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Article History

Received: 30 October 2025

Accepted: 9 February 2026

First Online: 20 February 2026

Declarations

:

: Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee (REC) of the Mbarara University of Science and Technology (REC number: MUST-2024-1575) on 10 June 2024 to conduct the primary study [ ]. All participants provided written informed consent prior to enrollment. The consent forms were translated into the local language (Runyankore) to ensure comprehension. Formally educated participants gave consent by signing the written forms. For participants with no formal education, the written informed consent form was read aloud in Runyankore, followed by administration of the comprehension screening tool approved by the MUST REC. Only participants who demonstrated understanding were allowed to consent by placing a thumbprint on the informed consent form. Participants were also explicitly asked to provide consent for the use of their data in the secondary analysis, for which they approved. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1975) as revised in 2024. Confidentiality of the study participants was observed by giving each participant a study code that was not traceable to them. To protect patient privacy, all personal identifiers were removed, and the data were fully deidentified before analysis. Permission to perform secondary analysis was also obtained from the principal investigator of the primary study.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.