Life Orientation teachers' career development needs in Gauteng: Are we missing the boat?

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The role of social support in the persistence of first-year first-generation African students in a higher education institution in South Africa

Although there are several studies on first-year, first-generation students internationally, their focus have predominantly been on reasons for dropping out, transition issues and the students’ pre-entry attributes. However, few studies have focused on the first-year, first-generation African students (FYFGAS) in the African context. This article employed a qualitative inquiry to explore the role of social support in school retention among FYFGAS within the South African context. Twenty-three students in all participated in the individual interviews (n = 5) and in the focus group (n = 18) discussion. The interviews were based on questions where the research sought to understand the determinants and contributors to the students’ persistence and success in their first year of study. Themes that emerged from the data analysis indicated the important role of the family, the community at home and at university and of peers in supporting and encouraging the FYFGAS in pursuing their studies throughout their first year. Findings of this study indicated the importance of social support towards the persistence and success for FYFGAS in their first year of study at university

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran