Challenges experienced while providing home based care: A community organisation's experience

Introduction: Methods: Results: Conclusion: Keywords: The large and ever-growing number of people being infected with HIV/AIDS, led to health professionals being unable to cope with these increasing numbers. To combat this challenge, an alternative strategy such as home based care needed to be implemented. When attempting to attend to this need, a deeper understanding of the challenges facing community organizations when providing home based care is necessary in order to formulate these effective and relevant care services. The aim of the study was to explore the challenges faced by Umtha Welanga Community Organization in the provision of HIV/AIDS home based care. Acase study using a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews as the data collectionmethod was used. The Umtha Welanga Community Organization constituted the total population therefore no sampling was applied. All themembers of the management team and all the home-based caregivers were interviewed. Informed consent as well as consent for recording interview was obtained prior to data collection. Respondents were informed that participation is voluntary and that they can withdrew at any time. Data analysis began immediately after completion of all the interviews by transcribing and translating the audio-taped data. Thematic analysis was used in which data was coded and categorized. The main areas of concern were gender inequality, insufficient funding, lack of disclosure and trust, risk faced by caregivers and lack of recognition Finances appear to be, both for the organization and the home based carers, a specifically influential obstacle in the implementation and maintenance of the services. Lack of recognition by the government and lack of trust and disclosure towards care workers; create difficult conditions for them to perform their tasks and duties. Care services also present risks and dangers to caregivers such as being susceptible to criminal activity, feeling unsafe and vulnerable

Feat or futile: Students' perceptions of group work at a University of Technology in South Africa

The increase in student enrolment at tertiary institutions in South Africa over the past few years has necessitated the need for group work without sacrificing the standard and integrity of education. Research has shown that group work offers many advantages to both lecturers and students. Interactive attributes such as teamwork, co-operation skills, leadership qualities, communication skills and confidentiality developed during group work are highly sought-after skills by prospective employers. This quantitative study aimed to determine whether students are positively or negatively inclined towards group work, as well as other possible factors influencing group work at a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa. A structured, close-ended questionnaire was administered to 309 students enrolled for the Applied Communication Skills course. The data were analysed using statistical methods. The results revealed that listening skills and mutual respect were crucial to develop good interpersonal skills needed for effective group work. When working in groups, students tend towards collectivism and negative aspects of group work, such as social loafing, are often overseen to maintain harmony and avoid direct confrontation with other individuals in the group. It was also found that male students agreed more strongly with negative conflict resolution than female students. Overall, the study showed that despite several negative aspects, students tended to be positively inclined towards group work

Evaluating point-of-care testing for glycosylated haemoglobin in public sector primary care facilities in the Western Cape, South Africa

Background. Diabetes mellitus contributes significantly to the burden of disease in South Africa (SA). Monitoring of glycaemic control with glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) is recommended, even though current laboratory-based testing does not support immediate clinical decision-making.Objectives. To evaluate the costs and consequences for quality of care by introducing point-of-care (POC) testing for HbA1c for patients with type 2 diabetes at community health centres in Cape Town, SA.Methods. A quasi-experimental study was conducted at two control and two intervention sites in the same sub-district. The DCA Vantage Analyzer (Siemens, Germany) for POC testing was introduced at the intervention sites for 12 months. Patients were randomly selected from the diabetes register at the intervention (n=300) and control (n=300) sites, respectively, and data were collected from patient records at baseline and 12 months. Focus group interviews were performed at the intervention sites. Technical quality and cost implications were evaluated.Results. POC testing was feasible, easy to integrate into the organisation of care, resulted in more immediate feedback to patients (p<0.001) and patients appeared more satisfied. POC testing did not improve test coverage, treatment intensification, counselling or glycaemic control. There was an incremental cost of ZAR2 110 per 100 tests. Compliance with quality control was poor, although control tests showed good reliability.Conclusion. This study does not support the introduction of POC testing for HbA1c in public sector primary care practice in the current context. POC testing should be evaluated further in combination with interventions to overcome clinical inertia and strengthen primary healthcare

Stem and standing heights in bantu and white South Africans: their significance in relation to pulmonary function values

Sitting and standing heights have been recorded for Bantu and Whites, males and females. It !Vas found that Bantu males and females have relatively longer lower extremities than White South African males and females. Anthropometric differences account for only about 15% of the actual observed difference in spirometrically determined lung volumes of Bantu and Whites in the groups observe

Walking the last mile on the long road to evidence-informed development: building capacity to use research evidence

The systematic application of rigorous evidence to inform the design and implementation of development policies and programmes has the potential to positively influence development outcomes. To achieve such evidence-informed development, a process of generating, transmitting, and using high-quality, policy-relevant evidence of development effectiveness is required. This article focuses on the final step in this casual chain – the use of evidence by national development policymakers. It proposes a people- and demandfocused approach to capacity building for the use of research evidence by policymakers. This support in building personal as well as team capacity and demand is assumed to encourage a growing institutionalisation of evidence use. The article integrates these capacity-building efforts into the wider theory of change for evidence-informed development, highlighting the importance of effective mechanisms to encourage research use in order to achieve the objective of improving lives through research evidence

The impact of COVID-19 on routine patient care from a laboratory perspective

Background. Globally, few studies have examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine patient care and follow-up.Objectives. To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 response on biochemical test requests received from outpatient departments (OPDs) and peripheral clinics serviced by the National Health Laboratory Service Chemical Pathology Laboratory at Tygerberg Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa (SA). Request volumes were used as a measure of the routine care of patients, as clinical information was not readily available.Methods. A retrospective audit was conducted. The numbers of requests received from OPDs and peripheral clinics for creatinine, glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid profiles, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free thyroxine, free tri-iodothyronine (fT3), serum and urine protein electrophoresis, serum free light chains and neonatal total serum bilirubin were obtained from 1 March to 30 June for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.Results. The biggest impact was seen on lipids, creatinine, HbA1c, TSH and fT3. The percentage reduction between 1 March and 30 June 2019 and between 1 March and 30 June 2020 was 59% for lipids, 64% for creatinine and HbA1c, 80% for TSH and 81% for fT3. There was a noteworthy decrease in overall analyte testing from March to April 2020, coinciding with initiation of level 5 lockdown. Although an increase in testing was observed during June 2020, the number of requests was still lower than in June 2019.Conclusions. This study, focusing on the short-term consequences of the SA response to the COVID-19 pandemic, found that routine follow-up of patients with communicable and non-communicable diseases was affected. Future studies are necessary to evaluate the long-term consequences of the pandemic for these patient groups.

Effectiveness and characteristics of a new technology to reduce ammonia, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter pollution in poultry production with artificial turf floor

Ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (PM) are three major aerial pollutants that threaten the health of workers and animals in poultry production. An experiment was conducted in four laying hen rooms, with 735 to 740 hens per room, to study a new technology using artificial turf (AstroTurf®) floor for mitigation of the three pollutants. Air was sampled at three locations in each room to measure ammonia and carbon dioxide concentrations with an Innova 1412 multi-gas monitor for 83 days. Particulate matter was measured at one location at bird height in each room using a Dylos DC1700 Air Quality Monitor for 35 days. Ventilation rates in all rooms were monitored with RM Young anemometers. Compared with two wood shavings rooms, the two artificial turf rooms significantly (p\u3c0.01) reduced concentrations of ammonia by 51.0%, carbon dioxide by 13.5%, small particles by 77.5%, and large particles by 83.6%. They also significantly (p\u3c0.01) reduced ammonia and carbon dioxide emission rates by 38.4% and 8.3%, respectively. The artificial turf rooms’ lower ammonia concentrations and emissions were a result of lower manure pH. The artificial turf rooms also retained more nitrogen in manure. Lower carbon dioxide concentrations and emissions were partially attributed to less carbon dioxide released from manure. Lower PM concentrations were related to reduced PM sources on floor surfaces. Artificial turf rooms had smaller in-room ammonia and carbon dioxide concentration gradients. Artificial turf is a promising new technology to improve indoor air quality in and reduce pollutant emissions from poultry production