Health SA Gesondheid最新文献

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.4102/hsag.v28i0.2159.].

Background: There is limited understanding of the difficulties and experiences faced by grandparents who assume the responsibility of caring for AIDS orphans.

Aim: The objective of the study was to investigate and depict the difficulties encountered by grandparents who provide care for AIDS orphans in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Setting: The study was conducted in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan and the Overberg Municipality.

Methods: The study used qualitative approach with an exploratory-descriptive design. A purposive sampling technique was utilised to select 25 grandparents. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using ATLAS.ti, version 7.

Results: Financial difficulties, a lack of support, HIV and/or AIDS stigma, and dealing with rebellious teenagers were primary challenges affecting the well-being of grandparents.

Conclusion: The study found that while financial challenges were significant, other factors such as poor family support contributed to the decline in the well-being of grandparents caring for AIDS orphans.

Contribution: The study's results can lead to improved public health programmes that address the identified challenges and health needs of grandparents providing care to AIDS orphans and the orphans under their care.

Background: Much has been written about fathers, fatherhood and premature babies. However, in the South African context, studies about the experiences of fathers having a premature baby are lacking.

Aim: This study aimed to explore how South African fathers (n = 10) experience having a premature baby using a descriptive phenomenological approach.

Setting: This research study was conducted online using various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Google Meet and through telephonic conversations.

Methods: A descriptive phenomenological approach that allowed for the distillation and elucidation of common core experiences among fathers who had a premature baby.

Results: The findings demonstrated that the participants experienced intense fears regarding the survival and well-being of their children. They reported experiencing financial difficulties related to hospital bills and experienced being alienated by hospital institutions. Despite these reported barriers, these fathers were adamant in their resolve to support their children and partners during this challenging time.

Conclusion: The experiences of fathers were riddled with fear, uncertainty, ambiguity and alienation, which placed them in very precarious situations when trying to navigate their role in a more sensitive and enlightened way. Having a premature infant calls into question the systems that men are positioned within as these systems to a large extent shape these events and how they are experienced.

Contribution: This study is original as no other published studies seem to exist in South Africa that speaks to fathers' lived experiences of having a premature baby.

Background: Informational continuity ensures that all health and psychosocial information of the pregnant women is available at all encounters with healthcare providers. The World Health Organization recognised that ineffective informational continuity during birth contributed to fragmented care and duplication of services, which ultimately influenced the morbidity and mortality rates of the pregnant women.

Aim: The aim of this study was to delve into the midwives' experiences on informational continuity approaches that enable effective care coordination during birth within the primary health care setting.

Setting: The study setting was two maternity obstetric units (MOUs) in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Methods: A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was used. Participants were recruited by using purposive sampling. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed.

Results: Three themes emerged from the findings. Theme one: adequate sharing of information with women during the intrapartum period. Theme two: efficient transition of information among midwives and other healthcare providers during the intrapartum period. Theme three: challenges to informational continuity during the intrapartum period.

Conclusion: Communication with the women as well as with other healthcare providers during birth was effective. However, with minimal challenges, informational continuity was effectuated through communication among the midwives, the pregnant women and other healthcare providers.

Contribution: Informational continuity approaches among the midwives, with the women and between healthcare facilities are a prerequisite to ensure continuity of care and care coordination during birth.

Background: Interprofessional education (IPE) and interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) were developed to address the health needs of communities through collaborative practice across healthcare disciplines. The impact of IPE on IPCP and clinical service delivery in South Africa is not evident, possibly because of the lack of IPCP experiences among healthcare professionals.

Aim: International literature reports facilitators and barriers of IPCP implementation, but there was a need to filter the evidence to identify literature from the South African context regarding the perceptions of healthcare workers' perceived barriers and facilitators of IPCP.

Setting: South African literature.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to synthesise evidence from articles published between January 2017 and December 2021. Only qualitative studies targeting health professionals in South Africa who had been exposed to IPCP were included. Consistent with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis, a multi-database search yielded 424 articles, which were screened for relevance and appraised for quality using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. A thematic synthesis of the findings was conducted by applying ethical principles.

Results: Synthesis of barriers and enablers for IPCP implementation in the South African context included key aspects of healthcare systems, management and team leadership.

Conclusion: The integration of IPCP into clinical practice in South Africa is still limited as healthcare professionals operate in silos.

Contribution: Recommendations of this study include greater integration of services combined with competent management and visionary leadership, together with the incorporation of IPE into undergraduate professional training programmes.

Background: Dyslipidaemia is defined as elevated total or low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels or low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Patients may often make use of natural cholesterol lowering supplements (NCLSs) available at the pharmacy; however, limited information on these supplements is readily available. Pharmacists should be knowledgeable about NCLSs to ensure that the use of these supplements is supported by evidence and to provide appropriate advice to patients for desirable therapeutic outcomes.

Aim: This study aimed to identify the NCLSs being sold in South African pharmacies and review the scientific evidence for each of the ingredients in these NCLSs.

Methods: Seventeen NCLS products were identified, and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology was used to conduct a literature review of NCLSs.

Results: From the ingredients reviewed it is evident that co-enzyme Q10, probiotics and sterols have sufficient evidence supporting their use. However, there is still limited scientific evidence available to validate the remaining ingredients.

Conclusion: Further research on NCLSs will provide practising pharmacists and practitioners with a guide of the evidence available on the various ingredients in NCLSs.

Contribution: This study provides a review of the available literature on the NCLSs being sold in the pharmacies across South Africa to provide pharmacists with a collated document of the evidence behind these popular supplements to assist them in making evidence based informed decision regarding natural products for cholesterol.

Background: The prevalence of obesity has been rising globally, and this is leading to an increase in other non-communicable diseases. The level of obesity knowledge among nurses may have an impact on how they treat and perceive obese patients.

Aim: The study aimed to ascertain the knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses regarding obesity at private healthcare facilities located in Namibia's Oshana Region.

Setting: A total of four private healthcare facilities in Namibia's Oshana area served as the study's sites.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional research design using proportional stratified random sampling was used to choose 250 respondents for the study. A questionnaire that respondents self-administered was used to gather the data. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire were determined during a pilot study. IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27 was used for data analysis.

Results: Of the participants, about two-fifths had a positive attitude (n = 112; 44.8%), slightly less than two-fifths had good practices (n = 96; 38.4%) and more than one-third had good knowledge (n = 97; 39%). There were differences in knowledge mean scores based on age, occupation, sex and educational level.

Conclusion: The results validate the necessity for healthcare facilities to implement nurse education and mentorship initiatives, as well as to recognise and reward nurses who effectively care for patients with obesity.

Contribution: This study added literature on knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses in private healthcare facilities in Namibia, as well as factors that influence knowledge levels among the nurses.

Background: Radiographers form part of the healthcare team and are integral in the diagnosis and treatment of trauma patients. Additionally, they are required to provide their services to multiple departments within the hospital, including the emergency department. Healthcare workers who work with trauma patients experience changes in their psychological functioning. Therefore, diagnostic radiographers may have similar experiences; however, limited studies were found on radiographers' conceptualisation of trauma imaging.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore and describe radiographers' conceptualisation of trauma imaging.

Setting: One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted virtually with radiographers in both the private and public healthcare sectors in Gauteng, South Africa.

Method: In this qualitative, explorative and descriptive study, 20 radiographers were interviewed virtually through Zoom or WhatsApp video calls or telephone interviews. Participants were asked a central question: 'What does trauma imaging mean to you?' Detailed notes were taken during the interviews, and interviews were audio-recorded. The data was transcribed and underwent thematic analysis. Trustworthiness and ethical principles were adhered to throughout the study.

Results: Thematic analysis identified four themes: (1) COVID-19 pandemic; (2) road accidents; (3) gender-based violence (GBV); and (4) paediatric injuries that participants conceptualised as trauma imaging.

Conclusion: Participants conceptualised trauma imaging as COVID-19, road accidents, GBV and paediatric patients. It was noted that participants' personal experiences were significant contributors to their meaning-making and responses to trauma imaging.

Contribution: The study has contributed to the understanding of the conceptualisation of trauma imaging from the perspective of diagnostic radiographers.

Background: To reduce the risk for surgical site infections, nurses in the operating theatre environment must have knowledge of and adhere to recommended practices regarding the use of surgical attire.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of an educational intervention on nurses' knowledge related to recommended practices regarding the use of surgical attire in operating theatre.

Setting: Operating theatres in two public and two private hospitals in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.

Methods: An educational pilot study, using a quasi-experimental, two-group pre- and post-test design, was conducted. A convenience sample of n = 85 nurses was purposively allocated to a control group and an intervention group. An existing educational intervention consisting of an interactive training session, brochures based on the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses' (AORN) guidelines and a summary of these guidelines was implemented for the intervention group, while the control group received only the summary of the guidelines. Data were collected through self-administered pre- and post-test questionnaires from March 2019 to August 2019.

Results: The overall knowledge score for nurses in the intervention group post-intervention improved with a large significance (p ≤ 0.000 and Cohen's d = 1.26).

Conclusion: The intervention has shown potential to improve the knowledge related to recommended practices of nurses in operating theatres regarding the use of surgical attire.

Contribution: This pilot study encourages the implementation of the intervention on the use of surgical attire but requires further development and a wider implementation to measure its impact, and access to resources, enhancing and sustaining its success.

Background: Maternal-related illnesses and pregnancy-related deaths could be averted using contraceptives, particularly long-acting methods because they improve overall access to family planning because of their benefits, such as fewer visits to the healthcare facility, higher effectiveness and value for money. The introduction of Implanon NXT in the South African health system raised great concern about the number of women who returned to healthcare facilities for its early removal within a few months of insertion.

Aim: This article focussed on exploring the experiences of women regarding early removal of Implanon NXT insertion.

Setting: The study was conducted in four selected clinics in Region E sub-district, city of Johannesburg.

Methods: A qualitative exploratory approach was followed using semi-structured individual interviews to collect data. Data were analysed using the content analysis method.

Results: The most cited reasons for its discontinuity were that women experienced unpleasant side effects such as amenorrhoea, excessive bleeding and headaches, whilst other women found it to be reliable and convenient.

Conclusion: Contraceptive methods empower women to take control of their lives and to decide on the right time for them to have children. It is, therefore, important to equip women with relevant information about the contraceptive methods so that they can make informed decisions and choices.

Contribution: The study calls for health promoters to periodically conduct information sessions with women as guided by the National Contraception Policy Guidelines to ensure up-to-date practice.