Health SA Gesondheid最新文献

Background: Implementation of the central chronic medicines dispensing and distribution (CCMDD) programme in most of Sekhukhune primary health care (PHC) has been challenging. This raised questions as to reasons for the CCMDD programme and its good intentions and benefits eventually creating challenges in the Sekhukhune district PHC facilities.

Aim: This study aims to describe the challenges related to the implementation of the CCMDD programme in Sekhukhune district clinics.

Method: The qualitative research approach and its explorative and descriptive research designs were used in this study. Data were acquired through one-on-one semi-structured interviews and then analysed thematically.

Results: Findings of the study revealed that shortage of staff, lack of communication, defaulters, negative impact of the CCMDD programme and lack of training as challenges to the implementation of the CCMDD programme in Sekhukhune district clinics.

Conclusion: Sekhukhune public clinics have challenges concerning the implementation of the CCMDD programme; therefore, it is very crucial to provide proper training about the programme to all PHC facility staff members to improve the CCMDD implementation.

Contribution: The study would provide suggestions to implement the CCMDD programme by correcting the process of enrolling clients, the methods of packaging and dispensing the medications, sending SMSs, as well as delivery to the pick-up points.

Background: The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) crisis has orphaned many children, shifting care giving duties to grandparents. This has challenged the health of the grandparents, underscoring the need for support in caring for both the grandparents and the children orphaned due to AIDS.

Aim: This study investigated the multidisciplinary team's (MDT) perceptions of health needs and support for grandparents caring for children orphaned due to AIDS.

Setting: The study took place within Metropolitan area in the Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive survey was used to assess health needs and support for grandparents caring for children orphaned due of AIDS. A sample of 65 MDT members comprising professional nurses, psychologists and social workers participated in the study.

Results: The assessment revealed moderate awareness (mean 2.79) among MDT regarding the health needs of grandparents caring for the orphans. Key concerns were a lack of income (mean = 4.9) and no access to health services (mean = 4.8), with low awareness and involvement in organisational support (mean = 1.8).

Conclusion: Despite an awareness of the health needs and support perceptions among grandparents, there remains a significant gap in the availability of support structures to address these needs. The study highlights the critical necessity for developing robust support systems to enhance the well-being of grandparents, especially those caring for AIDS orphans, ensuring they receive the comprehensive care and assistance required.

Contribution: The study's findings provide key insights for supporting grandparents who are caring for AIDS orphans via a MDT approach.

Background: A well-managed performance management process can significantly influence professional nurses' job satisfaction and improve patient outcomes. Conversely, ineffective management of the process can lead to demotivation of the nursing staff.

Aim: This study aimed to understand professional nurses' perspectives on an ideal performance management process.

Setting: The study was conducted in a designated hospital in South Africa owned by a private healthcare group. The study population consisted of professional nurses involved in a performance management cycle.

Methods: A descriptive qualitative research design with an appreciative inquiry approach was employed. Participants were selected through purposive sampling. Five focus groups of five professional nurses each were used to conduct interviews. The interviews lasted between 60 min and 80 min. The number of interviews conducted provided sufficient data for data saturation. The data were analysed using thematic analysis and the 5-D model of appreciative inquiry.

Results: Trusting relationships between management and professional nurses play an essential role in ensuring a tailored performance management process. Training of both professional nurses and managers, a sound reward system for high-performing employees, and a fair and transparent process that addresses challenges and promotes opportunities can promote a positive work environment.

Conclusion: Professional nurses require support from their managers and top management. Involving professional nurses in the planning and implementation can ensure proper relationships exist and that constraints are appropriately addressed.

Contribution: Implementing the findings can improve the competencies of both managers and professional nurses to maintain a positive performance management process.

Background: Achieving competence in clinical skills requires various resources and preparation time for undergraduate nursing students. Intentional opportunities should be created for student nurses to experience meaningful encounters in the clinical skills laboratory (CSL) to broaden their knowledge and competence. Therefore, factors that influence the competence in clinical learning in a CSL were explored.

Aim: This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions of nursing students regarding factors influencing their learning in a CSL.

Setting: The study was conducted at a School of Nursing at a university in the Western Cape province.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was adopted. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for this study based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Following the attainment of ethical clearance, 10 focus group interviews were undertaken to explore the perceptions of nursing students regarding factors influencing their learning in a CSL. The focus group sessions continued until data saturation was established. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis process.

Results: Three major themes emerged from the data analysis that was explored to make the following recommendations: physical environment, psychosocial environment and organisational environment.

Conclusion: The results of this study highlighted the necessity for implementing interventions to enhance specific elements within the CSL, aiming to foster high-quality clinical learning experiences for nursing students.

Contribution: Areas were identified within the CSL environment that requires enhancement to ensure the provision of quality clinical learning, thereby enabling student nurses to attain clinical competence.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused abrupt closure of schools including higher education institutions. The transition from in-person to virtual teaching platforms caused challenges for frontline nurses in post-basic programmes. Nurses were forced to divide their efforts between responding to the pandemic and their studies.

Aim: The study aims to describe the experiences of nurses studying post-basic qualifications during COVID-19 in KwaZulu-Natal.

Setting: The setting comprised virtual platforms such as closed social media groups (nursing colleagues and South African Society of Occupational Health Nurses Facebook) and Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp calls.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive design using individual virtual interviews with eight nurses working in healthcare settings while studying post-basic qualifications. The framework was Fullan's Change Theory in educational settings. Data were analysed using applied thematic analysis.

Results: Four themes were identified; transitioning from in-person to online teaching and learning, challenges in clinical placements, support to achieve educational goals, and unique aspects of studying and caring for infected patients and 10 sub-themes emerged.

Conclusion: Participants found benefits of online learning despite challenges with the Internet network. There was a shortage of mentors, and personal protective equipment in clinical settings; however, participants were cognisant of the duty to care for infected patients notwithstanding personal risk of infection.

Contribution: Nurses were at the frontline of the pandemic yet facing challenges in clinical facilities and their studies. The study could contribute to understanding participants' experiences, which might help with response planning in future pandemics.

Background: The sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information needs of adolescent girls in developing countries are not being met.

Aim: The study explored the sexual and reproductive health information needs, information-seeking behaviour and barriers among adolescent girls in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Setting: The study was conducted in the South eastern sub district of Cape Town metropole.

Methods: The study was conducted at one of the high schools in a highly populated area in the Cape Town metropole. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 adolescent girls aged 16-17 years, who were recruited using purposive sampling techniques. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis framework.

Results: Three themes emerged from the data: (1) adolescent girls exhibit limited awareness and comprehension of sexual and reproductive health; (2) the information-seeking behaviours of adolescent girls regarding sexual and reproductive health and (3) barriers to seeking information.

Conclusion: The establishment of primary healthcare facilities that are friendly to adolescents, combined with impactful reproductive health education and improved parent-adolescent girl relations, is crucial for promoting sexual and reproductive health among adolescent girls.

Contribution: The study offered valuable insights into the SRH information needs, information-seeking behaviour and barriers faced by adolescent girls in accessing SRH information sources and services. These barriers include lack of knowledge about SRH and contraception, challenges within family dynamics, difficulties accessing friendly healthcare services and encountering negative attitudes from healthcare professionals.

Background: Ethiopian maternal mortality remains high, despite the implementation of extensive health programmes. This indicates that the full potential of maternal health services is not being effectively utilised.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the utilisation and factors influencing maternal healthcare services in public health facilities in Addis Ababa.

Setting: This study was conducted in five public hospitals and 10 public health centres of Addis Ababa city administration from 31st August 2023 to 13th October 2023.

Methods: The study's design utilised a cross-sectional quantitative technique, which involved interviewing 354 women from each group who received visits throughout their pregnancy, delivery and postpartum period. The data were analysed using SPSS version 26.

Results: This study analysed maternal health service utilisation indicators, revealing a 70.8% overall utilisation of services, with antenatal care (ANC) at 85.5%, delivery at 71.58% and family planning services (PNC) at 55.4%. The study found that the length of time spent travelling to public health facilities significantly impacts the use of maternal health services. Pregnant women who travelled less than 30 min used services 2.29 times more than those over 2 h. The average client wait time also influenced service usage. Pregnant women with four or more prenatal care visits were more likely to use services.

Conclusion: The study conducted in Addis Ababa's capital city revealed that the utilisation of maternity health care services is not optimal, despite the concentrated resources.

Contribution: The findings of the study could be beneficial for the Addis Ababa Health Bureau, Ministry of Health, legislators, and other stakeholders. It can help in the development of affordable intervention programmes, filling knowledge gaps and updating scientific understanding.

Background: South African drug usage demographics are rare. Substance abuse disorder patients and their families have complex interactions. This study examines family members living with drug addict.

Aim: The study seeks to investigate the experiences of family members living with a substance use disorder (SUD) individual.

Setting: The research took place in a Gqeberha psychiatric facility. Low-income households were interviewed.

Methods: This research is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive study. Recorded and transcribed in-depth patient family interviews were collected. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The data themes were interpreted using family systems theory.

Results: Each of the three main themes has subthemes. The first theme concerns family members' inadequate comprehension of addiction. The subtheme explores family members' denial and failure to recognize substance use disease symptoms. The second theme concerns variations in behaviour that challenge cultural norms. This subtheme addresses hallucinations, delusions, and fury in SUD patients. The third theme addresses the negative effects of drug use on families, potentially leading to divorce. This subtheme focuses on the family's lack of awareness of resources that may have supported them and the SUD individual.

Conclusion: Immediate family members are crucial to patient recovery. The family seemed to be struggling living with an SUD relative. Experts should help the family to manage the addict's treatment. Healthcare education can help families cope with substance abusers.

Contribution: This study will assist the nursing administration in discovering ways to help families manage a loved one with an SUD.

Background: When radiation protection practices are suboptimal, it becomes necessary to take additional steps to optimise practices.

Aim: Therefore, this study aimed to develop a model to facilitate radiation protection among diagnostic radiographers.

Setting: The study was conducted in South Africa.

Methods: A theory-generating design consisting of three steps was used to develop the model: (1) the central concept was identified, defined and classified; (2) relationship statements were created and (3) the model was developed, described and evaluated.

Results: The model was premised on the central concept of facilitating a transformative radiation protection environment and occurs in four phases: (1) relationship, (2) working, (3) termination and (4) independent phases. The radiography manager and radiographer enter the relationship phase of the model because of discord regarding radiation protection in their department and work together to optimise radiation protection. The model's purpose, assumptions, context, structure and process are described.

Conclusion: A model to facilitate radiation protection among radiographers was conceptualised to optimise radiation protection. The model details the steps the radiography manager and radiographer take to co-create optimal radiation protection practices. Radiation protection compliance among radiographers is paramount to ethical radiography practice, and the model provides a guide to optimise radiation protection.

Contribution: In any radiography department where radiation protection may be lacking, the model provides a road map of possibilities for change. Ultimately, radiation protection compliance improves patient care and outcomes.

Background: Group work is employed in higher education institutions to foster communication, collaborative learning, leadership qualities and teamwork skills. The rationale behind group work as a learning strategy is to ensure that graduates are equipped with teamwork skills.

Aim: The aim of this study was to establish whether the final-year radiography students of the National Diploma curriculum in three universities in South Africa were exposed to effective group work.

Setting: The study was conducted in three universities in South Africa, all of which offer diagnostic radiography programmes.

Methods: This study used a non-experimental descriptive design to collect data. A purposive sampling technique was used to select participants. This was an attempt to conduct a census on 167 students, out of which 124 students responded to the questionnaire, giving a response rate of 74.25%.

Results: The findings show that the majority (n = 81; 66.9%) of students did not enjoy group work, as 101 (81.5%) of them preferred less group projects. The results further demonstrated that participants rated factors such as co-operation, leadership, choice, diversity and effectiveness of group work neutral on the Likert scale.

Conclusion: The study results imply that factors that contribute towards the effectiveness of group work should be incorporated into group activities in order for student radiographers to be exposed to effective group work. The gaps identified in this study indicate the need for a follow-up study within the current 4-year bachelor's degree in radiography.

Contribution: Identification of a gap in radiography education, which group work needs to be facilitated effectively.