The Call for Spiritual Formation in Protestant Theological Institutions in South Africa

Spiritual formation is a significant component of the educational work of a theological institution that prepares students for church leadership. Theological institutions have a responsibility to engage students in reflecting on the spiritual life, to provide opportunities for students, to deepen their spiritual journeys and to develop in students a spiritual maturity that is required of future church leaders. This article argues the need for Protestant theological institutions in South Africa to be more deliberate in developing students spiritually within the challenges of their South African context

Has Affirmative Action Reached South African Women?

South Africa has unfortunately inherited a work environment based on an economic system characterised by deprivation, political instability, adversarial labour relations, cheap migrant labour, and massive income and wealth disparities. The world of work is also characterised by an appalling systematic discrimination against Blacks, women, and people with disabilities. Affirmative action has been the only policy instrument used by the Democratic South Africa to redress the past imbalances. In line with the Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, the beneficiaries of this action are mainly African women (Blacks, Coloured, and Indians including disabled people). This has been justified by the fact that they were subjected to innumerable forms of discrimination and bias in the past. The policies of Affirmative Action are a system of political tools used to level the playing field. They focus on policies and strategies needed to redress past racial imbalances in the workplace, education, gender equality, and the like. This paper examines the strategy of Affirmative Action in South Africa harnessed to redress past wrongs and its effectiveness in so doing

EXPLORING UNPLANNED PREGNANCY AMONGST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Unplanned pregnancy poses a multiplicity of problems for students and academic institutions.Using an ecosystemic framework one can uncover the range of costs incurred when a student’sacademic life is disrupted as a result of an unplanned pregnancy. The academic programme isderailed with serious financial costs incurred by the institution, the family and the individual.Through-put targets of the institution may be affected, leaving a trail of deficits that are difficult tomanage, together with a bruised public image that impacts negatively on student intake. At apsycho-social level the individual and family lose standing in the community because of the shameof an unplanned pregnancy and an illegitimate child, or trauma upon learning of a positive HIVdiagnosis accompanying pregnancy. These concerns provided the motivation for this study, whichwas to identify factors that contributed to unplanned pregnancy to reduce its impact and informproactive planning. No such study had been conducted on the University of KwaZulu-Natal’sWestville campus previously. The research was conducted on the Westville Campus of theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal under the auspices of the Department of Student Counselling fromAugust 2003 to December 2003 to investigate why an increasing number of students werepresenting with unplanned pregnancies. This increase is reflected in the statistics belo

An evaluation of warfarin use at an urban district-level hospital in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

Background. Warfarin is a commonly prescribed drug that needs to be monitored regularly.Objectives. To evaluate the quality of care of patients on warfarin and to determine the cost-effectiveness of this drug in a South African district hospital setting.Methods. Quality of care was assessed through a structured patient interview, and cost-effectiveness of warfarin was determined by retrospective review of all costs over a 6-month period.Results. A total of 110 participants from the dedicated warfarin clinic at Wentworth Hospital, Durban, were enrolled over a 1-month period. The median cost of all warfarin-related expenditure was ZAR295.05 per patient per month (pppm) (interquartile range (IQR) 283.42 - 333.17), with a mean (standard error of the mean (SEM)) cost of ZAR394.90 (53.03). The median cost for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation was ZAR294.40 pppm (IQR 283.85 - 345.10) and the mean (SEM) cost was ZAR430.54 (116.14), compared with an estimated cost of ZAR545.96 and ZAR673.85 per month for rivaroxaban and dabigatran tablets, respectively. Of the participants interviewed (N=110), 69.1% agreed or strongly agreed that monthly international normalised ratio monitoring frustrated them, 74.5% agreed or strongly agreed that they sometimes wished that they did not have to take warfarin, and 84.5% would be willing to pay for a drug that required less frequent blood tests and clinic visits.Conclusions. Warfarin still appears to be the most cost-effective drug in our setting, but it significantly affects patients’ quality of life. We suggest a prospective head-to-head trial to compare both cost-effectiveness and quality of life of patients on warfarin and the new oral anticoagulants at a district hospital facility

Unusual presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis: a case report on mammary tuberculosis

This case study highlights an unusual manifestation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in a person living with HIV, namely mammary TB. Clinicians practising in settings where HIV and TB are endemic need to be aware of the clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of mammary TB

Entrenching heterosexuality through language in South African Life Orientation (LO) textbooks

Studies of the representation of sexualities in textbooks have tended to focus on inclusion and coverage of diverse content through thematic analysis. This analysis of a sample of LO textbooks is framed by the systematic linguistic framework of critical discourse analysis (CDA), specifically Fairclough’s (2001) theory of discourse as ideological meanings encoded in text. The sections on sex education in three popularly used LO textbooks have been analysed to make explicit the heteronormative meanings conveyed through language used. This article provides insight into how the language in the LO texts function to legitimate the dominant discourse of a particular type of heterosexuality: monogamy for the primary purpose of reproduction. The implications of this bias are raised and recommendations for fair representation of LGBT sexual orientations are made

Nurturing students’ spiritual development in secular contexts: a case study of Evangelical theological education in Australia

The awareness of secularisation may not have served as a focus for curricula development in theological education, yet it critically shapes the entire educational process influencing values and practices. Australian theological colleges need to be aware of, and alert to their secular, westernised culture that places a high premium on individual rights, personal liberty, and freedom. This article reports on an Australian study discussing the nature of secularised contexts and the relevance of evangelical theological education to these contexts, especially the role of spiritual formation as a key component to better equip theological students to deal with their secular context. The article argues for stronger awareness of, and preparedness for robust engagement with secularised contexts. It highlights the importance of engaging the influence of secularisation values in theological education

Patients with type 2 diabetes and difficulties associated with initiation of insulin therapy in a public health clinic in Durban

Objectives: Many patients with type 2 diabetes are uncontrolled on maximum oral treatment. The early introduction of insulin can lower diabetes-related complications. The purpose of this study was to explore the reasons behind a perceived reluctance of patients with type 2 diabetes to commence insulin therapy despite objective evidence for the augmentation of oral treatment with insulin. Secondary objectives were to review the demographic data of these patients, to review the patients’ knowledge of their disease and of insulin and to compare the knowledge and difficulties of those who agreed to be initiated on insulin with that of those who refused.Design: The study used an observational analytical design. All uncontrolled patients with type 2 diabetes on maximum oral therapy were interviewed using face-to-face interviews with open- and closed-ended questions.Setting and subjects: The study was conducted over a three-month period at the Phoenix Community Health Centre, a state-run institution, in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.Outcome measures: The education level of the patients, their knowledge of the disease, understanding of insulin, family support and fear of needles and pain were notable outcome measures.Results: Fifty-nine patients were enrolled in the study. The mean haemoglobin A1c was 9.6. Level of academic education was not associated with a willingness to start insulin therapy (p-value = 0.426). Forty-seven per cent of the patients had no understanding of insulin. Forty-four per cent of the patients were willing to initiate insulin therapy and 55% refused. There was no significant difference in knowledge score between those who accepted and refused insulin therapy (p-value = 0.554). Seventy-nine per cent of patients were afraid of the pain associated with injections.Conclusion: As a fear of injections and needles was the only significant factor that was associated with the refusal to initiate insulin therapy (p-value < 0.001), health professionals need to address this during patient education, so as to initiate insulin treatment successfully and timeously.S Afr Fam Pract 2012;54(5):436-44

Knowledge and practice of traditional healers in oral health in the Bui Division, Cameroon

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The majority of Cameroonians depend on traditional medicines for their health care needs and about seven per cent of the average household health budget is spent on traditional medicines irrespective of their incomes. The aim of the present study was to determine the oral care knowledge and practices of Traditional Healers (TH) on oral health delivery in the urban and rural areas of Bui Division of Cameroon and the objectives to determine the cost of treatment and reasons why people visit TH.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The present study was cross sectional and utilized semi-structured questionnaires to collect data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sample consisted of 21 TH and 52 clients of TH. Sixty two percent of the TH's were above 40 years and 90% male. The mean age was 46 years (range 20-77 years). Twenty four percent of the TH practiced as herbalists and the remainder both divination and herbalism. Sixty seven percent of people in the Bui Division, who patronize TH for their oral health needs, fall within the 20-40 year age group. There is little collaboration between the oral health workers and TH and only 6% of all patients seen by TH are referred to the dentist. Socio-cultural and economic factors affect the oral health care seeking behavior of patients in this area and only 6.5% of patients visit dental clinics. Reasons for not attending dental clinics included high cost, poor accessibility, superstition and fear. TH's are not experienced in the treatment of pulpitis - the majority of patients who presented with toothache had temporary or no relief, but despite this 67% reported being satisfied with their treatment. Sixty nine percent of the patients visited TH because of low cost - the average cost of treatment with TH (approximately $5) is very low, as compared to conventional treatment ($50).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Traditional healers are willing to co-operate with oral health workers in improving oral health. Since they have a vital role to play in health care seeking attitudes in this community and barriers affecting the oral health seeking behaviours should be removed. Mutual cooperation, collaboration and by integrating TH into primary oral health care services needs to be increased.</p

Prosecuting “hate”: An overview of problem areas relating to hate crimes and challenges to criminal litigation

Several calls, from a wide spectrum of sectors for the enactment of hate-crime legislation in South Africa, suggest that there is limited knowledge about the theoretical underpinnings of this area of criminal law and of the practical problems associated with the implementation of hate-crime laws. This submission briefly examines the origins of hate-crime laws and attempts, by using existing American sources, to provide a conceptual framework for hate crimes. The different models of hate-crime laws, definitional issues and the controversies associated with hate-crime laws are considered. These controversies include disagreements about the use of the term ‘hate’, the inclusion of victim categories, and the consideration of motive as a requirement of hate crimes. The article also considers practical problems associated with the implementation of hate-crime laws. These problems could commence at the complaint stage when evidence of bias has to be established by law-enforcement officers, and extend to the trial stage, when the role of victims must be considered, when plea bargaining is a possibility and when bias has to be proved in court