HIV-positive patients’ perceptions of care received at a selected antiretroviral therapy clinic in Vhembe district, South Africa

Background: Patients’ experiences are a reflection of what has happened during the care process and, therefore, provide information about the performance of health care professional workers. They refer to the process of care provision at the antiretroviral therapy (ART) sites. Aim and setting: This article explored the perceptions of HIV-positive patients of care received at the Gateway Clinic of the regional hospital that provides antiretroviral treatment in the Vhembe district. Methods: A qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was used. A non-probability, convenient sampling method was used to select 20 HIV-positive patients who were above 18 years of age. In-depth individual interviews were used to collect data. Data were analysed through Tech’s open coding method. Results: One theme and two sub-themes emerged, namely positive experiences related to the environment and attitudes of health professionals, and negative experiences concerning the practices by health care providers. Conclusion: Patients’ perceptions of quality of, and satisfaction with, health care may affect health outcomes. Recommendations are made to consider, practice and strengthen the protocols, the standard operating procedures and the principles of infection control in the health facilities. Keywords: Human Immunodeficiecy Virus, Antiretroviral Treatment, HIV positive, Limpop

Heavy metal poisoning as a possible cause of massive fish mortality and mongoose in the gold mining area around Khutsong, North west province , South Africa

Abstract: Ten composite samples each of water, sediment, fish and organs samples of mongoose from the Wonderfontein area were analysed for the presence of As, Pb, Cd and Cr using atomic absorption spectrophotomery in order to investigate the massive fish mortality in the Wonderfontein stream. Follow up samples of water and sediment were similarly analysed a year later. Abundance of metals followed the trend As>Pb>Cd>Cr, Cr>As>Pb>Cd and As>Cd>Pb>Cr in water, fish and mongoose respectively. The concentrations of As, Pb, Cd and Cr in the initial water samples were 510, 121, 90 and 73 ppm respectively. Water samples collected 12 months later had lower levels of metals at 256, 60, 60, and 50ppm respectively. Cr was highest in fish samples at 56 ppm, while As was highest in mongoose kidney at 25.7ppm. Water concentrations of As, Pb, Cd and Cr were 10 205, 8 020, 2 425 and 733 times higher than the EC/WHO/EPA recommended threshold for potable water while those of Cd and Pb were 36 and 11.2 times higher than those recommended for fish. Levels of metals in sediments were generally higher than those in water. Severe heavy metal pollution with As, Pb, Cd and Cr was revealed in this study, and was also most linked to the mortality of fish and mongoose in the stream. Frequent biomonitoring is therefore recommended in order to safeguard public and animal health in the area. [Nyirenda M, Thekiso V.V, Dzoma B.M, Motsei L.E, Ndou R.V, Bakunzi F.R. Heavy metal poisoning as a possible cause of massive fish mortality and mongoose in the gold mining area around Khutsong, North west province, South Africa. Life Sci J 2012;9(3

Adopting a Theory of Change Approach for ICT4D Project Impact Assessment - The Case of CMES Project

Part 1: Pushing the Boundaries - New Research Methods, Theory and Philosophy in ICT4DInternational audienceA compendium of impact assessment (IA) frameworks are available to understand the impact of ICT4D initiatives in Low Income Countries. However, existing frameworks do not adequately address the unique challenges of IA for ICT4D, especially the multi-level and time variant characteristics of the IA. To address these challenges, we propose the use of Theory of change (ToC) as a generic framework for IA of ICT4D projects. Based on the seminal work by Weiss [8], we argue that ToC can be viewed both as a methodology and a deep critical reflection process. We demonstrate the ToC approach for IA using a case study of an ICT4D project for LICs