KIU, Western Campus – Emma Gutaka, the Deputy Principal Nursing Officer (DPNO) for KIU Teaching Hospital says his intentional reasoning and approach are behind the publication of his first research paper in the International Digital Organization for Scientific Research (IDOR) Journal earlier this year.

The publication, titled “Factors Hindering Adolescents from Utilizing Reproductive Health Services in Kampala International University Teaching Hospital,” was conjured up in collaboration with Martin Odoki, Francis Okedi and Emmanuel Ifeanyi Obeagu, and Gutaka says this will not be his last owing to the magnitude of a publication.

“A paper being accepted for publication creates a sense of urgency for a common cause that needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” Gutaka, who is a renowned work-horse, told this website.

He says he conceived the idea of writing this research paper, specifically on the topic of reproductive health after coming to terms with the fact that he also once needed these services but they were not readily available then.

“After taking much time in the teaching hospital as a worker and student at one point, I did critical analysis that indeed prompted me to think of what I can do in the field of reproductive health because I was once a teenager who needed these services but they were minimal,” he reveals.

“After finding out this, I sat down and thought I can do something and if the idea is bought by the hospital and the globe, these services can be availed to adolescents who require them,” he adds.

He explains that he sat down and came up with the idea, developed a proposal, developed a concept and worked on it in consultation with other friends of his already in academia and came up with a research proposal, fronted it for publication and it was fortunately accepted.

Gutaka, who says he is submitting another research proposal for publication this month, hails KIU Teaching hospital for contributing to dissemination of reproductive health services in the community and not leaving the mantle to only government health facilities.

“KIU Teaching Hospital’s call for reproductive health services through publication about the issue by its staff will cause a change in how government and all health centers will look at the urgency for their provision,” he notes.

According to the publication, in Uganda, only 19% of adolescents utilize adoloscents’ reproductive health services yet complications of pregnancy, abortions, and childbirth are the leading cause of disability and death among the same age group.

Courtesy Photos