Fogarty Fellow: Simple Ouma

Research Project

Prevalence and risk factors of childhood trauma among adolescents of female sex workers in post-conflict Gulu district, Northern Uganda: A cross-sectional study

Exposure to childhood trauma (CT) can negatively affect one's life. Exposure to CT affects a child’s physical and emotional growth and mental well-being. Specifically, exposures to sexual CT denies the survivors their sexual and reproductive rights and exposes them to a high risk of sexually transmitted infection and unwanted pregnancies. A review of the literature indicates that several studies in diverse populations and settings, especially in the developed world, have been conducted on CT. However, there is only a handful of literature on CT among children from marginalized populations, especially those in conflict-affected settings.

Our proposed study will use existing instruments and implement protocols that will examine the prevalence and risk factors of CT among adolescents (10-17 years of age) of female sex workers (FSWs) in conflict-affected Gulu district, Northern Uganda. The study findings will provide insight into the epidemiology of CT among adolescents of FSWs. Study findings might be useful to health care programmers for the development of targeted preventive and interventional measures for CT among children of a marginalized population.

Mentors

• Maria Kroupina, PhD, University of Minnesota, USA
• Nakita Natala, MD, University of Minnesota, USA
• Catherine Abbo, MBChB, M.Med.Psych, PhD, Makerere University, Uganda