Wilber Karugahe – College of Humanities and Social Sciences

karugahe.wilber@gmail.com

Wilber Karugahe, PhD

Senior Lecturer

Biography

Dr. Wilber Karugahe is a respected psychologist and Senior Lecturer at Makerere University, where he serves as the Coordinator of Postgraduate Counselling Psychology Programs in the Department of Mental Health & Community Psychology. He completed his undergraduate degree with honors in Community Psychology in 2005 and earned a Master’s in Counselling Psychology from Makerere University in 2009. Subsequently, he pursued and completed a PhD in Investigative Psychology at the University of Huddersfield, UK. Before joining Makerere, Dr. Karugahe taught at several Ugandan institutions, including Bugema University as a Teaching Assistant, St. Lawrence University as the first Head of its Counselling Department, and also lectured part-time at Kyambogo University.

Dr. Karugahe’s research primarily explores coping strategies, family dynamics, and mental health in the Ugandan context. He has investigated stress and coping among female nurses in Kampala, highlighting the relationship between home roles and coping methods in occupational contexts. More recently, in collaboration with Jessica E. Lambert and Peter K. Baguma, he co-authored a 2024 study examining gender-specific risk and protective factors for mental health among Congolese refugees in Uganda, underscoring his active engagement in psychosocial research with tangible social impact.

Education

PhD., Investigative Psychology, University of Huddersfield, UK
Master’s in Counselling Psychology, Makerere University, 2009
B.A., Community Psychology, 2005

Publications

213 entries « ‹ 1 of 5 › »

2025

Bukuluki, Paul; Ndira, Simon; Aweko, Juliet; Kiwummulo, Angelica; Ediau, Michael; Namakula, Justine; Ekirapa-Kiracho, Elizabeth; Waiswa, Peter; Mogaka, John J. O.; Bantebya, Grace

A qualitative study on gender relations and digital payments: healthcare workers' experiences during polio vaccination campaigns in Uganda and Malawi Journal Article

In: BMJ Global Health, vol. 10, no. Suppl 4, pp. e017475, 2025.

Abstract | Links | BibTeX

@article{Bukuluki2025,

title = {A qualitative study on gender relations and digital payments: healthcare workers' experiences during polio vaccination campaigns in Uganda and Malawi},

author = {Paul Bukuluki and Simon Ndira and Juliet Aweko and Angelica Kiwummulo and Michael Ediau and Justine Namakula and Elizabeth Ekirapa-Kiracho and Peter Waiswa and John J. O. Mogaka and Grace Bantebya},

url = {https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017475},

doi = {10.1136/bmjgh-2024-017475},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-07-16},

journal = {BMJ Global Health},

volume = {10},

number = {Suppl 4},

pages = {e017475},

abstract = {Background Gender is a key factor shaping societal roles and access to resources, with cultural norms often limiting women's abilities to use digital financial services. Despite the rise of digital payments, little is known about how gender relations influence their adoption and experience, especially among health workers involved in vaccination campaigns.Method Between January and September 2023, we explored how gender norms and relations influence the uptake and experiences of digital payments among health workers participating in mass polio vaccination campaigns. The qualitative study involved 23 focused group discussions (FGDs; 16 in Uganda and 7 in Malawi) and 82 in-depth interviews (IDIs; 35 in Uganda and 47 in Malawi) with healthcare workers who received digital payments for implementing polio mass vaccination campaigns. IDI participants included village health teams, midwives, nurses, health facility managers, immunisation focal persons and district health officers in Uganda, and community health workers, health facility managers and mobile money operators in Malawi. FGDs were held with midwives, nurses and village health teams in Uganda and community health workers in Malawi. Data were coded using Dedoose software and thematically analysed.Results Participants highlighted that digital payments were convenient since they were able to receive funds without travelling long distances or queuing at health facilities. Women reported that it gave them more time to engage in alternative activities, improve their financial autonomy and ability to participate in decision-making around use of household funds. Structural challenges leading to delayed disbursement of funds were reported to reinforce gender norms around financial dependency on men to meet operational campaign costs (eg, transport). Reported limited ownership of mobile money accounts, a prerequisite for digital payments, led to the exclusion of some women.Conclusion Our findings suggest that digital payments could help improve financial autonomy and participation in decision-making around use of household funds among women involved in immunisation campaigns. However, our findings show that digital payments are implemented in the context of prevailing harmful gender norms that, if not addressed, have the potential to compromise women's agency. This underscores the importance of integrating gender-transformative programming in planning for digital payments during vaccination campaigns.},

keywords = {},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

Background Gender is a key factor shaping societal roles and access to resources, with cultural norms often limiting women's abilities to use digital financial services. Despite the rise of digital payments, little is known about how gender relations influence their adoption and experience, especially among health workers involved in vaccination campaigns.Method Between January and September 2023, we explored how gender norms and relations influence the uptake and experiences of digital payments among health workers participating in mass polio vaccination campaigns. The qualitative study involved 23 focused group discussions (FGDs; 16 in Uganda and 7 in Malawi) and 82 in-depth interviews (IDIs; 35 in Uganda and 47 in Malawi) with healthcare workers who received digital payments for implementing polio mass vaccination campaigns. IDI participants included village health teams, midwives, nurses, health facility managers, immunisation focal persons and district health officers in Uganda, and community health workers, health facility managers and mobile money operators in Malawi. FGDs were held with midwives, nurses and village health teams in Uganda and community health workers in Malawi. Data were coded using Dedoose software and thematically analysed.Results Participants highlighted that digital payments were convenient since they were able to receive funds without travelling long distances or queuing at health facilities. Women reported that it gave them more time to engage in alternative activities, improve their financial autonomy and ability to participate in decision-making around use of household funds. Structural challenges leading to delayed disbursement of funds were reported to reinforce gender norms around financial dependency on men to meet operational campaign costs (eg, transport). Reported limited ownership of mobile money accounts, a prerequisite for digital payments, led to the exclusion of some women.Conclusion Our findings suggest that digital payments could help improve financial autonomy and participation in decision-making around use of household funds among women involved in immunisation campaigns. However, our findings show that digital payments are implemented in the context of prevailing harmful gender norms that, if not addressed, have the potential to compromise women's agency. This underscores the importance of integrating gender-transformative programming in planning for digital payments during vaccination campaigns.

Khanakwa, Pamela

Teaching and Writing History at Makerere in Uganda Book Chapter

In: The Routledge Companion to Postcolonial African Historiography, pp. 69–87, Routledge, 2025, ISBN: 9781003218197.

Links | BibTeX

Mwesige, Lukwago Moses; Pamela, Akongo; Mugonola, Basil

Determinants of Youths’ Participation in Agricultural Cooperatives: Evidence from Northern Uganda Journal Article

In: Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 328–347, 2025.