Dr Joseph KB Matovu

Dr Joseph KB Matovu is an Associate Professor of Social and Behavioral Epidemiology in the Department of Community and Public Health at Busitema University and a Senior Research Associate at Makerere University School of Public Health in Uganda. Currently, he is a visiting fellow collaborating with Dr Adrian Smith at the Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford under the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) Visiting Fellowship programme.

Dr Matovu’s research focuses on HIV prevention, HIV self-testing, and social network-based interventions, with a particular emphasis on underserved populations. With a PhD in Public Health from Makerere University, he has authored over 125 scientific papers, contributed as an editor for journals like AIDS and Behaviour, Journal of the International AIDS Society and the Lancet HIV, among others, and was part of the researchers that pioneered HIV self-testing studies in Uganda in 2016. Between 2020 and 2022, he served as a Guest Editor on a special research topic focusing on the power of HIV self-testing in reaching underserved populations in sub-Saharan Africa for the Frontiers in Public Health journal. His recent projects include the peer-led HIV self-testing intervention for men (PEST4MEN) study, which examined the use of lay male change agents in improving HIV self-testing uptake among men in fishing communities, showcasing his expertise in behavioural health and epidemiology.

During his fellowship at Oxford, Dr Matovu will work on an implementation science project entitled, “Optimizing HIV prevention and linkage to HIV care among highly mobile men in risky environments through alternative HIV self-testing strategies (HIV-STREAM)”. This project aims to assess the best HIV self-testing strategies to reach highly mobile men living in Uganda's fishing communities. Through implementation of alternative HIV self-testing strategies, Dr Matovu’s work hopes to enhance HIV testing rates and linkages to care, supporting efforts to reduce HIV transmission in high-risk populations across sub-Saharan Africa.

• Matovu, J. K. B., Kemigisha, L., Taasi, G., Musinguzi, J., Wanyenze, R. K., & Serwadda, D. (2023). Secondary distribution of HIV self-test kits from males to their female sexual partners in two fishing communities in rural Uganda. PLOS Global Public Health, 3(11), e0002477. PMID: 38019783.
• Matovu, J. K. B., Choko, A. T., Korte, J. E., & Conserve, D. F. (2022). Editorial: Assessing the power of HIV self-testing in unreachable populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 1078729. PMID: 36457315.
• Vrana-Diaz, C. J., Korte, J. E., Gebregziabher, M., Richey, L., Selassie, A., Sweat, M., Kisa, R., Musoke, W., Chemusto, H., Buregyeya, E., Matovu, J. K., & Wanyenze, R. K. (2021). Low acceptance of intimate partner violence by pregnant women in Uganda predicts higher uptake of HIV self-testing among their male partners. African Journal of AIDS Research, 20(4), 287–296. https://doi.org/10.2989/16085906.2021.2000449
• Matovu, J. K. B., Mbita, G., Hamilton, A., Mhando, F., Sims, W. M., Thompson, N., Komba, A. N., Lija, J., Zhang, J., van den Akker, T., Duncan, D. T., Choko, A. T., & Conserve, D. F. (2021). Men's comfort in distributing or receiving HIV self-test kits from close male social network members in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: Baseline results from the STEP project. BMC Public Health, 21, Article 1739. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11806-5
• Matovu, J. K. B., Nambuusi, A., & Wanyenze, R. K. (2021). Peer-leaders’ experiences and challenges in distributing HIV self-test kits in a rural fishing community, Rakai, Uganda. BMC Public Health, 21, Article 708.
• Kisa, R., Matovu, J. K., Vrana-Diaz, C. J., Buregyeya, E., Kagaayi, J., Chemusto, H., Mugerwa, S., Musoke, W., Mukama, C. S., Malek, A. M., Korte, J. E., & Wanyenze, R. K. (2021). Ease of understanding and performing HIV self-tests by pregnant women and their male partners in Uganda: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of STD & AIDS, 32(7), 629–637.