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Dr Akuze Joseph Waiswa

Research Fellow - Statistical Analyst

United Kingdom

I am a Medical Statistician and Epidemiologist, with a PhD in Epidemiology and Population Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), a Master’s in Public Health from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Masters, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Statistics and a Bachelor of Statistics and Bachelors of Statistics (Honours) from Makerere University. I have over 10 years of experience in conducting and leading research studies such as developing and appraising methodologies for improved capture of adverse pregnancy outcomes (stillbirths, early neonatal deaths, and neonatal deaths) and measurement errors (potential omission and displacement). I have led previous projects including a Preterm Birth Initiative East Africa (PTBi-EA) discovery grant entitled “An Algorithm to Predict Newborn Complications in the First 28 days of Life at Iganga General and Jinja Regional Referral Hospital (N-COP Study)”, performed as the principal statistician and research associate on all Center of Excellence for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health Research which is hosted at Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) within the department of Health Policy Planning and Management (HPPM). I have collaborated on various previous studies (such as ALERT, MANEST, and PTBi-EA among others). I have also previously coordinated the Maternal Newborn and Child Health Working Group within the INDEPTH Network and was the technical coordinator for the Every Newborn Action Plan measurement improvement roadmap a multi-site and multi-country study conducted within the INDEPTH Network Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites.

Affiliations

Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and International Health
Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health

Teaching

I coordinate the Advanced Research Methods (ARM) course and teach the Advanced Research Methods (ARM), Statistical Methods in Epidemiology (SEM), Statistics for Epidemiology and Population Health (STEPH), and Stata Data Management Workshops

Research

My research interests are particularly in maternal, newborn, and child health. Specifically, statistical methodology and applications for perinatal (stillbirth and neonatal deaths) and maternal mortality measurement and surveillance, meta-analysis, stepped wedge trials, data science, and machine learning and impact evaluations
Research Area
Maternal health
Modelling
Child health
Global health
Perinatal health
Complex interventions
Data management
Data science
Applied statistics (medical)
GIS/Spatial analysis
Medical and vital statistics
Health impact analysis
Artificial Intelligence
Country
Uganda
Gambia
Mozambique
Kenya
Guinea-Bissau
Ghana
Bangladesh
Ethiopia
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa (all income levels)

Selected Publications

Terminal Digit Preference and Threshold Avoidance in Digital Blood Pressure Measurements During Pregnancy: Secondary Analysis of Data From the CLIP and PRECISE Cohorts.
Von Dadelszen, P; Sandhu, A; Bone, JN; Qureshi, RN; Dada, OA; Mallapur, AA; Temmerman, M; Volvert, M-L; Waiswa, J; Mukhanya, M; Mistry, HD; Goudar, SS; Jah, H; Koech, A; Sacoor, C; Vala, A; Munguambe, K; Roca, A; Adetoro, OO; Sevene, E; Vidler, M; Bellad, MB; Sotunsa, J; BLENCOWE, HJ; Bhutta, ZA; ... PRECISE Network,
2026
JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Prediction of low 5-minute Apgar scores: development and internal validation of parity-stratified clinical prediction models for sub-Saharan Africa.
Franzén-Malmros, M; Daraiseh, S; Schmauder, S; AKUZE, J; Wanduru, P; Kandeya, B; Annerstedt, KS; Agossou, C; Kidanto, H; Pembe, AB; HANSON, C; Sun, S;
2026
BMC pregnancy and childbirth
Integrating Social and Clinical Determinants of Pre-Eclampsia: A Hierarchical Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework for Prevention.
Woo Kinshella, ML; Bone, JN; Elawad, T; Mistry, HD; Poye, L; Tsigas, E; Devadas, D; Mateljan, V; Volvert, M-L; Vidler, M; Blencowe, H; FILIPPI, V; Magee, LA; Von Dadelszen, P; PRECISE Network,;
2026
BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Predictive Modelling for Stillbirths and Neonatal Deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa
AKUZE, J; Victor, A; Bourke, M; Wanduru, P; BLENCOWE, H; OHUMA, EO;
2026
Zenodo
Development of a multidimensional deprivation index for emerging municipalities and cities in Uganda
Kananura, RM; Birabwa, C; Sabiti, B; Ssanyu, JN; Nyandwi, A; AKUZE, J; Mutua, MK; Faye, CM; Waiswa, P;
2026
Discover Global Society
Effects of a multi-faceted intervention to improve intrapartum care: A stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 16 hospitals in Benin, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda
HANSON, C; AKUZE, J; Annerstedt, KS; Alvesson, HM; Sun, S; Straneo, M; Orsini, N; Benova, L; Gross, M; Marchal, B; Snijders, R; Chipeta, E; Waiswa, P; Kidanto, H; Dossou, J-P; Pembe, A;
2026
Research Square
"Now that the baby is out, I can be vaccinated": a qualitative study on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in pregnant women in Kilifi, Kenya.
Koech, A; Wanje, O; Mwashigadi, G; Katana, G; Mdindi, R; Mwangome, P; Craik, R; Vidler, M; Kinshella, M-LW; Von Dadelszen, P; Le Doare, K; Temmerman, M; PeriCOVID-Africa Consortium ,; PRECISE Network ,;
2026
Frontiers in public health
Predictive models for stillbirths and neonatal deaths: Protocol for a global scoping review with focus on sub-Saharan Africa.
Chaweewong, T; Wanduru, P; VICTOR, A; Bourke, M; BLENCOWE, H; OHUMA, EO; AKUZE, J;
2026
Wellcome open research
Cohort Profile: PRECISE-DYAD: a prospective cohort study linking maternal and infant health trajectories in sub-Saharan Africa.
Volvert, M-L; Wilson, M; Owino, RO; Koech, A; Jah, H; BLENCOWE, H; Idris, Y; Wanje, O; Mwaniki, I; Mutunga, J; Touray, F; Mwadime, E; Roca, A; Omuse, G; Craik, R; Kongira, F; Mukhanya, M; Bojang, K; Njie, B; Ochieng, M; D'ALESSANDRO, U; Mwashigadi, G; Mutua, AM; Rerimoi, A; Temmerman, M; ... Von Dadelszen, P.
2025
medRxiv
Data science and artificial intelligence for maternal, newborn and child health: scoping review and thematic analysis.
AKUZE, J; Otieno, GP; Amare, SY; Ngatia, B; Wanduru, P; Kirakoya-Samadoulougou, F; Kananura, RM; Amouzou, A; Estifanos, AS; OHUMA, EO;
2025
BMC public health
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