage. Overall district-CCI depended on Government investment and health systems performance implying increase in PHC financing could be a key driver to universal district-level improvement
WHO launches global network of institutes to strengthen capacity for health inequality monitoring
This article introduces the global WHO-managed Health Inequality Monitoring Network, which is dedicated to strengthening and expanding health inequality monitoring practices at global, regional and country levels. Launched in 2025, the Health Inequality Monitoring Network consists of 12 inaugural institutional members, represented by over 140 affiliated individuals spanning all world regions. The Network aims to: strengthen capacities for health …
Opening the black box of agency in contraceptive decision-making
“We have theoretical knowledge, but these are not things we do regularly”
Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during antenatal care (ANC) is crucial for maternal and fetal health. It offers an opportunity for prevention, timely diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic complications during pregnancy and over women’s and babies’ life course. We aimed to describe GDM screening service provision during ANC in two hospitals in Tanzania, focusing on gaps and opportunities for improving GDM screening services…
Influence of social networks on women’s contraceptive decision-making and action
Our study highlights how different types of social support from partners, relatives, and peers can either bolster or undermine women's agency in making contraceptive decisions. Informational support from relatives and peers can boost women's certainty in their intentions, while emotional support from partners boosts their confidence to act on these intentions. Multipronged approaches targeting these networks are necessary to promote women's agenc…
Development and Validation of the Agency in Contraceptive Decisions Scale in Uganda and Nigeria
To fill a gap in measures of empowered contraceptive decision‐making, we developed the Agency in Contraceptive Decisions Scale in Uganda and Nigeria. We developed an item pool drawing on the previously published Contraceptive Agency framework. We refined items through cognitive interviews ( N = 80) and expert feedback and piloted a reduced item pool via surveys ( N = 3002). Exploratory factor analysis using a random half of the sample suggested a…
Women's Perspectives on the Unique Benefits and Challenges of Self‐Injectable Contraception
Implementing self‐injection (SI) of subcutaneous depot‐medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA‐SC) is a key self‐care strategy for sexual and reproductive health, but SI uptake remains low, and assertions about the potential of SI to increase women's control over contraceptive use lack evidence. We sought to qualitatively explore how women with diverse contraceptive experiences—including those with and without experience using SI—view the benefits and …
How a co-design process led to more contextually relevant family planning interventions in emerging urban settings in Eastern Uganda
Voluntary, rights-based family planning upholds women’s right to determine freely the number and spacing of their children. However, low-resource settings like Uganda still face a high unmet need for family planning. And, while urban areas are often indicated to have better access to health services, emerging evidence is revealing intra-urban socio-economic differentials in family planning utilization. To address the barriers to contraceptive use…
Wealth-based inequality in the continuum of maternal health service utilisation in 16 sub-Saharan African countries
Addressing the coverage gap in maternal continuum of care in SSA using multidimensional and people-centred approaches remains a key strategy needed to realise the SDG3. The pro-rich wealth-based inequalities observed show that bespoke pro-poor or population-wide approaches are needed
A tale of 22 cities
INTRODUCTION: Globally, the majority of births happen in urban areas. Ensuring that women and their newborns benefit from a complete package of high-quality care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period present specific challenges in large cities. We examine health service utilisation and content of care along the maternal continuum of care (CoC) in 22 large African cities. METHODS: 1 million inhabitants in 2015. Women with live birt…
Levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress among Ugandan adults during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic
There is an urgent need to address the significant burden of psychological distress associated with COVID-19 and policy responses in LMICs. Pandemic mitigation strategies must consider mental health consequences
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A tale of 22 cities
INTRODUCTION: Globally, the majority of births happen in urban areas. Ensuring that women and their newborns benefit from a complete package of high-quality care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period present specific challenges in large cities. We examine health service utilisation and content of care along the maternal continuum of care (CoC) in 22 large African cities. METHODS: 1 million inhabitants in 2015. Women with live birt…
Levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress among Ugandan adults during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic
There is an urgent need to address the significant burden of psychological distress associated with COVID-19 and policy responses in LMICs. Pandemic mitigation strategies must consider mental health consequences
How a co-design process led to more contextually relevant family planning interventions in emerging urban settings in Eastern Uganda
Voluntary, rights-based family planning upholds women’s right to determine freely the number and spacing of their children. However, low-resource settings like Uganda still face a high unmet need for family planning. And, while urban areas are often indicated to have better access to health services, emerging evidence is revealing intra-urban socio-economic differentials in family planning utilization. To address the barriers to contraceptive use…
Wealth-based inequality in the continuum of maternal health service utilisation in 16 sub-Saharan African countries
Addressing the coverage gap in maternal continuum of care in SSA using multidimensional and people-centred approaches remains a key strategy needed to realise the SDG3. The pro-rich wealth-based inequalities observed show that bespoke pro-poor or population-wide approaches are needed
Women's Perspectives on the Unique Benefits and Challenges of Self‐Injectable Contraception
Implementing self‐injection (SI) of subcutaneous depot‐medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA‐SC) is a key self‐care strategy for sexual and reproductive health, but SI uptake remains low, and assertions about the potential of SI to increase women's control over contraceptive use lack evidence. We sought to qualitatively explore how women with diverse contraceptive experiences—including those with and without experience using SI—view the benefits and …
Opening the black box of agency in contraceptive decision-making
“We have theoretical knowledge, but these are not things we do regularly”
Screening for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) during antenatal care (ANC) is crucial for maternal and fetal health. It offers an opportunity for prevention, timely diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic complications during pregnancy and over women’s and babies’ life course. We aimed to describe GDM screening service provision during ANC in two hospitals in Tanzania, focusing on gaps and opportunities for improving GDM screening services…
Influence of social networks on women’s contraceptive decision-making and action
Our study highlights how different types of social support from partners, relatives, and peers can either bolster or undermine women's agency in making contraceptive decisions. Informational support from relatives and peers can boost women's certainty in their intentions, while emotional support from partners boosts their confidence to act on these intentions. Multipronged approaches targeting these networks are necessary to promote women's agenc…
Development and Validation of the Agency in Contraceptive Decisions Scale in Uganda and Nigeria
To fill a gap in measures of empowered contraceptive decision‐making, we developed the Agency in Contraceptive Decisions Scale in Uganda and Nigeria. We developed an item pool drawing on the previously published Contraceptive Agency framework. We refined items through cognitive interviews ( N = 80) and expert feedback and piloted a reduced item pool via surveys ( N = 3002). Exploratory factor analysis using a random half of the sample suggested a…
Development of a multidimensional deprivation index for emerging municipalities and cities in Uganda
This study advances the measurement of urban living standards deprivation by developing a context-specific multidimensional deprivation index and estimating the extent of deprivation in Uganda’s newly gazetted municipalities and cities. The analysis draws on household listing data collected in November 2021 from 5987 households in Jinja City and Iganga Municipality. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to identify latent depriva…
Maternal and child healthcare coverage and trends
Novel approach - leveraging routine facility data, revealed MCH coverage was modestly consistently higher in RH districts over the years and RH status influenced ANC4 coverage. Overall district-CCI depended on Government investment and health systems performance implying increase in PHC financing could be a key driver to universal district-level improvement
WHO launches global network of institutes to strengthen capacity for health inequality monitoring
This article introduces the global WHO-managed Health Inequality Monitoring Network, which is dedicated to strengthening and expanding health inequality monitoring practices at global, regional and country levels. Launched in 2025, the Health Inequality Monitoring Network consists of 12 inaugural institutional members, represented by over 140 affiliated individuals spanning all world regions. The Network aims to: strengthen capacities for health …
Global Maternal and Child Health (8 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Population (6 works) · Environmental health (5 works) · Health care (4 works) · Public health (4 works) · Socioeconomics (4 works) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health (3 works) · Economic growth (3 works) · Geography (3 works)