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Article History

Received: 21 August 2025

Accepted: 22 April 2026

First Online: 6 May 2026

Declarations

:

: The protocol was approved by Health Research and Development Committee (HRDC), Reference NO: HPRD 6/14/1, a division of the Ministry of Health and Wellness in accordance with international regulations governing research involving humans, namely the Helsinki declaration of 1964. Furthermore, additional ethics clearance was also obtained from the Research Ethics Committees of Principal Marina, Nyanabgwe and Palapye Hospitals in accordance with their patient safety protocols as prescribed in their research regulations.

: We declare that all participants were well informed about the research before agreeing to participate in the research and gave their consent by signing the relevant consent forms. The parents or guardians of the participants under the age of 18 years, and the participants themselves, were well informed about the research before the parents/guardians signed the assent forms.

: We declare that there is no data in the article that requires participants to consent to publish as their personal data was and will never be made public in compliance with ethics requirements.

: The authors declare no conflict of interest.