Wandera, Stephen Ojiambo
Tumwesigye, Nazarius Mbona
Walakira, Eddy J.
Kisaakye, Peter
Wagman, Jennifer
Article History
Received: 7 December 2020
Accepted: 8 March 2021
First Online: 19 March 2021
Declarations
:
: All protocols were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.Ethical approval involved two stages. First, the study protocol was submitted to a local institutional review board (IRB): “The AIDS Support Organization (TASO)” Research and Ethics Committee (TASO REC) and approved on January 5, 2020 (TASOREC/084/19-UG-REC-009). The protocol was subsequently registered with the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology (UNCST) and approved on March 12, 2020 (SS421ES). On March 27, 2020, the UNCST halted the recruitment of study participants in Uganda due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Later (June 4, 2020) the UNCST lifted the halt on recruitment of study participants and recommended formulation of risk management plans (RMP) to be approved by IRBs. We developed an RMP which was approved by TASO REC on July 16, 2020. During the data collection, all research teams and study participants had to wear face masks (provided for by the research team) and use hand sanitizers to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.Written informed consent and verbal assent (for minors below age 18 years) were obtained from all study participants<b>.</b> Participants were informed that participation was voluntary, and they could choose to withdraw at any point as well as not to respond to questions they do not wish to answer. Participants were assured of confidentiality. Participants’ names were not recorded alongside their responses. Codes were used instead of participants’ names. Survey participants received a compensation of UGX 10,000 (equivalent of USD 2.8).
: Not applicable.
: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.