A comparative evaluation of two interventions for educator training in HIV/AIDS in South Africa

The purpose of this study was to compare two different methods to teach educators about HIV/AIDS. Sixty educators were selected from eight schools in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, to undergo HIV/AIDS training using an interactive CD-ROM intervention. Another sixty educators from other schools were selected to undergo a two-day Life Skills Training Programme provided by the Department of Education. The outcomes both before and after the interventions were measured by surveying the educators’ knowledge and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS, as well as their self-efficacy with respect to dealing with HIV/AIDS in the classroom setting. Both interventions resulted in significant changes in knowledge and attitudes as well as in the selfefficacy with respect to ability to teach about HIV/AIDS and to deal with classroom situations involving HIV and blood. The Life Skills Training Programme proved superior in enhancing basic knowledge about HIV, and the CD-ROM was superior in teaching about HIV transmission risks

A retrospective study exploring how South African newspapers framed Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders over an 11-year period (2004–2014)

The way schizophrenia is portrayed in the media contributes to the dissemination of misinformation about the symptoms, causes, and treatment of mental disorders and has the potential to perpetuate or mitigate the stigmatization of schizophrenia. While research on the news media’s role in exacerbating or mitigating the stigmatization of schizophrenia has been conducted widely in other contexts, our search did not yield any study on media framing of schizophrenia in South Africa. Therefore, this study used the framing theory to examine the media framing of schizophrenia following the enactment of two mental health policies in South Africa

Stress and coping among unmarried pregnant university students in South Africa

The improvement of maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes is an important part of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). MCH remains an important issue globally as the SDGs have not yet been achieved in most countries. Young women in universities are likely to experience unintended pregnancy due to risky sexual behaviors in tertiary institutions which is characterized by lack of condom and/or contraceptive use and coercion. Pregnant young women in an academic environment are susceptible to stressors associated with unintended pregnancy and academic demands of universities. However, very little is known about the stress and coping among young people in tertiary institutions who get pregnant during the course of their studies and choose to keep the pregnancy

Editorial

The papers in this special edition contribute to our understanding of African indigenous knowledge systems in mental health, African literature, and education. They also point towards an urgent need to engage critically with the knowledge-power matrix (Quijano 2007) and to introduce new epistemologies and worldviews into our curricula. This calls for an inclusive paradigm that not only recognizes the Other, with whom one needs to engage with on an equal basis (Nabudere 2011), but also the understanding that there are diverse ways to the market place, as Olawole (1997) teaches us. We hereby conclude by calling for an interdisciplinary approach towards the study of African indigenous knowledge systems, as it is evident that AIKS cannot be meaningfully pursued while one is located within one discipline. African universities and African communities in general have a major role to play in developing AIKS so that it becomes part and parcel of global world knowledge. Although AIKS is part of the global dialogue on what constitutes international knowledge, in the first instance, it needs to be salvaged from marginalization, so that it can enter the dialogue about universal knowledge, as an equal partner

Perceptions of rewards among volunteer caregivers of people living with AIDS working in faith-based organizations in South Africa: a qualitative study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Volunteer caregivers are a critical source of support for the majority of people living with HIV and AIDS in southern Africa, which has extremely high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. While studies have shown that volunteer caregiving is associated with negative health and socio-economic outcomes, little is known about the positive experiences of volunteers in the home-based care context in South Africa. The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of rewards among volunteers working in home-based care settings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study uses a qualitative design. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposively selected sample of 55 volunteer caregivers using an interview schedule containing open-ended questions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Volunteer caregivers derived intrinsic rewards related to self-growth and personal (emotional and psychological) development on the job; they also derived satisfaction from community members taking a liking for them and expressing a need for their services. Volunteers felt gratified by the improvements in their health behaviours, which were a direct consequence of the experiences of caring for terminally ill patients with AIDS. Extrinsic rewards came from appreciation and recognition shown by patients and community members. Extrinsic rewards also accrued to volunteers when the services they rendered made their patients happy. Perhaps the greatest sources of extrinsic rewards are skills and competencies acquired from training and experience while caring for their patients, and volunteers' ability to make a difference in the community.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Insights into volunteer caregiver rewards provide opportunities for policy makers and programme managers to develop a model of home-based care that facilitates the accrual of rewards to volunteers alongside volunteers' traditional duties of patient care. Programme managers could employ these insights in recruiting and assisting volunteers to identify and reflect on rewards in the caregiving situation as a means of reducing the burden of care and sustaining volunteer interest in caregiving.</p

Unpaid HIV/AIDS Care in Southern Africa: Forms, Context, and Implications

Across southern Africa, policy-makers are promoting home-based care for HIV/AIDS patients as a cheaper alternative to hospital care. However, cost studies have not sufficiently considered the costs and benefits to all stakeholders in home-based care.1 Drawing on existing literature, this study shows that available data are grossly inadequate for a comprehensive assessment of the cost-effectiveness of home-based care. Previous studies have largely ignored many of the costs associated with home-based care, which is currently borne by unpaid caregivers�-�predominantly women�-�as well as the value of their unpaid labor. This study questions the assumption that home-based care is cheaper than hospital care and the wisdom of enacting home-based care policies. This study argues that conclusions about the cheaper form of care can be drawn only by assessing all of the costs, benefits, and utility derived by all stakeholders in home-based care.Care cost, unpaid care, home-based care, PLWHA, caregiving, HIV/AIDS, JEL Codes: H31, I18, J17,

Health care waste management in community-based care: experiences of community health workers in low resource communities in South Africa

Abstract Background In South Africa, community health workers (CHWs) working in community-based care (CBC) programmes provide care to patients most of whom are living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Although studies have shown that the caregiving activities provided by the CHWs generate health care waste (HCW), there is limited information about the experiences of CHWs on health care waste management (HCWM) in CBC. This study explored HCWM in CBC in Durban, South Africa from the perspectives CHWs. Methods We used three ethnographic approaches to collect data: focus group discussions, participant observations and informal discussions. Data was collected from 85 CHWs working in 29 communities in the Durban metropolis, South Africa. Data collection took place from July 2013 to August 2014. Results CHWs provided nursing care activities to patients many of whom were incontinent or bedridden. Some the patients were living with HIV/AIDS/TB, stroke, diabetes, asthma, arthritis and high blood pressure. These caregiving activities generate sharps and infectious waste but CHWs and family members did not segregate HCW according to the risk posed as stipulated by the HCWM policy. In addition, HCW was left with domestic waste. Major barriers to proper HCWM identified by CHWs include, lack of assistance from family members in assisting patients to use the toilet or change diapers and removing HCW from homes, irregular waste collection by waste collectors, inadequate water for practicing hygiene and sanitation, long distance between the house and the toilets and poor conditions of communal toilets and pit latrines. As a result of these barriers, HCW was illegally dumped along roads or in the bush, burnt openly and buried within the yards. Liquid HCW such as vomit, urine and sputum were disposed in open spaces near the homes. Conclusion Current policies on primary health care (PHC) and HCWM in South Africa have not paid attention to HCWM. Findings suggest the need for primary health care reform to develop the competencies of CHWs in HCWM. In addition, PHC and HCWM policies should address the infrastructure deficit in low resource communities. In order for low-and-middle-income-countries (LMICs) to develop effective community health worker programmes, there is a need for synergies in PHC and HCWM policies

Perspectives of policy-makers and stakeholders about health care waste management in community-based care in South Africa: a qualitative study

Abstract Background In South Africa, a new primary health care (PHC) re-engineering initiative aims to scale up the provision of community-based care (CBC). A central element in this initiative is the use of outreach teams comprising nurses and community health workers to provide care to the largely poor and marginalised communities across the country. The provision of care will inevitably lead to an increase in the amount of health care waste (HCW) generated in homes and suggests the need to pay more attention to the HCW that emanates from homes where there is care of a patient. CBC in South Africa is guided by the home-based care policy. However, this policy does not deal with issues about how HCW should be managed in CBC. This study sought to explore health care waste management (HCWM) in CBC in South Africa from the policy-makers’ and stakeholders’ perspective. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 9 policy-makers and 21 stakeholders working in 29 communities in Durban, South Africa. Interviews were conducted in English; were guided by an interview guide with open-ended questions. Data was analysed thematically. Results The Durban Solid waste (DSW) unit of the eThekwini municipality is responsible for overseeing all waste management programmes in communities. Lack of segregation of waste and illegal dumping of waste were the main barriers to proper management practices of HCW at household level while at the municipal level, corrupt tender processes and inadequate funding for waste management programmes were identified as the main barriers. In order to address these issues, all the policy-makers and stakeholders have taken steps to collaborate and develop education awareness programmes. They also liaise with various government offices to provide resources aimed at waste management programmes. Conclusions HCW is generated in CBC and it is poorly managed and treated as domestic waste. With the rollout of the new primary health care model, there is a greater need to consider HCWM in CBC. There is need for the Department of Health to work together with the municipality to ensure that they devise measures that will help to deal with improper HCWM in the communities

Additional file 1: of Perspectives of policy-makers and stakeholders about health care waste management in community-based care in South Africa: a qualitative study

Interview guides 1 to 3. The attached file contains 3 interview guides that consists of series of open-ended questions which were asked to all the participants that participated in this study. (DOCX 13 kb