Comments on the XIV International HIV/AIDS Conference : an 'Ubuntu' perspective

The statistical reports as shown by the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) indicate that despite efforts to combat the epidemic, the number of new infections continues to rise daily. This paper reflects on resolutions taken during the XIV International HlV/AlDS Conference in an attempt to link them with the role that the African continent may play in the fight against HIV/AIDS, The principles of'ubuntu', such as sharing of opportunities, responsibilities and challenges, participatory decision making and leadership, and reconciliation as a goal of conflict management, are used as the point of departure in assessing a range of key issues debated in the Conference.This article was written by Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.brill.nl/m_catalogue.asp?sub=3hb201

Indigenous health beliefs, attitudes and practices among VhaVenda : a challenge to the promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies

Currently, the syndromic management of HIV/AIDS is based on a biomedical model that focuses on the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise) model. The ABC model overlooks the issue of indigenous cultural practices, sexual behaviours, knowledge and attitudes of the society. A grounded theory study was used for the research. The population for the research on which this article is reporting, was selected from the Vhavenda ethnic group using purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were held at the participants’ own homes. The outcome of the study on which this article is reporting, may assist in identifying indigenous health beliefs, attitudes and practices that will assist in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The findings revealed that cultural practices, such as premarital counselling, polygamy and widow inheritance, are believed to be influential in making women more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The practice of abstinence, as emphasised at initiation schools, should be incorporated into current policies and preventative practices. The findings further demonstrate that policy-makers who formulated the HIV/AIDS strategy have limited knowledge of the health beliefs, attitudes and practices of the people they serve. They thus find it difficult to draw up promotion and prevention strategies that meet the needs of the community. It is therefore imperative that our health-care training curriculum be reviewed to make provision for the incorporation of sound and effective indigenous practices to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and to eliminate or refine practices that are harmful and detrimental to people’s health. The cultural practices that were proved reliable and effective will be recommended for integration into health education.This article was written by FM Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.curationis.org.zahb201

The cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and transmission of sexually transmitted infections

Cultural and ethnic identity and folk beliefs play a decisive role in perceptions, attitudes and practices regarding health care and illness. Such beliefs and practices of a community may have an influence on the causes and transmission of diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases. The purpose of the study on which this article is based, was to describe cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and transmission of sexually transmitted infections. A qualitative research approach using grounded theory was used. In-depth interviews were held with thirteen keyinformants in the community and seven traditional healers. Snowball and theoretical sampling were used to identify the participants. The results showed that the concept “dirt” (uncleanliness) is viewed by the Vhavenda as the main cause of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The understanding of “dirt” is placed in the context of uncleanliness in the form of vaginal discharges such as menstruation, post-abortion discharges and lochia (post-partum discharges). Women are viewed as carriers of STIs. Knowledge of cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and transmission of STIs can serve as a point of departure in providing health education about sexually transmitted infections. The initiative may assist to facilitate change in clients’ health behaviour and enabling health practitioners to render culturally congruent care.This article was written by Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.hsag.co.zahb201

Reproductive health rights of women in rural communities

Reproductive health is very important as it shapes a woman's whole life. Currently there are a lot of obstacles which deny women their rights to reproductive health. The aim of this research was to find out what obstacles deny women the freedom to enjoy their reproductive health in order to establish a contribution which can be used by the Department of Health to improve their services. Descriptive research was conducted, using a survey approach. Convenience sampling was utilized. Participants were selected from a sample of people attending the reproductive health clinic at a hospital and a clinic in the Northern Province. The findings indicate that women are not enjoying reproductive health rights due to low educational level, cultural and societal constraints, low socio economic status and the negative attitude of the providers, of reproductive health services.ContraceptivesFamily planningHealth and genderHealth rightsReproductive choiceReproductive healthReproductive rightsReproductive health careWomen's rightsRural womenHealth ScienceM.A.Cur.(Nursing Science

Factors that motivate nurses to provide quality patient care in a rural hospital in Vhembe district, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Health services in rural areas are known to be under-resourced in several ways and working conditions are often described as unfavourable. Nurses working under such conditions are likely to be demotivated; however, it seems that not all nurses feel demotivated because of the number of nurses who remain and serve in those areas. This article describes factors that motivate nurses to render quality patient care in a rural hospital in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province in South Africa. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design guided by an Appreciative Inquiry approach was used. Individual semi-structured interviews with 20 participants were conducted and analysis was conducted according to Tesch’s open-coding technique. The results indicated both intrinsic and extrinsic factors as motivators, which relate to the events in participants’ personal and social life as well as those in the work environment. Passion for the job was identified as the key driver from the intrinsic space while open communication from the employer was raised by the majority of participants as an external driver. This study revealed that although nurses in a rural hospital have challenges that can negatively impact on their motivational levels, their internal drive to care overcomes any negative factors.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Collaborative design of a health research training programme for nurses and midwives in Tshwane district, South Africa : a study protocol

SUPPORTING INFORMATION: This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.INTRODUCTION: Nurses are essential for implementing evidence-based practices to improve patient outcomes. Unfortunately, nurses lack knowledge about research and do not always understand research terminology. This study aims to develop an in-service training programme for health research for nurses and midwives in the Tshwane district of South Africa. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol outlines a codesign study guided by the five stages of design thinking proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford University. The participants will include nurses and midwives at two hospitals in the Tshwane district, Gauteng Province. The five stages will be implemented in three phases: Phase 1: Stage 1—empathise and Stage 2—define. Exploratory sequential mixed methods including focus group discussions with nurses and midwives (n=40), face-to-face interviews (n=6), and surveys (n=330), will be used in this phase. Phase 2: Stage 3—ideate and Stage 4—prototype. A team of research experts (n=5), nurses and midwives (n=20) will develop the training programme based on the identified learning needs. Phase 3: Stage 5— test. The programme will be delivered to clinical nurses and midwives (n=41). The training programme will be evaluated through pretraining and post-training surveys and face-to-face interviews (n=4) following training. SPSS V.29 will be used for quantitative analysis, and content analysis will be used to analyse qualitative data. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The protocol was approved by the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee of the University of Pretoria (reference number 123/2023). The protocol is also registered with the National Health Research Database in South Africa (reference number GP_202305_032). The study findings will be disseminated through conference presentations and publications in peer-reviewed journals.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/Nursing ScienceSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-04:Quality Educatio

The experiences of Batswana families regarding hospice care of AIDS patients in the Bophirima district, North West province, South Africa

The HIV/AIDS pandemic put significant strain on healthcare services in the country. Hospitals were no longer coping with the escalating number of AIDS patients. This resulted in the early discharge of patients, with some patients, too ill to be nursed at home, being sent to hospices for continued care. The Batswana had mixed feelings about hospice care, because their beliefs on patient care are based on the ubuntu philosophy, which emphasises the principle of caring for one another. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of Batswana families regarding hospice care for patients in the Thlabane township in the province of the North West as well as to make recommendations to policy-makers to ensure that hospices are accepted by community members and utilised effectively. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive research design was applied. Purposive sampling was applied to select study participants with whom in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted. A qualitative data analysis was done by categorising, ordering, and summarising the data, and describing the findings. The findings indicated that families of patients in hospice care experienced such care as foreign to their culture. These families also experienced stigmatisation, firstly owing to the stigma associated with AIDS and secondly because they opted for hospice care. However, they also observed the high quality of care provided by the hospice and understood its benefits for AIDS patients. The study concluded that hospice care relieved families of terminally ill AIDS patients of the burden of care and enabled them to keep on working and earning a living. Recommendations to policy-makers included enhancing hospice care and ensuring the provisioning of culturally safe hospice care.La pande´mie du VIH/SIDA a mis une forte pression sur les services de soins de sante´ du pays. Les hoˆpitaux ne pouvaient plus faire face au nombre croissant de patients atteints du SIDA. Il en a re´sulte´ la sortie pre´coce des malades du SIDA, avec certains patients trop malades pour eˆtre soigne´s chez eux, envoye´s aux hospices pour des soins continus. Les batswana avaient des sentiments mitige´s au sujet des soins palliatifs, parce que leurs croyances sur les soins me´dicaux sont base´es sur la philosophie ubuntu, qui met l’accent sur le principe de prendre soin de l’un de l’autre. Le but de l’e´tude e´tait d’explorer les expe´riences et de de´crire les expe´riences des familles de Batswana en ce qui concerne les soins palliatifs pour les patients habitant le canton de Thlabane dans la province du Nord-Ouest, mais aussi de faire des recommandations aux de´cideurs politiques pour s’assurer que les hospices sont assure´s par les membres de la communaute´ et utilise´s efficacement. Une conception de recherche qualitative, exploratoire, descriptive a e´te´ applique´e. Une me´thode d’e´chantillonnage raisonne´e a e´te´ applique´e pour se´lectionner les participants de l’e´tude avec lesquels des entretiens approfondis non structure´es ont e´te´ mene´es. Une analyse qualitative des donne´es a e´te´ faite par la cate´gorisation, la commande et le re´sume´ des donne´es et la description des re´sultats. Les re´sultats de recherche indiquaient que les familles des patients en soins palliatifs prenaient de tels soins comme e´tranger a` leur culture. Ces familles ont e´galement connu la stigmatisation associe´ au SIDA et en second lieu parce qu’ils ont opte´ pour les soins palliatifs. Cependant, ils ont observe´ la haute qualite´ des soins dispense´s par le centre de soins palliatifs et compris ses avantages pour les malades atteints du SIDA. L’e´tude conclut que les soins palliatifs soulageaient les familles des side´ens en phase terminale de la charge des soins et leur a permis de continuer a` travailler et gagner leur vie. Les recommandations a` l’intention des de´cideurs politiques incluait l’ame´lioration des soins palliatifs et d’assurer l’approvisionnement des centres de soins palliatifs culturellement se´curitaire.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsah2

Perceived Motivating Factors towards a Positive Working Environment in Rural Hospital at Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province

One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to improve maternal health with the target of reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters between 1990–2015. The rendering of quality patient care requires the whole healthcare system to be functional with well-trained, motivated staff, adequate services, equipment and skilled competent leadership. However, work environment in rural hospitals is poorly resourced, thus leading to many nurses becoming de-motivated. This paper describes the factors that the nurses would like to see in their working environment which could improve quality patient care in rural hospitals. An appreciative inquiry qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was used. Data were collected through focus group interviews whereby thirty six participants were interviewed. The researcher used the open coding technique to analyse data. The findings revealed that nurses are motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors in their working environment.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Knowledge and attitudes of midwives towards collaboration with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities in South Africa

OBJECTIVES : We assessed the knowledge and attitude of registered midwives towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities. DESIGN : A descriptive cross-sectional survey was followed in this study. PARTICIPANTS : Registered midwives in selected clinics in the City of Tshwane Municipality. Participants were recruited by stratified random sampling. Data was collected at the Thirty-four primary healthcare facilities in Gauteng province, South Africa. MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS : A self-assessment questionnaire was administered to 304 registered midwives. Two-hundred and sixty respondents returned the questionnaire representing a response rate of 86.6 % which was statistically significant. The majority of Midwives in South Africa displayed a low level of knowledge (mean = 41.8, SD=1.7) on the role and practices of traditional birth attendants). Only 30.8 % (n = 80) of midwives knew of the roles of traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) services. With respect to knowledge, there was significant associated with the Professional category (p < 0.015). In terms of attitude, registered midwives displayed negative attitudes towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants (mean = 46.8, SD=2.1). Approximately half (54.2 %, n = 140) of midwives were amenable towards collaborating in the provision of antenatal care, and 70.4 % (n = 183) of midwives agreed to collaborate with traditional birth attendants for extended roles such as accompanying women to health facilities. Association of demographic data and level of attitude showed there was significant relationship (p < 0.05) between registered midwives’ level of education and their attitude towards collaboration. KEY CONCLUSIONS : Midwives demonstrated positive attitude towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants at the antenatal care level only. Midwives were not amenable to collaboration at the level of intrapartum and postpartum care. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE : Based on our results, collaboration should be at antenatal care level to allow for early detection, treatment, and prevention of antenatal complications thus reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.Part of PhD scholarship funded by the Black Academic Advancement Programme grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF).https://www.elsevier.com/locate/midwhj2024Nursing ScienceSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Cultural barriers to male partners’ involvement in antenatal care in Limpopo province

DATA AVAILABITY STATEMENT: The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, F.M.M., upon reasonable request.BACKGROUND: Participation of male partners in antenatal care (ANC) is a complicated process that involves social and behavioural transformation. It necessitates that males take a more active part in reproductive health. Men’s participation in prenatal care has been linked to beneficial health outcomes such as enhanced maternal health outcomes across the world. However, culture has been identified as a barrier to male partners’ participation in prenatal care. AIM: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the cultural barriers to male partner involvement in ANC. SETTING: The study focussed on selected clinics and hospitals under Vhembe District, Limpopo province. METHODS: Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design was used in this study. Qualitative data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). A thematic analysis approach was used to analyse the collected data from semi-structured interviews and FGDs. RESULTS: The findings revealed three themes: cultural beliefs and practices that affect male partners’ involvement in ANC; gender-related barriers that affect male partners’ involvement in ANC; and socioeconomic barriers to male partners’ involvement in ANC. CONCLUSION: The study’s findings revealed that certain cultural beliefs and practices are a stumbling block to male partners’ involvement in antenatal healthcare. CONTRIBUTION: Culturally based developed strategy might help in improving the knowledge and practices of male partners in ANC.The National Research Foundation (NRF).https://hsag.co.za/index.php/hsagNursing ScienceSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-beingSDG-05:Gender equalit