Oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices among school teachers in Tshwane district, South Africa

Teachers are perceived as role models and studies have shown that they can enhance the oral health behaviour of young children. To assess the oral health (OH) knowledge, attitudes and practices of public school teachers in a district in Pretoria, South Africa. This was a cross sectional analytical study. The sample comprised of six schools that were randomly selected within the Tshwane West sub district. A total of 160 teachers were included. A modified, self-administered, validated questionnaire was used to obtain the data. Of the 160 teachers included, 97 (61%) completed the questionnaire. The majority (80%) were female and the mean age was 38.23 years (±12.85; 22-66). More than 80% had an adequate level of OH knowledge, 94% reported it was important to visit a dental practitioner (DP) regularly and 94% believed that OH education should form part of the teaching curriculum. The most common reason for visiting a DP was toothache (32%) while fear (35%) was the most common barrier. Those with a higher mean age were more likely to brush frequently (p<0.01), utilise dental aids (p=0.01) and visit a DP regularly (p=0.02). The majority of teachers had adequate OH knowledge. The respondents with a higher mean age were more likely to brush frequently, use dental aids and visit a DP regularly. Workshops for teachers are required to improve current levels of knowledge and address any queries regarding prevention and diagnosing of dental diseases

A review of the 2030 Human Resources for Health Strategy: Implications for dentistry in South Africa

The South African National Department of Health (NDoH) released a report in March 2020: “2030 Human Resources for Health (HRH) Strategy: Investing in the Health Workforce for Universal Health Coverage”. This report, has implications for the training of dental personnel and the planning of dental services in South Africa(SA). The aim was to summarise and critique the HRH strategic document with reference to dentistry. This was an independent review of the report and included recommendations and implications for the training of dental personnel in SA. The report employed two models to predict the number of dental personnel that will be required; one on achieving provincial equity and the other on improving access to Primary Heath Care (PHC) facilities. The calculations were based on dental personnel employed in the public sector and the number of uninsured people in SA. The first model predicted a shortfall of 486 dentists, 60 specialists, 13 Dental Technicians (Dent Tech), 162 Dental Therapists (DTs) and 104 Oral Hygienists (OHs). The second model, based on PHC utilization, predicted a surplus of 341 dentists and a shortage of 1128 OHs and 1164 DTs. In order to meet these shortages, NDoH would have to allocate R840 million or 2.3 Billion rands respectively, depending on which model is chosen. Irrespective of the model utilised, the NDoH needs to create and fill more dental posts, especially in provinces with low dental practitioner to population ratios. Dental training institutions need to align the training of dental graduates to meet the demands as set out in the report

Learning experiences of undergraduate first-year dental and oral hygiene students at a South African dental university

Students in higher education institutions endure many difficulties which may adversely affect their career choices, learning experience and academic success. Aims and objectivesThe aim of this study was to identify factors contributing to learning experiences of undergraduate dental and oral hygiene students during their first year of study at a South African dental university. DesignCross-sectional design that included quantitative and qualitative data.MethodsAn online questionnaire was used to capture the students’ perceptions towards learning experiences and factors contributing to academic success. The sample consists of 84 first-year dental and oral hygiene students registered in the 2021 academic year. ResultsA total of 59 students responded (70%) and most of them reported to have problems with academic learning, time management, heavy workload and a negative attitude towards online lectures. Problems related to social learning included inability to make friends and lack of participation in university social activities, finances and accommodation. In terms of coping mechanisms, students utilised tutoring classes, sought advice from senior students, watched educational YouTube videos and applied for a study loan or bursary. Students reported to obtain emotional support from friends and family members and adopted a positive attitude resulting in committed self-motivation. ConclusionMost students had challenges with academic and social factors. Students requested they be assisted in time management skills and study skills, in coping mechanisms to deal with a demanding workload and having access to an educational psychologist

Predictive value of group I oral lesions in detecting HIV infection amongst patients attending PHC facilities in Gauteng

Abstract The utilization of oral lesions as a screening tool for HIV is not well documented. Attendees at two primary health care facilities (Khutsong and Heidelberg) were assessed to determine the predictive value of group I oral lesions for HIV infection. The objectives were to investigate the: 1) HIV prevalence amongst attendees at PHC facilities, 2) Prevalence of HIV-related oral lesions and 3) Correlation between the oral lesions and the HIV status using the Likelihood Ratio test. Methods: All patients over 12 months of age presenting at the two facilities for a curative care consultation over a one-week period (in April 2005) were included. Consent was obtained by trained counselors who also conducted a brief interview and offered pre-test counseling to patients wishing to know their HIV status. Two calibrated dentists conducted a head, neck and oral examination and administered a rapid saliva HIV test (OraQuick HIV-1/2-Rapid HIV-1/2 Antibody Test). Results: A total of 654 attendees were surveyed in the 2 facilities. There was a 100% response. The mean age of the participants was 34 years (range: 1-94), and the majority (73%) were female. HIV prevalence rates were 34% at Khutsong and 36% at Heidelberg. The HIV prevalence peaked at 46% in the 16-45 age groups. Of the 228 who tested positive for HIV, 121 (53%) patients were diagnosed with 1 or more Group I oral lesion. Oral candidiasis (46%) and oral hairy leukoplakia (19%) were the two most common oral lesions diagnosed in the HIV positive cohort. The positive predictive values and specificity values for multiple lesions ranged between 96% and 100%. Most of the likelihood ratios for multiple lesions were greater than 10 which implied that the patients who presented with these lesions were extremely likely to test positive for HIV. The sensitivity values (1% to 37%) and negative predictive values (66% to 70%) remained relatively low. Conclusion: The HIV prevalence of patients attending PHC facilities was high (34%). Oral lesions are useful markers of HIV-infection and should alert clinicians to the presence of HIV infection. Multiple group I lesions were more predictive of HIV infection compared to single lesions

Bone marrow transplantation in AML, and socioeconomic class: a UK population-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We have previously shown that in the UK mortality in people with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) was nearly 50% greater among the most socio-economically deprived. The aim of this study was to determine whether AML patients from lower socioeconomic classes had a lower chance of receiving a bone marrow transplant.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data, we identified all incident cases of AML admitted to UK hospitals between 1998 and 2007. We calculated the number of bone marrow transplantations undertaken in AML patients, stratifying our results by gender, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, degree of socioeconomic deprivation and co-morbidity. We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios for bone marrow transplantation, adjusting for gender, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis, degree of socioeconomic deprivation and co-morbidity score.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identified a total of 23 910 incident cases of AML over this 10-year time period, of whom 1 140 (4.8%) underwent BMT. Bone marrow transplantation declined with increasing socioeconomic deprivation (p for trend < 0.001) such that people in the most deprived socioeconomic quintile were 40% less likely to have a transplant than those in the most advantaged group (Odds Ratio 0.60, 95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.73), even after adjusting for gender, age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis and co-morbidity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This large cohort study demonstrates that AML patients from lower socioeconomic classes are less likely to undergo bone marrow transplantation than their better off counter-parts.</p

Inter-Religious Cooperation and its Challenges in Schools and Public Life in South Africa

Received 27 August 2018. Accepted 10 September 2018. Published online 30 September 2018.After the collapse of apartheid, South Africa adopted a new political regime in 1994 that promoted democratic values to build a socially cohesive nation out of a fractured past. The post-apartheid state changed its education policies to reflect this democratic framework that recognised, appreciated, and accommodated the diverse reality of the country’s population. More specifically, Religion Education was incorporated into the school curriculum that focussed on teaching and learning about “religion, religions, and religious diversity” (Chidester, 2003, p. 262). Religion Studies was a specialised subject for senior learners that formed part of the Religion Education curriculum. This paper will explore how the post-apartheid South African education policies recognise the value of Religion Studies and its role in creating inter-religious cooperation in the country’s schools and communities. I will explain the South African Schools Act and National Policy of Religion and Education as two key education policies that underpin the subject Religion Studies. However, while Religion Studies will be shown as aiming to build inter-religious cooperation, I will discuss that this is a challenging process considering that a strong Christian ethos is still promoted by some public schools in the country. I argue that Religion Studies has a transformative role in the South African classroom since it promotes the importance of values in transforming (inter-religious) relationships within schools and outside of them

Attitudes of oral hygiene and dental therapy students regarding the introduction of community service.

Student Number : 9001367H - MPh research report - School of Public Health and Oral Health Sciences - Faculty of Health SciencesIntroduction: Compulsory Community Service (CS) for health professionals has been introduced in South Africa since 1997. Some of the aims for its introduction were to: 1) address the maldistribution of health service providers, 2) prevent qualified health professionals from emigrating and 3) improve clinical skills and knowledge of newly qualified medical graduates. The Oral Hygiene (OH) and Dental Therapy (DT) professions have as yet not been included in the performance of CS. However the Department of Health (DOH) is planning to introduce CS for these groups of health professionals in the near future. The role of the oral hygienist and dental therapist in South Africa (SA) cannot be over emphasized. Given the high caries levels, low oral hygiene education levels, large unmet oral health needs and the preventative approach of the DOH at all levels, the oral hygienist and dental therapist can provide invaluable human and technical resources that are currently required to address these concerns. Aims: To assess the attitudes of OH and DT students registered during 2004 at the five dental schools in South Africa regarding the introduction of CS. Objectives: 1) To obtain the demographic data of the OH and DT students, 2) to determine whether their current training programme prepares these students for CS, 3) to identify the provinces in which the OH and DT students would prefer to be placed for CS and 5) to identify the different types of professional activities that the OH and DT students would like to perform whilst completing CS. Methods: A self administered questionnaire was jointly developed between the Kwa- Zulu Natal Department of Health and the Division of Public Oral Health at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. The questionnaire was sent to all OH and DT students who were registered at each of the five dental schools in SA during 2004. Results: There were a total of 163 students (68%) who responded to the questionnaire. Of the respondents, 109 (70%) were OH students and 54 (64%) were DT students. There were 132 (81%) females and 31 (19%) males. The average age of the student’s was 21 years (17-37; mode 19; median 20 and SD 3.2). There were 59 (36%) Whites, 53 (33%) Black, 31(19%) Asian and 18 (11%) Coloured students. The majority of OH students (63%) were against the introduction of CS. There was a significant number (p<0.05) of White students who were registered for the OH degree that did not want to perform CS. A significant number of respondents (p<0.05) felt that they were adequately trained to perform all the necessary duties that may be required of them during their CS. Most of the respondents chose Kwa-Zulu Natal (26%), Western Cape (26%) and Gauteng (22%) provinces respectively as their first choice province for carrying out their CS. The majority of students (p<0.05) chose their resident province as their first choice province in which they would prefer to perform their CS. Students indicated a preference to perform oral health promotional activities (56%), health educational activities (21%) and clinical work (18%) in their CS programme. Conclusion: The majority of DT students supported the concept of CS. This was in contrast to the OH students where less than half of them supported its introduction. Overall, most of the students chose the more urban provinces (Kwa-Zulu Natal, Western Cape and Gauteng) to complete their CS

A study on business strategies adopted by small to medium enterprises in the greater Durban area.

Master’s Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.ABSTRACT Companies today operate in volatile markets. The risk of small business failure is high. In order to survive, organisations need to have a well thought out business strategy. The principle purpose of this study is to determine whether effective business strategies exist for small and medium enterprises, also referred to as “SME’s” in the greater Durban area and to determine if these strategies contribute to the success of the organisation. The research also investigated if these strategies consist of the principles of competitive business strategies founded by Michael Porter. The research problem identified is that many small to medium businesses may not have adequate or comprehensive competitive business strategies that can adapt to varying economic conditions. Economic conditions change and fluctuate from time to time due to various changes in market conditions and businesses need to maintain adequate strategies to address these varying conditions. Small to medium businesses that lack adaptable strategies are often forced to close their doors resulting in job losses, loss of income and reduced contribution to the economy’s Gross Domestic Product. This phenomenon translates to higher unemployment and poverty in South Africa. The objective of this study was to conduct research to identify the types of business strategies that are adopted by SME’s in the greater Durban area as well as whether there is a link between the strategy of the business and its success. The research design was a qualitative exploratory study of businesses situated in Durban and surrounding areas. The findings identified common themes prevalent within a sample of SME’s. The type of competitive strategy used was also established. This, together with a SWOT analysis contributed to establishing that a strategic link to business success exits. KEYWORDS Business strategy, market, cash, stock, low cost, differentiation.Abstract available in the PDF

A review of the 2030 Human Resources for Health Strategy and Vision: Goals and their implications for dentistry

The South African National Department of Health(NDoH) released a report in March 2020: “2030 Human Resources for Health (HRH) Strategy: Investing in the Health Workforce for Universal Health Coverage”. The aim was to analyse the five National Health Goals for 2030 with reference to the impact they could have on dentistry in South Africa. This was an independent review of the HRH strategic document with inputs from three specialists in Community Dentistry. The views are that of the authors and not necessarily from the report itself. The strategic document comprised of five goals and each goal’s objectives implication to dentistry was analysed based on the SMART criteria. Some of the goals are being attained but to meet the remaining goals, government has to increase its commitment to improving oral health. More posts in the public sector needs to be created, managerial posts need to be filled by community dentistry specialists, current managers need to be upskilled, the number of mid-level workers (MWs) posts (oral hygienists and dental therapists) need to be increased and the MWs financial package needs to be improved. The tertiary institutions need to train oral health workers who are aligned with the oral disease burden, introduce careerpathways for MWs and assist in supporting oral health research and training of oral health managers. In terms of oral health, there is an urgent need to determine and align the disease burden and these goals. There should be an increase in the number of MWs, existing managers need to be upskilled, and adverts for managerial posts need to have clear criteria for the required skills.&nbsp

Influence of cinematic strategies on architectural design. towards a film institute for Durban.

Master’s Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.No abstract in the PDF