“As long as you are married you cannot protect yourself against syphilis”: qualitative exploration of syphilis risk perception and antenatal care seeking among pregnant women in Uganda
The study provides practical suggestions for enhancing syphilis awareness, engagement in care, and women's experiences in ANC within a resource-limited, high-burden context. Future efforts should concentrate on extending syphilis education beyond clinics, utilizing Village Health Teams (VHTs) as trusted sources, and identifying barriers to improving healthcare quality for women, informing quality improvement programming.
Authors
- Adriane Wynn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8067-3616)
- James Nkale
- Grace Kigozi
- William Ddaaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2395-7003)
- Alex Daama
- Vitalis Ofumbi Olwa
- Robert Malyabe Bulamba
- Natalie Saham
- Bashir Magada
- Emmanuel Kyasanku
- Jennifer A. Wagman
- Godfrey Kigozi
- Gertrude Nakigozi
- Stephen Mugamba
- Amanda P. Miller
- Fred Nalugoda
Institutions
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- San Diego State University (US)
- University of California System (US)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- World Health Organization - Uganda (UG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Public Health
- Published
- 2026-01-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-026-26263-1
- Primary Topic
- Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00