Economic Empowerment and Health Promotion of Uganda Grandmother-caregivers.

Summary

Background:

There are an estimated 163 million children worldwide who are under the care of their grandparents or other relatives. In Uganda, social determinants of health (i.e., poverty, wars, and maternal and perinatal conditions) threaten the middle generation (age 15-49) and leave older adults, especially grandmothers (Bajjajja), to become the safety net. Yet, in this region, knowledge about effective interventions that support the health and wellbeing of these GMCs is limited to nonexistent. As such, Dr. Matovu proposes to refine, adapt, and test her BAJJAJJA intervention that she developed.

Specific Aims:

Dr. Matovu will achieve this goal through three Specific Aims:

1. Refine and adapt the BAJJAJJA intervention components through a collaborative and iterative feedback process with a diverse community group of 18 members;
2. Test the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of the BAJJAJJA intervention in improving economic and health outcomes among 24 Ugandan GMCs; and
3. Explore the barriers and facilitators to (3a) maintenance of the BAJJAJJA individual intervention benefits and (3b) sustainability of the income generating activity at 6 months post-intervention.

This innovative study will utilize a community-engaged approach that emphasizes the meaningful involvement of community partners to develop an intervention that targets GMCs. Her outcomes will support her future efficacy clinical trial to test a novel multi-component and community-engaged BAJJAJJA intervention to promote the mental, physical, and economic wellbeing of GMCs.

Conditions

• Financial Burden
• Health Behavior
• Social Support

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

The BAJJAJJA intervention

The BAJJAJJA intervention is composed of: The IGA COMPONENT which is intended to promote economic empowerment by improving household income based on available resources. The component will consist of a series of 1-hour sessions with 3 separate GMC participant groups (8 GMCs per group). Two IGA experts will lead these sessions, weekly for the first two months and later monthly for the remaining 10 months of the 12-month intervention period. The HEALTH COACHING COMPONENT will be informed by theChronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) framework.54 This community-based, person-centered care model will be used to empower GMCs to manage their health through goal-setting, problem-solving, and chronic disease self-monitoring. I (PI) will leverage the community networks that I developed during my preliminary work to (1) recruit interventionists (two nurses) and (2) ensure their adequate training and adherence to the intervention manuals and procedures.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Fogarty International Center of the National Institute of Health

  collaborator NIH

• Makerere University

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Utah

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-10-01

Primary Completion

2028-08-30

Completion

2029-08-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations