Mr. Joshua Epuitai is a nurse-midwife and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Busitema University. He currently serves as the Chair and the Head of the Department of Nursing.
He holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Birmingham, UK, and a Master of Nursing from Makerere University. With extensive experience in clinical nursing, midwifery, research, and academia, Mr. Epuitai has served in various leadership roles across both public and private sectors.
He has played a key role in the development and accreditation of several undergraduate programs and has contributed to multiple national and international research projects, including a recent study by the International Confederation of Midwives on midwife-led birth centers in low-income countries.
Mr. Epuitai has received several academic scholarships and research grants, including the prestigious UK Commonwealth Master's Scholarship. He has widely published in his areas of research interest, which include clinical simulation, midwifery, and sexual and reproductive health.
- Apuulison, D.F…..Epuitai, J., Rubaihayo, J., 2025. Enablers of and barriers to ART adherence among female sex workers in mid-western Uganda: a qualitative study. AIDS Research and Therapy, 22, p.4.
- Epuitai, J., Ndeezi, G., Nabirye, R. C., Kabiri, L., Mukunya, D., Tumuhamye, J., ... & Tumwine, J. K. (2024). Prevalence and factors associated with placental malaria in Lira District, Northern Uganda: a cross-sectional study. Malaria Journal, 23, 360.
- Kamwesigye, A., Amanya, D., Nambozo, B., Epuitai, J., Nahurira, D., Wani, S., ... & Willcox, M. (2024). Barriers and enablers to utilisation of postpartum long-acting reversible contraception in Eastern Uganda: a qualitative study. Contraception and Reproductive Medicine, 9(1), 49.
- Nabirye, R. C., Mbalinda, S. N., Epuitai, J., Nawagi, F., Namyalo, S., Nove, A., ... & Homer, C. S. (2024). Perceptions of quality of care in Midwife-led Birth Centres (MLBCs) in Uganda: Why do women choose MLBCs over other options? Women and Birth, 37(4), 101612. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-023-10125-2
- Abiyo, J., Nabirye, R. C., Nambozo, B., Mukunya, D., Nantale, R., Oguttu, F., ... & Epuitai, J. (2024). “I have come to remove it because of heavy bleeding”: a mixed-methods study on early contraceptive implant removal and the underlying factors in eastern Uganda. Contraception and Reproductive Medicine, 9(1), 17. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40834-024-00279-7
- Bazirete O, Hughes K, Lopes SC, Turkmani S, Abdullah AS, Ayaz T, Clow SE, Epuitai J, Halim A, Khawaja Z, Mbalinda SN. Midwife-led birthing centres in four countries: a case study. BMC Health Services Research. 2023 Oct 17;23(1):1105. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-023-10125-2
- Nakato, G., Adongo, P. R., Iramiot, J. S., & Epuitai, J. (2023). Practices and drivers of self-medication with antibiotics among undergraduate medical students in Eastern Uganda: A cross-sectional study. Plos one, 18(12), e0293685. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0293685
- Tekakwo A, Nabirye RC, Nantale R, Oguttu F, Nambozo B, Wani S, Musaba MW, Mukunya D, Epuitai J. Enablers and barriers of male involvement in the use of modern family planning methods in Eastern Uganda: a qualitative study. Contraception and Reproductive Medicine. 2023 Oct 16;8(1):49. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40834-023-00251-x
- Adongo, P. R., Wandabwa, J., Epuitai, J., Epaku, G., Alaroker, F., Waako, J. P., & Olupot Oluput, P. (2019). Factors Associated with Preterm Births Among Postnatal Mothers at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital, Eastern Uganda. Eastern Uganda. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214139123000756
- Jalinga Vuamaiku, G., Epuitai, J., Andru, M., & Aleni, M. (2023). “I Don’t Support It for My Children”: Perceptions of Parents and Guardians regarding the Use of Modern Contraceptives by Adolescents in Arua City, Uganda. International Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 2023 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijrmed/2023/6289886/
- Epuitai, J., Woolley, K. E., Bartington, S. E., & Thomas, G. N. (2022). Association between Wood and Other Biomass Fuels and Risk of Low Birthweight in Uganda: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2016 Uganda Demographic and Health Survey Data. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7), 4377. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19074377.
- Epuitai, J., Udho, S., Auma, A.G., Nabirye, R.C. “Intimate partner violence among pregnant women in Uganda’’. African Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health (AJMW). Jan 20, 2019-Volume 13, Issue 1. ISSN (print): 1759-7374. ISSN (online): 2052-4293.https://doi.org/10.12968/AJMW.2018.0027
Joshua Epuitai. Alumni Community Engagement fund for the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (2022). Empowering midwives to health educate pregnant women during routine antenatal care of the effects of household air pollution from cooking fuels in pregnancy. https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/empowering-midwives-to-health-educate-pregnant-women-during-routine-antenatal-care-of-the-effects-of-household-air-pollution-from-cooking-fuels-in-pregnancy/
Midwifery, sexual and reproductive health; simulation; public health areas