The Integration of HIV/AIDS Care and Support into Primary Health Care in Gauteng Province

The information contained in this publication may be freely distributed and reproduced, as long as the source is acknowledged, and it is used for non-commercial purposes.This study aimed to assess the integration of HIV/AIDS care and support in Gauteng’s primary health care (PHC) services. With this aim in mind, the research sought to provide answers to three main sets of questions. Firstly, are care and support services for people with HIV/AIDS being provided at PHC clinics, what is the quality of these services, and to what extent are these services being utilised? Secondly, are the inputs (e.g. staff knowledge and attitudes) and support systems (e.g. drug supplies), necessary for good quality, accessible HIV/AIDS care, present in the PHC infrastructure? Thirdly, what if any, systems changes are required to improve the access and quality of PHC services for people living with HIV/AIDS? This research was conducted in collaboration with, and partly funded by, the Gauteng Provincial Department of Health which is in the process of disseminating primary health care clinical guidelines in the Province.Funders of the Health Systems Trust include : Department of Health (South Africa) Department for International Development (UK) Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (USA) Commission of the European Union Rockefeller Foundatio

El Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido en ciencias: estado de la cuestión

This paper gives a descriptive overview of the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge - PCK - in the sciences. It is expected that this review can contribute to a better understanding of PCK, pointing out what has been investigated about this concept. Specifically, we analyze: a) how PCK is defined, what are its main features and how it has been appropriated by teachers; b) the relationship between PCK, knowledge of the contents to be taught and students learning; c) how PCK was actually used in teachers' training and teachers' evaluation; and, d) the scientific areas in which PCK has been studied. It concludes that PCK is an essential tool for improving the quality of teacher training

Towards a holistic approach to support learners at risk of interrupted development

The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions that came with it led to unprecedented disruptions in learner development and put them at risk of poor developmental outcomes. It is thus important that the extent of the disruption on their development and the support needs of learners be investigated. Researching the impact of the disruption should focus on holistic development. In this book, the authors use multiple research approaches and methods of gathering data in their respective fields to examine the impact of the disruption and determine the support needs of learners. Data gathered through the different methods are processed and findings are presented. The findings have implications for both practice and future research in the fields of inclusive education, learner support, educational psychology, movement education, Life Orientation and curriculum development

Oral literature in South Africa: 20 years on

I offer a retrospective on the field of orality and performance studies in South Africa from the perspective of 2016, assessing what has been achieved, what may have happened inadvertently or worryingly, what some of the significant implications have been, what remain challenges, and how we may think of, or rethink, orality and performance studies in a present and future that are changing at almost inconceivable pace.DHE

Risk of Bowel Obstruction in Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for High-risk Colon Cancer

Objective: This study aimed to identify risk criteria available before the point of treatment initiation that can be used to stratify the risk of obstruction in patients undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for high-risk colon cancer. Background: Global implementation of NAC for colon cancer, informed by the FOxTROT trial, may increase the risk of bowel obstruction. Methods: A case-control study, nested within an international randomized controlled trial (FOxTROT; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00647530). Patients with high-risk operable colon cancer (radiologically staged T3-4 N0-2 M0) that were randomized to NAC and developed large bowel obstruction were identified. First, clinical outcomes were compared between patients receiving NAC in FOxTROT who did and did not develop obstruction. Second, obstructed patients (cases) were age-matched and sex-matched with patients who did not develop obstruction (controls) in a 1:3 ratio using random sampling. Bayesian conditional mixed-effects logistic regression modeling was used to explore clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features associated with obstruction. The absolute risk of obstruction based on the presence or absence of risk criteria was estimated for all patients receiving NAC. Results: Of 1053 patients randomized in FOxTROT, 699 received NAC, of whom 30 (4.3%) developed obstruction. Patients underwent care in European hospitals including 88 UK, 7 Danish, and 3 Swedish centers. There was more open surgery (65.4% vs 38.0%, P=0.01) and a higher pR1 rate in obstructed patients (12.0% vs 3.8%, P=0.004), but otherwise comparable postoperative outcomes. In the case-control–matched Bayesian model, 2 independent risk criteria were identified: (1) obstructing disease on endoscopy and/or being unable to pass through the tumor [adjusted odds ratio: 9.09, 95% credible interval: 2.34–39.66] and stricturing disease on radiology or endoscopy (odds ratio: 7.18, 95% CI: 1.84–32.34). Three risk groups were defined according to the presence or absence of these criteria: 63.4% (443/698) of patients were at very low risk (10%). Conclusions: Safe selection for NAC for colon cancer can be informed by using 2 features that are available before treatment initiation and identifying a small number of patients with a high risk of preoperative obstruction