Putting Youth in Charge: Evaluation of a Youth Public Health Ambassador Program in Rural Northern Uganda

Samantha Gillis*, Kyra Guy, Kenneth Odur, Cecilia Alonyo, Heather Wipfli

*Presenting author

INTRODUCTION

RESULTS

While infectious diseases remain a leading cause of death in Uganda, non-communicable diseases increasingly claim a greater proportion of lives. The double burden of both infectious and non communicable diseases makes it essential to educate the population on disease transmission risk factors and how to protect themselves.
Youth engagement has proven an instrumental mechanism for sustainable development in Uganda, largely because youth comprise a large proportion of the population with individuals under the age of 35 constituting nearly 78% of the population.
The Youth Public Health Ambassador program (YPHA) aimed to educate Ugandan youth about common health challenges faced in their community, and train them in conducting relevant research. The program gave youth the opportunity to pinpoint health challenges and generate the data needed to support appropriate, accessible, and effective policies and programs to promote health and save lives.

OBJECTIVES:

To assess the YPHA program and its impact on the knowledge and behaviors among youth participating in the program and the surrounding communities.
To promote investment in youth-centered health promotion programming and opportunities for youth-driven policy advocacy.

PROGRAM DESIGN AND EVALUATION

YPHA Program Design

• The YPHA program was a partnership between Ray United FC, Children’s Chance International Uganda (CCI), a community-based organization in Northern Uganda, and the University of Southern California.

• The program trained 20 youth aged 18 - 22 years, both male and female, to serve as public health ambassadors within six parishes located in three sub-counties in Lira District, northern Uganda. • The training was comprised of three main phases: First, YPHA received basic training in public health, including how diseases are measured, controlled, and prevented. The second phase involved the implementation of a community-based participatory research study on a community health challenge identified by the youth. YPHA then interpreted the data collected through the CBPR study and shared the results with stakeholders at community, district, and national levels in support of community-based public health programs and policies.

Throughout all phases of the program, Youth Ambassadors were provided with resources to assist them in educating their community about healthy behaviors.

Assessment of Proficiency

• YPHAs were surveyed with a comprehensive knowledge-based assessment prior to the initial workshop and following each additional workshop.

• Survey questions assessed accuracy and proficiency in knowledge of basic public health concepts, engagement and feedback of the programming and curriculum, and YPHA confidence in public speaking and research methods.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

The YPHA program collected valuable information highlighting the efficacy of education as a powerful tool for youth empowerment. Results indicated that the curriculum improved public health knowledge in nearly all areas and over 95% of participants expressed extreme confidence in their ability to speak to peers and adults, including policymakers, about community disease burden and possible solutions. In order to improve adolescent health in Lira District and beyond, key national and district policymakers and other stakeholders should continue to include youth in community-level health promotion task forces, increase funding towards youth-focused educational initiatives and continue data collection of adolescent knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors related to health.

Figure 1. Participating Communities

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS