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Optimizing Highly Infectious Disease Isolation Unit Management: Experiences From the Infectious Diseases Isolation and Research Unit, Fort Portal, Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2021

Susan Alum ,
Moses Asiimwe ,
Gerald Kanyomozi ,
Jacqueline Nalikka ,
Peace Okwaro ,
Isabella Migisha ,
Brenda Muhindo ,
Abdullah Wailagala ,
Stephen Okello  and
Paul Blair
...Show all authors
Susan Alum
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Moses Asiimwe
Affiliation:
Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala, Uganda
Gerald Kanyomozi
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Jacqueline Nalikka
Affiliation:
Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala, Uganda
Peace Okwaro
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Isabella Migisha
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Brenda Muhindo
Affiliation:
Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala, Uganda
Abdullah Wailagala
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Stephen Okello
Affiliation:
Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala, Uganda
Paul Blair
Affiliation:
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Peter Waitt
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Nahid Bhadelia
Affiliation:
Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Rodgers Ayebare*
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Antonia Kwiecien
Affiliation:
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
David Saunders
Affiliation:
United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), Frederick, Maryland, USA
Mohammed Lamorde
Affiliation:
Global Health Security, Makerere University Infectious Diseases Institute, Kampala, Uganda
Hannah Kibuuka
Affiliation:
Makerere University Walter Reed Project, Kampala, Uganda
Danielle Clark
Affiliation:
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine Inc, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
*
Corresponding author: Rodgers Ayebare, Email: rayebare@idi.co.ug.
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Abstract

Infectious disease outbreaks on the scale of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are a new phenomenon in many parts of the world. Many isolation unit designs with corresponding workflow dynamics and personal protective equipment postures have been proposed for each emerging disease at the health facility level, depending on the mode of transmission. However, personnel and resource management at the isolation units for a resilient response will vary by human resource capacity, reporting requirements, and practice setting. This study describes an approach to isolation unit management at a rural Uganda Hospital and shares lessons from the Uganda experience for isolation unit managers in low- and middle-income settings.

Keywords

Patient IsolationPublic Health PracticeCOVID-19Nurse’s Role
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e72
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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