In Press by Barbra Natifu
Higher education (HE) governance-or steering-models have been changing over time, with the domina... more Higher education (HE) governance-or steering-models have been changing over time, with the dominant historical models being Statecontrolled, Humboldtian, and Anglo-American market-oriented models (Dobbins & Leisyte, 2014; Nabaho et al., 2020). Academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge were the espoused values of the Humboldtian We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Book Chapters by Barbra Natifu
Higher education (HE) governance-or steering-models have been changing over time, with the domina... more Higher education (HE) governance-or steering-models have been changing over time, with the dominant historical models being Statecontrolled, Humboldtian, and Anglo-American market-oriented models (Dobbins & Leisyte, 2014; Nabaho et al., 2020). Academic freedom and the pursuit of knowledge were the espoused values of the Humboldtian We have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Pathways to Public Relations: Histories of Practice and Profession, 2014
Chapter 14
This chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and ap... more Chapter 14
This chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. Particular attention was paid to ways in which public relations was implicitly or explicitly practiced and understood in Uganda. Amos Zikusooka observed that the professional term public relations in Uganda has been misconceived at three levels: the practitioner, who often has limited knowledge and understanding of what constitutes public relations, the general public, whose understanding of the field is still embedded with ubuntu cultural interpretations of public relations as everybodys business and relating well with people, and the organizational management, who often relegate public relations practitioners to the roles of publicity and media relations. The environmentalists and civil society activists raised the issue in e-print and broadcast media, particularly FM radio, by staging a Save Mabira Crusade. The activist groups involved in the campaign included local and international civil society organizations and NGO.
Public relations" in Uganda is loosely understood as "relating well with people," and is grounded... more Public relations" in Uganda is loosely understood as "relating well with people," and is grounded in "Ubuntu," a collectivist cultural virtue inherent among the Bantu peoples of Africa (Mamdani, 2001, p. 17), yet modern-day public relations is a relatively young profession in Uganda. With a combination of primary sources that delve into Uganda's public relations profession-including interviews with the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) past presidents-its practice, and others' perceptions of it (Zikusooka, 2002), as well as studies of the country's cultural and political history, this chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. It was found that in addition to an interplay of markers of environment, culture, and power, activism also was a consistent influence across time. That is, in approaching this study through an Afro-centric worldview, it was found that the operational environment (both task and societal environment) was found to be pertinent to understanding the development of the public relations profession in Uganda.
Op-Eds by Barbra Natifu
Conference Presentations by Barbra Natifu
Harnessing Interpersonal Communication and Trusted Leadership to increase COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake in Hard-to-reach Wildlife Communities in Uganda, 2021
BACKGROUND
In Uganda, communities living around National parks are often prone to infectious dise... more BACKGROUND
In Uganda, communities living around National parks are often prone to infectious diseases and yet they have a low-risk perception of acquiring the diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the disproportionate access to preventive messages among these marginalized communities. As such, the USAID Social and Behaviour Change Activity in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Conservation Through Public Health conducted a qualitative participatory action research to understand the risk perceptions, barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among wildlife communities living around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Rubirizi and Kasese districts, Southwestern Uganda.
METHODS
The study was qualitative and employed purposeful sampling of 36 participants aged 25 to 40 years. Two focus group discussions were conducted comprising of 15 fisherfolk, pastoralists and peasant farmers, 17 game rangers and 4 tour guides.
RESULTS
Barriers to Vaccination Uptake
The findings revealed several barriers, myths and misconceptions about Covid-19 vaccination and uptake including:
Vaccines reduce sexual performance in men,
Vaccines are aimed at population reduction of African race,
Vaccines were perceived as a mere business,
COVID-19 was viewed as a disease for the affluent,
Vaccines were perceived as satanic (getting into the 666 community),
Mixed or inconsistent information from the government about vaccination,
Barriers to COVID-19 Public health measures:
Abandonment of preventive measures citing no risk of infection,
Inconsistent face mask use, sharing of masks to go through security checks,
Engaging in burial rituals such as vigils.
Facilitators to Vaccination Uptake:
Leaders modelling desired behaviour was suggested as key to uptake and establishing government trust,
Receiving messages from those who had been vaccinated or COVID-19 survivors,
Use of Interpersonal communication (IPC) approaches such as Village Health Teams, church leaders, community meetings and use of community audio towers,
Advanced audience profiling to identify appropriate channels to reach audiences.
Panel Description: This panel explores the reality-making power of both the public relations fiel... more Panel Description: This panel explores the reality-making power of both the public relations field and proto-public relations by investigating broader, conceptual questions concerning the ways in which public rela-tions rose as a practice and a field in different places, in different cultures, and at different times in history. In representing a portion of a larger project, a new book on public relations history,* these panelists will offer a more expansive view of the field and of the practice that will be meaningful to public relations scholars, regardless of their method of inquiry, and to mass communication historians, regardless of their disciplinary specialty.
Pre Press Version by Barbra Natifu
On 24 March 2020, three days after the COVID-19 pandemic was formally announced, the Ugandan gove... more On 24 March 2020, three days after the COVID-19 pandemic was formally announced, the Ugandan government introduced the Public Health Control of COVID-19 Rules, 2020. The rules imposed restrictions, such as banning mass gatherings, mandatory mask-wearing, curfews, and, later, mandatory vaccination, aimed at fostering compliance with public health preventive measures. This paper examines how Ugandan leaders applied transformational leadership skills to manage public attitudes and behaviours during the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on their ability to guide the population effectively. The study also investigates the leader's reputational trust, particularly examining the consistency with which the president and the health minister used their words and actions to inspire compliance with COVID-19 social and behavioral change (SBC) messages. Using critical discourse analysis, we examine how the two Ugandan leaders used their words and actions to impact the uptake of SBC messages. Findings reveal a significant theoretical linkage between transformational leadership and reputational trust, demonstrating that when both concepts are applied as a risk communication and community engagement strategy, they influence public compliance and favourable engagement during a health crisis. The study highlights the necessity for consistent alignment between leaders' words and actions to build trust and ensure effective public health interventions. It emphasizes the importance of ethical and transparent communication by leaders, illustrating that such practices foster public trust and enhance the overall effectiveness of crisis management strategies. This study contributes to Preaching water and drinking wine: Transformational Leadership and Reputational Trust as key drivers to Sustainable Uptake of COVID-19 Social and Behavior Change (SBC) Messages in Uganda. 2 understanding how transformational leadership and reputational trust can improve the management of public health crises and achieve sustainable social and behavioural change.
Abstract
“Public relations” in Uganda is loosely understood as “relating well with people,” and i... more Abstract
“Public relations” in Uganda is loosely understood as “relating well with people,” and is grounded in “Ubuntu,” a collectivist cultural virtue inherent among the Bantu peoples of Africa (Mamdani, 2001, p. 17), yet modern-day public relations is a relatively young profession in Uganda. With a combination of primary sources that delve into Uganda’s public relations profession—including interviews with the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) past presidents—its practice, and others’ perceptions of it (Zikusooka, 2002), as well as studies of the country’s cultural and political history, this chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. It was found that in addition to an interplay of markers of environment, culture, and power, activism also was a consistent influence across time. That is, in approaching this study through an Afro-centric worldview, it was found that the operational environment (both task and societal environment) was found to be pertinent to understanding the development of the public relations profession in Uganda.
Books by Barbra Natifu
The history of public relations has long been presented in a corporatist Anglo-American framework... more The history of public relations has long been presented in a corporatist Anglo-American framework. The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series is the first to offer an authentic world-wide view of the history of public relations freed from those influences.
The series features six books, five of which cover continental and regional groups including (Book 1) Asia and Australasia, (Book 2) Eastern Europe and Russia, (Book 3) Middle East and Africa, (Book 4) Latin America and Caribbean and (Book 5) Western Europe. The sixth book will have essays on new and revised historiographical and theoretical approaches.
Written by leading national public relations historians and scholars, some histories of national public relations development are offered for the first time while others are reinterpreted in a more authentic style. The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series makes a major contribution to the wider knowledge of PR's history and aids formation of new historiographical and theoretical approaches. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/middle-eastern-and-african-perspectives-on-the-development-of-public-relations-tom-watson/?K=9781137404275
Health Communication Campaigns by Barbra Natifu
Uploads
In Press by Barbra Natifu
Book Chapters by Barbra Natifu
This chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. Particular attention was paid to ways in which public relations was implicitly or explicitly practiced and understood in Uganda. Amos Zikusooka observed that the professional term public relations in Uganda has been misconceived at three levels: the practitioner, who often has limited knowledge and understanding of what constitutes public relations, the general public, whose understanding of the field is still embedded with ubuntu cultural interpretations of public relations as everybodys business and relating well with people, and the organizational management, who often relegate public relations practitioners to the roles of publicity and media relations. The environmentalists and civil society activists raised the issue in e-print and broadcast media, particularly FM radio, by staging a Save Mabira Crusade. The activist groups involved in the campaign included local and international civil society organizations and NGO.
Op-Eds by Barbra Natifu
Conference Presentations by Barbra Natifu
In Uganda, communities living around National parks are often prone to infectious diseases and yet they have a low-risk perception of acquiring the diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the disproportionate access to preventive messages among these marginalized communities. As such, the USAID Social and Behaviour Change Activity in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Conservation Through Public Health conducted a qualitative participatory action research to understand the risk perceptions, barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among wildlife communities living around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Rubirizi and Kasese districts, Southwestern Uganda.
METHODS
The study was qualitative and employed purposeful sampling of 36 participants aged 25 to 40 years. Two focus group discussions were conducted comprising of 15 fisherfolk, pastoralists and peasant farmers, 17 game rangers and 4 tour guides.
RESULTS
Barriers to Vaccination Uptake
The findings revealed several barriers, myths and misconceptions about Covid-19 vaccination and uptake including:
Vaccines reduce sexual performance in men,
Vaccines are aimed at population reduction of African race,
Vaccines were perceived as a mere business,
COVID-19 was viewed as a disease for the affluent,
Vaccines were perceived as satanic (getting into the 666 community),
Mixed or inconsistent information from the government about vaccination,
Barriers to COVID-19 Public health measures:
Abandonment of preventive measures citing no risk of infection,
Inconsistent face mask use, sharing of masks to go through security checks,
Engaging in burial rituals such as vigils.
Facilitators to Vaccination Uptake:
Leaders modelling desired behaviour was suggested as key to uptake and establishing government trust,
Receiving messages from those who had been vaccinated or COVID-19 survivors,
Use of Interpersonal communication (IPC) approaches such as Village Health Teams, church leaders, community meetings and use of community audio towers,
Advanced audience profiling to identify appropriate channels to reach audiences.
Pre Press Version by Barbra Natifu
“Public relations” in Uganda is loosely understood as “relating well with people,” and is grounded in “Ubuntu,” a collectivist cultural virtue inherent among the Bantu peoples of Africa (Mamdani, 2001, p. 17), yet modern-day public relations is a relatively young profession in Uganda. With a combination of primary sources that delve into Uganda’s public relations profession—including interviews with the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) past presidents—its practice, and others’ perceptions of it (Zikusooka, 2002), as well as studies of the country’s cultural and political history, this chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. It was found that in addition to an interplay of markers of environment, culture, and power, activism also was a consistent influence across time. That is, in approaching this study through an Afro-centric worldview, it was found that the operational environment (both task and societal environment) was found to be pertinent to understanding the development of the public relations profession in Uganda.
Books by Barbra Natifu
The series features six books, five of which cover continental and regional groups including (Book 1) Asia and Australasia, (Book 2) Eastern Europe and Russia, (Book 3) Middle East and Africa, (Book 4) Latin America and Caribbean and (Book 5) Western Europe. The sixth book will have essays on new and revised historiographical and theoretical approaches.
Written by leading national public relations historians and scholars, some histories of national public relations development are offered for the first time while others are reinterpreted in a more authentic style. The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series makes a major contribution to the wider knowledge of PR's history and aids formation of new historiographical and theoretical approaches. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/middle-eastern-and-african-perspectives-on-the-development-of-public-relations-tom-watson/?K=9781137404275
Health Communication Campaigns by Barbra Natifu
This chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. Particular attention was paid to ways in which public relations was implicitly or explicitly practiced and understood in Uganda. Amos Zikusooka observed that the professional term public relations in Uganda has been misconceived at three levels: the practitioner, who often has limited knowledge and understanding of what constitutes public relations, the general public, whose understanding of the field is still embedded with ubuntu cultural interpretations of public relations as everybodys business and relating well with people, and the organizational management, who often relegate public relations practitioners to the roles of publicity and media relations. The environmentalists and civil society activists raised the issue in e-print and broadcast media, particularly FM radio, by staging a Save Mabira Crusade. The activist groups involved in the campaign included local and international civil society organizations and NGO.
In Uganda, communities living around National parks are often prone to infectious diseases and yet they have a low-risk perception of acquiring the diseases.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the disproportionate access to preventive messages among these marginalized communities. As such, the USAID Social and Behaviour Change Activity in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Uganda Wildlife Authority, and Conservation Through Public Health conducted a qualitative participatory action research to understand the risk perceptions, barriers and facilitators to COVID-19 vaccination among wildlife communities living around Queen Elizabeth National Park in Rubirizi and Kasese districts, Southwestern Uganda.
METHODS
The study was qualitative and employed purposeful sampling of 36 participants aged 25 to 40 years. Two focus group discussions were conducted comprising of 15 fisherfolk, pastoralists and peasant farmers, 17 game rangers and 4 tour guides.
RESULTS
Barriers to Vaccination Uptake
The findings revealed several barriers, myths and misconceptions about Covid-19 vaccination and uptake including:
Vaccines reduce sexual performance in men,
Vaccines are aimed at population reduction of African race,
Vaccines were perceived as a mere business,
COVID-19 was viewed as a disease for the affluent,
Vaccines were perceived as satanic (getting into the 666 community),
Mixed or inconsistent information from the government about vaccination,
Barriers to COVID-19 Public health measures:
Abandonment of preventive measures citing no risk of infection,
Inconsistent face mask use, sharing of masks to go through security checks,
Engaging in burial rituals such as vigils.
Facilitators to Vaccination Uptake:
Leaders modelling desired behaviour was suggested as key to uptake and establishing government trust,
Receiving messages from those who had been vaccinated or COVID-19 survivors,
Use of Interpersonal communication (IPC) approaches such as Village Health Teams, church leaders, community meetings and use of community audio towers,
Advanced audience profiling to identify appropriate channels to reach audiences.
“Public relations” in Uganda is loosely understood as “relating well with people,” and is grounded in “Ubuntu,” a collectivist cultural virtue inherent among the Bantu peoples of Africa (Mamdani, 2001, p. 17), yet modern-day public relations is a relatively young profession in Uganda. With a combination of primary sources that delve into Uganda’s public relations profession—including interviews with the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) past presidents—its practice, and others’ perceptions of it (Zikusooka, 2002), as well as studies of the country’s cultural and political history, this chapter examines significant factors that have influenced the development and application of public relations in Uganda. It was found that in addition to an interplay of markers of environment, culture, and power, activism also was a consistent influence across time. That is, in approaching this study through an Afro-centric worldview, it was found that the operational environment (both task and societal environment) was found to be pertinent to understanding the development of the public relations profession in Uganda.
The series features six books, five of which cover continental and regional groups including (Book 1) Asia and Australasia, (Book 2) Eastern Europe and Russia, (Book 3) Middle East and Africa, (Book 4) Latin America and Caribbean and (Book 5) Western Europe. The sixth book will have essays on new and revised historiographical and theoretical approaches.
Written by leading national public relations historians and scholars, some histories of national public relations development are offered for the first time while others are reinterpreted in a more authentic style. The National Perspectives on the Development of Public Relations: Other Voices series makes a major contribution to the wider knowledge of PR's history and aids formation of new historiographical and theoretical approaches. http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/middle-eastern-and-african-perspectives-on-the-development-of-public-relations-tom-watson/?K=9781137404275
September 2005 the numbers of people currently using antiretroviral drugs was 67 369 most of whom are adults.
Of the estimated 50,000 children eligible to be on ARVs, only 12,000 have actually been started on treatment.
Approximately 25,000 babies are infected with HIV each year in Uganda. Without treatment 66% of them will die before they are three. 75% will die before they turn five.(Nabukeera Barungi, 2007). These deaths are all the more senseless because Anti retroviral Therapy (ART)
when taken properly and consistently, can allow HIV positive children to live productive lives well into adulthood.
In a drive to raise the uptake of testing and treament services for children, the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in partnership with Health Communication Partnership (HCP) embarked on a pediatric communication & Voluntary Counselling & Testing (VCT) campaign in Kampala district aimed at encouraging caretakers of possible HIV positive children to get them tested for HIV
and seek for treatment if positive.
The pediatric campaign held in Kampala between April 18th to May 31st was a continuation of JCRC’s nationwide pediatric ART awareness campaign which has been in implementation since November 2007. JCRC has been implementing a similar campaign at its Regional Centres of
Excellence(RCE's), that is; Gulu, Mbarara, Kabale, Fort Portal, Kakira and Jinja, with the major objective of increasing awareness of testing and treatment services for children at risk of HIV.
This report outlines the experiences of the JCRC Kampala VCT children's campaign right from planning, implementation, evaluation , challenges and the lessons learnt through out the campaign process.
In Uganda, the first case of COVID-19 was detected on 21st March 2020. Three days later, the government published the Public Health (Control of COVID-19 Rules) of 2020 to control the spread of the pandemic. The rules imposed a set of restrictions on individual behavior punishable by law which included a ban on public gatherings, wearing of masks, imposition of curfew, and later mandatory COVID-19 vaccination.
The conduct and behavior of the leaders mandated to oversee the implementation of the public health rules contradicted the rules they purportedly upheld, degrading public trust which further degenerated compliance to the public health rules and COVID-19 Social Behavior Change (SBC) messages.
In this paper, we explore leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of transformational leadership, with emphasis on leaders’ words, subsequent actions and behavior, and their impact on the uptake of COVID-19 SBC messages in Uganda. Further, we will examine the role of the reputational trust of a leader in influencing compliance with COVID-19 SBC messages.
This study applies a qualitative research methodology using critical discourse analysis to examine the words and subsequent conduct of leaders in influencing the uptake of COVID-19 SBC messages.
It also creates a case for transformational leadership and reputational trust as key drivers for sustainable uptake of COVID-19 SBC messages.
Key Words. Transformational Leadership, Reputational Trust, COVID-19, Social and Behavioral Change messages, SBC, Uganda
garnered controversy in recent years. Several studies have praised the approach for its remarkable feat
in reducing HIV prevalence rates, while others, especially recently, have started to criticise and
question this alleged success. Studies from the Ministry of Health’s sero-behavioural survey (2005)
and UNAIDS’Aids Epidemic update (2005) have reported that despite years of dramatic success,
Uganda stands at the brink of reversed HIV/AIDS success with prevalence rates stagnating between
6-7% of the total population for the last five years. Although several researchers and development
agencies have tried to study this stagnation problem, the majority of their writing centres on issues
like; government of Uganda bias in favour of ‘AB’ of the ‘ABC,’ the U.S Government’s Emergence
Plan for Aids Relief, which critics say, emphasises certain aspects of the campaign and downplays
others, and “complacency and aids fatigue” among members of the target audiences.
While this study does not explore all the above propositions, it adds to this debate and attempts to
explain the above stagnation problem from a communications angle; looking specifically at the
efficacy of ABC messages in relation to their design, reception and impact. Who designs ABC
messages and how are they designed? How relevant are the designed messages to members of the
target audiences? How do audience members receive and react to these messages and what impact, if
any, do these messages have on their target populations? The academic impetus driving this study
emanates from Prochaska et al’s (1992) Stages of Change model and Bandura’s (1986) Social
Cognitive Theory, both of which are part and parcel of the wider health communications and
behaviour change communications.
From in-depth qualitative interviews with ABC message designers and a largely open-ended
questionnaire with the different ABC audiences, the study reports that the current stagnation in
Uganda’s HIV reduction efforts is partly, communication related. The manner in which ABC
messages are designed is not entirely reflective of the audiences’ dynamic and complex socio-cultural
environment. Specifically, the MoH’s HEPU and ACP and the UAC have not fine-tuned the ABC
model to suit the dynamic and challenging circumstances of intended receivers. The majority of
messages like; Be Responsible, Say No to Un-safe Sex…Use a Condom are too general and do not
address the current “stages of change” to which audience members lie on the behaviour change
continuum.
The study recommends that while the ABC model has had tremendous success over the years, it needs
to be fine-tuned and energized to suit new trends and circumstances of the target audiences. It needs to
go beyond raising awareness and include what Bandura (1986) calls “self-efficacy factors,” which are;
skills building, motivation, modelling, social support enhancement and confidence building. The
design of ABC messages should also be targeted, tailored and customised to suit the needs and
circumstances of various audiences at their respective stages of change.