Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia
Project Title: Development of a Community Behavior Change Infrastructure for Diabetes Self-Management in Rural Areas of Southern Senatorial District, Cross River State, Nigeria
Dr Ugbe Maurice-Joel Ugbe is a public health researcher, epidemiologist, and scholar at the University of Calabar, Nigeria. His research focuses on behavioral and community-based strategies to tackle critical public health issues in resource-poor settings, particularly in the fields of chronic diseases, health promotion and health systems strengthening. His teaching, research and community engagement initiatives have contributed to the creation of evidence-based interventions to improve health outcomes and increase access to sustainable public health solutions.
Dr. Ugbe has been awarded a 2026 International Development Grant by the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) for his project titled, “Development of a Community Behavior Change Infrastructure for Diabetes Self-Management in Rural Areas of Southern Senatorial District, Cross River State, Nigeria”. The goal of the project is to address the growing burden of diabetes by transcending standard health education approaches and building a durable behavioral infrastructure to facilitate long-term self-management habits for adults with diabetes.
The initiative will set up a Community Behavior Change Infrastructure (CBCI) consisting of community level behavioral assessment, training of Community Behavior Support Champions, behavioral prompting and monitoring systems, monthly community review meetings and the setting up of a Behavior Change Resource Hub at the University of Calabar. The project will be guided by principles of applied behavior analysis and will include organized environmental supports and reinforcement mechanisms to improve medication adherence, healthy food choices, physical activity, glucose monitoring and other self-management behaviors.
Dr. Ugbe, as Principal Investigator, will be responsible for the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all project activities, in collaboration with community leaders, health care providers and local stakeholders. The initiative is one of the few systematic attempts to apply behaviour analytic principles to chronic disease management in Nigeria, and by extension, in West Africa.
With this effort, Dr. Ugbe hopes to illustrate the potential for sustainable, community-based behavioral systems to enhance health outcomes in resource-constrained situations while building local capacity for behavior analysis. He sees the study as a scalable paradigm for chronic disease management and behavior modification interventions in Nigeria and other African countries.
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