Mr. Charles Ingabire is the qualitative research coordinator for the Einstein-Rwanda Research and Capacity Building Program (ER-RCBP) at the Rwanda Military Hospital (CA-IeDEA). He has an MSc. in Public Health from Clarke International University, Kampala Uganda and a bachelor’s degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Rwanda. In addition to his formal education, Mr. Ingabire has training in qualitative and quantitative research techniques. Mr. Ingabire has worked in the area of HIV and AIDS, mental health and human rights since 2007, focusing primarily on vulnerable populations affected by HIV including adolescents and young adults, children, orphans, widows, and refugees, as well as interventions to address stigma and other barriers to care.
Selected as a trainee for the Fogarty-IeDEA Mentorship Program, Mr. Ingabire is leading qualitative research to explore the impact of HIV stigma on healthcare utilization from patients’ and healthcare providers’ perspectives. Drawing on data collected through in-depth interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 with adult patients enrolled in HIV care and health care providers at HIV clinics in Rwanda, this research is exploring how stigma within the family, community and health center, along with internalized stigma, affect utilization of HIV services.