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BACKGROUND: Theatre personnel can spread healthcare-associated infections through contaminated surgical scrubs. Decontamination of surgical scrubs through optimal methods is important to minimise transmission of microorganisms from theatre personnel's clothing to different areas in the hospital and their homes. AIM: This study aimed to review the literature on the optimal home and hospital laundering methods for the decontamination of reusable surgical scrubs worn by theatre personnel. METHOD: A systematic literature review of previous studies on laundering reusable surgical scrubs was performed. A review question was formulated using the patient, intervention, comparison and outcome (PICO) framework. A literature search was performed using ScienceDirect, Web of Science, ProQuest, EBSCOhost and Google Scholar. RESULTS: A direct link could be established between the cycle length and water temperature. The higher the water temperature, the shorter the washing cycle required. After a load has been washed in low or medium water temperatures, tumble drying and ironing should follow. Despite the water temperature, a disinfectant must be added to the load. CONCLUSION: Health professionals and hospital management should be aware of optimal laundering guidelines for hospital and home laundering as part of infection control. Water temperature, time, mechanical action, type of disinfectant and heat are factors influencing the successful removal of bacteria and other pathogens and represent the baseline of this article. CONTRIBUTION: Home-laundering of reusable surgical scrubs should follow strict guidelines. When these specific guidelines are applied, the effects of home-laundered scrubs will not negatively impact either the theatre or the home environment.

Background: Surgical resection is a common treatment for patients with colorectal cancer. Patients undergoing surgery are at risk of functional deterioration as a response to surgical stress. Furthermore, patients with cancer often present with systemic problems as well as a functional decline. The study aimed to create a framework for preoperative education for patients undergoing colorectal cancer resection.Methods: Five databases were utilised to find intervention-based studies describing the content, mode, setting and timing of delivery of preoperative education for patients undergoing abdominal surgery. Physiotherapists were purposively sampled to participate in a focus group session using a seven-step nominal group technique (NGT) with the goal to reach consensus on the proposed content of a preoperative patient education programme.Results: Seventeen studies were reviewed. Results indicate that the mode and timing of the education provided are heterogenous. Content included in the education programs described were breathing exercises, coughing techniques, verbal advice, physical exercises, surgical information, postoperative pain management, nutritional support, relaxation techniques and information about postoperative complications. Six physiotherapists participated in the focus group discussion. Ideas generated in the focus group were similar to those describedin the literature.Conclusion: Results from both the narrative review and the focus group session assisted the authors to develop a framework for the content, timing, setting and mode of delivery of physiotherapy preoperative education for patients undergoing surgical resection for colorectal cancer.Contribution: The framework can be used to inform a physiotherapy preoperative education programme for patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer.

Background: Medical grade oxygen is classified as a drug and needs to be prescribed by a qualified healthcare professional. Oxygen therapy is prescribed to people who cannot maintain normal blood oxygen saturation while breathing atmospheric air. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the importance of the rational use of this scarce commodity. This study investigated oxygen therapy practices in adult ward patients. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with an analytical component was used in the adults wards at a National District Hospital and the Pelonomi Academic Hospital in Bloemfontein. Data were collected from patient files, interviews and oxygen measurements of adult patients that received oxygen. Results: One hundred and fifteen patients were included in the study, of whom 47.0% received oxygen without an oxygen prescription. Around 62.3% of the patients with prescriptions did not receive oxygen as prescribed. The prescriptions and oxygen administration for COVID-19 patients were better than for non–COVID-19 patients. A quarter of the patients possibly received oxygen therapy unnecessarily. Conclusion: Poor oxygen therapy practices were identified, including prescription errors, oxygen administration errors and oxygen wastage. A protocol should be developed and implemented for the prescription and administration of oxygen therapy. Training should occur to prevent oxygen wastage. Contribution: This study highlighted poor oxygen practices and prescriptions, as well as oxygen wastage in the absence of local oxygen therapy guidelines.&nbsp

Purpose: This article examines the sincerity of two sets of narrative disclosures in the letters of chairpersons (CPs) and chief executive officers (CEOs) to stakeholders. The study sought to compare the level of optimism between the two letters and whether such optimism (as per its link to future performance) was sincere or not and the differences in the level of sincerity between the two letters.Design/methodology/approach: Chairpersons’ and chief executive officers’ letters as contained in annual reports for firms listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange over a 4-year period were analysed. Textual analysis software was used to measure optimism in 200 CPs’ and 200 CEOs’ letters. The level of optimism was compared using mixed-model repeated measures analysis of variance. Sincerity was operationalised as the positive association between the level of optimism and future performance and a negative association as evidence of impression management. Two-way linear fixed effect regression models were used.Findings: This study found that CPs’ letters were more optimistic than those of CEOs’. More specifically, the results point to impression management in both CPs’ and CEOs’ letters, with only CPs’ letters indicating a significant negative association.Practical implications: Relative to the CEOs, CPs may use more optimistic writing styles to sway stakeholders who are anticipating worse-than-expected future performance; readers should be aware of the potential consequences of such practices.Originality/value: The results provide support for the obfuscation hypothesis as a theoretical underpinning regarding CPs’ and CEOs’ letters. Overall, the results question the ability of such narratives to lessen agency costs.

The responsibility for building community resilience cannot and should not rest with the public sector alone. It requires all sectors to collaborate for the benefit of the entire community. Specifically, it is important for private sector organisations to participate in building community resilience because they have vested interest in the area because of their physical assets, suppliers, customers and corporate value of social responsibility. This article explores collaboration between private companies and community of Diepsloot, Johannesburg, South Africa, to build disaster resilience in the community. The study applied qualitative research methods. Data were collected through focus group interviews with the community of Diepsloot and semi-structured individual interviews with representatives of private companies operating in the vicinity of Diepsloot. A total of 55 respondents participated in the study. Respondents included five corporate social responsibility (CSR) managers from private companies and 50 community members. The findings of the study showed that private companies are involved in addressing socio-economic challenges in Diepsloot. Addressing such challenges contributes a great deal to reducing exposure to hazards and the vulnerability factors to disasters, thereby contributing to building resilience. Whereas some respondents preferred the private companies to work with the communities directly, the study recommends the use of community structures such as Community Based Organisations (CBOs) when private companies engage in community initiatives. The article contributes to better understanding of the private sector’s contribution to build community resilience.

Background: As the life expectancy of people living with the HIV increases because of antiretroviral treatment (ART), their risk for vascular co-morbidities and early vascular ageing (EVA) also increases. Objective: We aimed to investigate whether HIV infection relates to vascular structure and function in black South African adults and whether this relationship is age dependent. Method: This cross-sectional study carried out in urban and rural areas of North West province, South Africa, included 572 age- and sex-matched people living with HIV (PLWH) and without HIV. Participants from the EndoAfrica study and PURE study were stratified according to tertiles of age. Measures of vascular structure (carotid intima-media thickness) and function (carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, central systolic blood pressure, central pulse pressure and pulse pressure amplification) were determined. Results: Blood pressure measures were lower in PLWH compared with their controls (all P ≤ 0.001), especially in the younger and middle-aged groups (all P ≤ 0.031), whilst vascular measures did not differ (all P ≥ 0.611). In multivariate linear regression analyses, vascular measures were not associated with a HIV- positive status in either the total or any of the age groups. Conclusion: Black South Africans living with HIV have a less adverse blood pressure profile than their counterparts without HIV. The HIV-positive status was not associated with measures of vascular structure or function in any age group. The results suggest that HIV does not contribute to EVA in this population; however, further longitudinal investigation is warranted.&nbsp

Background: Municipalities have a moral and legal obligation to involve communities in determining, prioritising and realising socio-economic development needs. To achieve this aim, municipalities should use integrated development planning, which implies a sequential, phased process. Municipalities should engage the local communities in each phase. For this purpose, and based on unique demographic realities, various means of participation should be used. Aim: The aim was to present and reflect on the results of a survey conducted in selected South African municipalities to ascertain the status of integrated development planning design and implementation in the sampled municipalities, with a particular reference to community participation praxis. Setting: Senior managers in 11 randomly sampled local, district and metropolitan municipalities. Participants included municipal managers as chief accounting officers, chief financial officers, executive directors and functional heads of department. Methods: A qualitative survey research design was followed utilising a desktop survey and semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. Input was obtained from senior managers ( n = 52) in 11 randomly sampled local, district and metropolitan municipalities. Results: The survey revealed significant disparities between high capacity urban municipalities and deep rural low-capacity municipalities regarding the effectiveness of community participation mechanisms and development planning engagement. Conclusion: Integrated development planning is crucial to address the diverse and complex nature of development challenges experienced by most of the South African population. The IDPs of municipalities are critical instruments to guide municipalities in determining and addressing targeted needs in urban and rural communities. Recommendations are proposed to address the planning participation deficit.

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) and a non-clinical (NC) group of learners perform differently on the Senior South African Individual Scale Revised (SSAIS-R). The rationale for this study is based on literature that argues for SCT to be considered as a separate and unique disorder to ADHD. The SSAIS-R results of 618 (7–17 years of age) children were analysed for the purposes of this study. The total sample consisted of three groups, that is, ADHD ( n = 106), NC ( n = 427) and SCT ( n = 85). Between-group t -tests were performed to test for significant differences between the three groups with regard to the different SSAIS-R subtests. The results indicated significant differences between NC and ADHD, NC and SCT but not between ADHD and SCT. These results suggest that if SCT is considered to be a separate disorder from ADHD, then this is not evident in terms of the performance on the SSAIS-R. It is recommended that other cognitive and neuropsychological assessments be included in future research to ascertain whether SCT, if it exists, affects performance differently to ADHD.

Background: Cities continue to grapple with a rising demand for housing, which affects affordability and the well-being of its citizens. This growth continues to put pressure on the delivery of adequate, affordable housing in well-located areas while the availability of infrastructure and proximity to economic nodes remains a challenge. This has led to increasing infill development of medium-density to high-density affordable housing in greenfield areas located adjacent to higher-income neighbourhoods. Aim: This study investigates how a new affordable housing development influences the locational and structural values of the adjacent, existing housing market. Setting: Transactional data of residential sales for two areas in South Africa are used to measure the value change. Both areas are located within an urban setting next to an open, greenfield area that was redeveloped for affordable housing. Methods: Two case studies are used and analysed with hedonic pricing modelling to identify and measure the value change for the locational and structural characteristics before and after the development of affordable housing. Results: The results reveal a changing housing market as the locational and structural characteristics change in value, further highlighting the importance of careful planning that preserves the existing market and also supplies affordable housing. Conclusion: The value of several structural characteristics of properties will change, revealing just how consumer preference responds when affordable housing is introduced in an existing housing market. Distance to an affordable housing project continues to influence the house market value and careful consideration should be made when planning to integrate an affordable housing development in an existing neighbourhood.

Social media platforms have become essential to organisations in developing countries as they can offer a business advantage. This comes with security risks and privacy concerns as numerous scientific literatures have testified. Although the majority of employees are using social media privately and at the workplace (using the same device such as a smartphone), some organisations have not effectively established information security awareness programmes to protect their electronic information backbone. It is a fact that professional hackers are prowling constantly to gain access to systems of organisations and sometimes employees make naive mistakes that can open the door to cyberattacks, which exploit vulnerabilities in the organisation’s system. The current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis is a prime example where employees and students are encouraged to work from home. No organisation does have complete control over the security measures each employee has in place for his or her private connection. This study applied a desktop review to identify the cyber risks associated with social media use at the workplace. A scoping literature review gathered the data following a qualitative approach. The theories of reasoned action and deterrence were used as a theoretical foundation for the study. A model is proposed to enhance employee information security compliance when using social media at the workplace and demonstrates how awareness strategies can be employed to improve employee information security compliance. It is recommended that organisations implement methods to minimise social media risks to ensure that the integrity of information is preserved through these awareness programmes to employees.

Background: Developmental coordination disorder (DCD) is a neurodevelopmental motor disorder affecting 5% to 6% of children globally. The motor skills deficit associated with DCD is characterised by its impact on academic productivity, activities of daily living and play. Although the Department of Education’s ( 2014 ) policy on screening, identification, assessment and support (SIAS) calls for teachers to be the first line of identification of learning barriers, teachers are often unaware of the characteristics of DCD and have difficulty in recognising the condition. Aim: This study explored the recognisable characteristics of DCD, which Foundation Phase learners may display, to assist teachers in effectively recognising this potential learning barrier. Setting: Occupational-, speech- and physiotherapists, remedial teachers and educational psychologists working with Foundation Phase learners in Johannesburg, South Africa, participated in the study. Methods: Within a generic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and the content coded into meaningful units to derive themes relating to the study’s aim. Results: Developmental coordination disorder has multidomain and cascading characteristics. Learners present with fine and gross motor challenges, difficulties with social interaction, frustration and associated aggression, and task avoidance. Challenges regarding planning, sequencing, organisation, slow task completion and difficulties with academic skills may be observed. Conclusion: Developmental coordination disorder is recognisable in Foundation Phase classrooms, provided that teachers carefully observe learners’ behaviour. Early recognition of symptoms may lead to accurate diagnosis, increased understanding and the provision of appropriate supportive interventions.

Background: Neuroendocrine tumours are known to impact patients’ quality of life because of the symptoms caused by hypersecretion of serotonin and other peptides, in particular diarrhoea and flushing. Aim: The Q-SYMTU study was a prospective, observational registry that included 24 symptomatic patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours. Setting: Multiple oncology practices in South Africa. Method: Patients’ level of satisfaction was evaluated for a 6-month period from initiation of treatment with lanreotide Autogel. Results: The number of patients who had greater than 50% self-reported reduction in daily episodes of diarrhoea and flushing were 67% and 80%, respectively, over a 6-month period. Conclusion: Treatment with lanreotide Autogel was generally well tolerated, as demonstrated by low occurrence of Grade 3 and Grade 4 adverse events (AEs). None of the Grade 4 AEs were related to the study treatment. No Grade 5 AEs were reported.

Background: Organisations are investing time and resources in implementing play at work. However, the possible effect of play at work as an organisational intervention is largely unknown. Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of a play-at-work intervention on psychological detachment, work enjoyment, employee performance, and workplace boredom of work teams. Setting: The sample consisted of 26 telemarketing employees in the Northwest Province, South Africa. Methods: A longitudinal, three-wave intervention study design was followed. The sample consisted of two work teams from a telesales company divided into the experimental group (n = 9) and the control group (n = 17). A play-atwork intervention consisting of different single-player and multi-player games was developed. Surveys were used to collect data prior to introducing the intervention, after one week of play, and again after the second week of the intervention. Results: The results indicated that the play-at-work intervention positively influenced employees’ psychological detachment during their lunch break. Team performance also increased when the play-at-work intervention was introduced. Conclusion: Employees who participates in play during their breaks will be more likely to psychologically detach compared to other employees. Also, organisations who implement play will have higher team performance compared to others.

Background: This article considers whether South African banks should utilise the credit ratings provided by US-based credit rating agencies when assessing the creditworthiness of corporate borrowers.Aim: A review is conducted of the relevant literature and specifically the methodologies used by the credit rating agencies for ranking corporates in emerging markets.Setting: The three largest international credit rating agencies are Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investor Services, and Standard and Poor’s. These agencies’ credit ratings cover the global spectrum of corporate, sovereign, financial and other public entities and the securities and obligations they issue. The analytical frameworks used to produce these ratings are referred to as credit rating methodologies.Method: A review of Moody’s ratings for South African corporate entities was undertaken to examine claims of a sovereign ceiling influencing the external ratings obtained by these institutions in emerging markets.Results: Only 14 of the 200 global South African ratings pierced the sovereign ceiling.Conclusion: The study concludes that the use of unmodified external ratings by banks to assess a corporate borrower should be discouraged. High-level suggestions are provided on how the methodologies and data used by the external agencies may rather be used to arrive at more suitable internal ratings.

Background: Post-secondary education forms the backbone of delivering high-powered persons in a country. Students are subjected to high levels of pressure to achieve success. This often promotes aggression towards self, others and even the environment. Predicting aggression is important as this can assist in managing aggression and the facilitation of the mental health of students. Little research has been published on the prediction of aggression in a university. Aim: To describe the prediction of aggression of students in one faculty in a university. Setting: Students in one faculty in a university. Methods: A deductive quantitative methodology was applied. Multivariate statistical techniques were used to answer the research questions. An online survey was conducted by using a questionnaire that comprised items related to biographic, personality and aggression aspects. Data were analysed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha values, various factor analyses (principal component analysis) and several multiple regression analyses to identify and describe the predictors of aggression. Results: Findings reflect that aggression can be predicted by intra- and interpersonal variables, such as ‘positive inclination towards others’, ‘positive inclination towards self’ and ‘acting responsibly towards self.’ Aggression is lower when a student’s positive inclination towards others is higher and towards self is lower and when a student acts with greater responsibility towards self. Conclusion: Students should understand and manage their own aggression. Overall, the findings showed that students are seemingly ‘adjusted’ conformists using an external locus of control. The facilitation of an internal locus of control and autonomous behaviour is imperative.