Audit of surgical procedures in regional and central hospitals in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Background. There is a paucity of data on the functioning and surgical procedures performed in rural hospitals in South Africa.Objective. To determine the category of procedures performed at regional and tertiary hospitals in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Method. We conducted a retrospective analysis of surgical procedures performed in the regional and tertiary hospitals in Limpopo Province during a 1-year period from 1 March 2019 to 29 February 2020.Results. A total of 24 263 surgical procedures were performed during the study period. More than half of all cases (50.4%; n=12 252) were operated on at the tertiary hospitals while regional hospitals performed the remaining 12 011 operations.Conclusion. There is a great necessity to alleviate the central hospitals from the bulk of surgical procedures

Building capacity without disrupting health services: public health education for Africa through distance learning

The human resources crisis in Africa is especially acute in the public health field. Through distance education, the School of Public Health of the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, has provided access to master's level public health education for health professionals from more than 20 African countries while they remain in post. Since 2000, interest has increased overwhelmingly to a point where four times more applications are received than can be accommodated. This home-grown programme remains sensitive to the needs of the target learners while engaging them in high-quality learning applied in their own work contexts

Where There Is No Health Research: What Can Be Done to Fill the Global Gaps in Health Research?

As part of a cluster of articles leading up to the 2012 World Health Report and critically reflecting on the theme of “no health without research," Martin McKee and colleagues examine the question of what to do to build capacity in the many countries around the world where health research is virtually non-existent

Strengthening health workforce capacity through work-based training

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although much attention has been given to increasing the number of health workers, less focus has been directed at developing models of training that address real-life workplace needs. Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) with funding support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed an eight-month modular, in-service work-based training program aimed at strengthening the capacity for monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) in health service delivery.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This capacity building program, initiated in 2008, is offered to in-service health professionals working in Uganda. The purpose of the training is to strengthen the capacity to provide quality health services through hands-on training that allows for skills building with minimum work disruptions while encouraging greater involvement of other institutional staff to enhance continuity and sustainability. The hands-on training uses practical gaps and challenges at the workplace through a highly participatory process. Trainees work with other staff to design and implement ‘projects’ meant to address work-related priority problems, working closely with mentors. Trainees’ knowledge and skills are enhanced through short courses offered at specific intervals throughout the course.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 143 trainees were admitted between 2008 and 2011. Of these, 120 (84%) from 66 institutions completed the training successfully. Of the trainees, 37% were Social Scientists, 34% were Medical/Nursing/Clinical Officers, 5.8% were Statisticians, while 23% belonged to other professions. Majority of the trainees (80%) were employed by Non-Government Organizations while 20% worked with the public health sector. Trainees implemented 66 projects which addressed issues such as improving access to health care services; reducing waiting time for patients; strengthening M&E systems; and improving data collection and reporting. The projects implemented aimed to improve trainees’ skills and competencies in M&E and CQI and the design of the projects was such that they could share these skills with other staff, with minimal interruptions of their work.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The modular, work-based training model strengthens the capacity of the health workforce through hands-on, real-life experiences in the work-setting and improves institutional capacity, thereby providing a practical example of health systems strengthening through health workforce capacity building.</p

Influence of clay exfoliation on the properties of EVOH/Clay flexible films

This work aims to incorporate the BofWhite Clay, from Boa Vista, State, Brazil, as natural nanofiller in Ehylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) and flexible films. Nanocomposite was obtained using a twin-screw extruder, and film formed using a blow extruder machine. The flexible film nanocomposite was chracterized, by tensile tests, XRD, DSC and the EVOH resulting in a increase of properties of films nanocomposites as compared to films neat polyme