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Background: South Africa is reporting higher rates of adolescent pregnancy as compared to other countries. There are different types of interventions that are in place to address teenage pregnancy. However, these interventions were developed using top-down strategy without the inclusion of different stakeholders and adolescents which makes it hard to implement those interventions particularly in countries like South Africa. Hence, this study aimed to develop strategies to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province of South Africa., Methods: The research design of this study will be Co-operative Inquiry.The study will take place in Vhembe District in Limpopo province of South Africa through collaborating with a Non-governmental Organisation (NGO). The study population will be the teenagers and all the different stakeholders caring for teenagers in their areas of specialization. Purposive sampling will be used to sample the targeted participants of the study. The data collection method will be done in phases and focus group discussions will be used to collect data. Content analysis will be used to analyse data., Discussion: This study will add to the body of knowledge regarding the strategies that maybe used to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Background: Rapid reviews have emerged as an approach to provide contextualized evidence in a timely and efficient manner. Three rapid review centers were established in Ethiopia, Lebanon, and South Africa through the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, World Health Organization, to stimulate demand, engage policymakers, and produce rapid reviews to support health policy and systems decision-making. This study aimed to assess the experiences of researchers and policymakers engaged in producing and using rapid reviews for health systems strengthening and decisions towards universal health coverage (UHC)., Methods: Using a case study approach with qualitative research methods, experienced researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with respondents from each center (n = 16). The topics covered included the process and experience of establishing the centers, stimulating demand for rapid reviews, collaborating between researchers and policymakers, and disseminating and using rapid reviews for health policies and interventions and the potential for sustaining and institutionalizing the services. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis., Results: Major themes interacted and contributed to shape the experiences of stakeholders of the rapid review centers, including the following: organizational structural arrangements of the centers, management of their processes as input factors, and the rapid reviews as the immediate policy-relevant outputs. The engagement process and the rapid review products contributed to a final theme of impact of the rapid review centers in relation to the uptake of evidence for policy and systems decision-making., Conclusions: The experiences of policymakers and researchers of the rapid review centers determined the uptake of evidence. The findings of this study can inform policymakers, health system managers, and researchers on best practices for demanding, developing and using rapid reviews to support decision- and policymaking, and implementing the universal healthcare coverage agenda., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: In an attempt to address a complex disease burden, including improving progress towards MDGs 4 and 5, South Africa recently introduced a re-engineered Primary Health Care (PHC) strategy, which has led to the development of a national community health worker (CHW) programme. The present study explored the development of a cell phone-based and paper-based monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system to support the work of the CHWs., Methods: One sub-district in the North West province was identified for the evaluation. One outreach team comprising ten CHWs maintained both the paper forms and mHealth system to record household data on community-based services. A comparative analysis was done to calculate the correspondence between the paper and phone records. A focus group discussion was conducted with the CHWs. Clinical referrals, data accuracy and supervised visits were compared and analysed for the paper and phone systems., Results: Compared to the mHealth system where data accuracy was assured, 40% of the CHWs showed a consistently high level (>90% correspondence) of data transfer accuracy on paper. Overall, there was an improvement over time, and by the fifth month, all CHWs achieved a correspondence of 90% or above between phone and paper data. The most common error that occurred was summing the total number of visits and/or activities across the five household activity indicators. Few supervised home visits were recorded in either system and there was no evidence of the team leader following up on the automatic notifications received on their cell phones., Conclusions: The evaluation emphasizes the need for regular supervision for both systems and rigorous and ongoing assessments of data quality for the paper system. Formalization of a mHealth M&E system for PHC outreach teams delivering community based services could offer greater accuracy of M&E and enhance supervision systems for CHWs.

A correction to the article "Strategies to enhance sexual health education for prevention of teenage pregnancy in Vhembe District, Limpopo Province: different stakeholder's perspectives, a co-operative inquiry qualitative protocol paper," published online, is presented.

Background The role of tectonic uplift in stimulating speciation in South Africa's only alpine zone, the Drakensberg, has not been explicitly examined. Tectonic processes may influence speciation both through the creation of novel habitats and by physically isolating plant populations. We use the Afrotemperate endemic daisy genus Macowania to explore the timing and mode (geographic versus adaptive) of speciation in this region. Between sister species pairs we expect high morphological divergence where speciation has happened in sympatry (adaptive) while with geographic (vicariant) speciation we may expect to find less morphological divergence and a greater degree of allopatry. A dated molecular phylogenetic hypothesis for Macowania elucidates species' relationships and is used to address the potential impact of uplift on diversification. Morphological divergence of a small sample of reproductive and vegetative characters, used as a proxy for adaptive divergence, is measured against species' range distributions to estimate mode of speciation across two subclades in the genus. Results The Macowania crown age is consistent with the hypothesis of post-uplift diversification, and we find evidence for both vicariant and adaptive speciation between the two subclades within Macowania. Both subclades exhibit strong signals of range allopatry, suggesting that geographic isolation was important in speciation. One subclade, associated with dry, rocky environments at high altitudes, shows very little morphological and ecological differentiation but high range allopatry. The other subclade occupies a greater variety of habitats and exhibits far greater morphological differentiation, but contains species with overlapping distribution ranges. Conclusions Species in Macowania are likely to have diversified in response to tectonic uplift, and we invoke uplift and uplift-mediated erosion as the main drivers of speciation. The greater relative morphological divergence in sympatric species of Macowania indicates that speciation in the non-sympatric taxa may not have required obvious adaptive differences, implying that simple geographic isolation was the driving force for speciation ('neutral speciation'). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the context of a move to universal health coverage, three separate systematic reviews were conducted to summarise available evidence on the direct costs of interventions for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in South Africa. Methods: PubMed® and Web of Science was searched for literature published between 01 and 1995 and 27 October 2022. Additionally, reference and citations lists of retrieved articles and experts were consulted. We also tracked reference lists of previous, related systematic reviews. Eligible publications were cost analyses of clinical interventions targeted at adults age 15 + reporting primary estimates of in- and out-of-hospital costs from a provider perspective. Costs were extracted and converted to 2021 US dollars, and article methodological and reporting quality was appraised using the 2013 CHEERS checklist. Results: Of the 600, 1,172 and 1,466 identified publications for type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, respectively, 10, 12, and 17 met full inclusion criteria. 60% of articles reported cardiovascular disease costs, 52% were of good reporting quality, and 10%, 50%, and 39% of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease papers reported private-sector costs only. Hypertension drug costs ranged from $2 to $85 per person-month, while type 2 diabetes mellitus drug costs ranged between $57 and $630 per person-year (ppy). Diabetes-related complication treatment costs ranged from $55 for retinopathy treatment to $25,193 ppy for haemodialysis, while cardiovascular disease treatment costs were between $160 and $37,491 ppy. Drugs and treatment of complications were major cost drivers for hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus, while hospitalisation drove cardiovascular disease costs. Conclusion: The intervention costs of type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension and cardiovascular disease care have received more attention recently, particularly diabetes-related complications and cardiovascular disease. However, 39% of identified cardiovascular disease treatment costs used a private sector perspective, leaving significant research gaps in the public sector and the cheaper to treat hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This review fills an information gap regarding the intervention costs of these diseases in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Violence against women (VAW) research is a sensitive topic, which has been conducted mainly using face-to-face methods. The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions on movement presented an opportunity to conduct VAW research using remote methods. We discuss how we adapted methods, reflect on lessons learned, and make recommendations highlighting key considerations when conducting remote research on a sensitive topic of VAW. Methods: We designed and conducted an exploratory qualitative study using remote methods with 18 men and 19 women, aged 18 years and older, who lived with their partner or spouse during lockdown in South Africa. The aim of the study was to explore experiences of COVID-19 lockdown, and its link to women and children's experiences of violence in the homes. Data presented in this paper draws from researchers' reflections drawn from debriefing sessions during the research process, and from participants' interview transcripts. Findings: Remote recruitment of participants took longer than anticipated, and we had to re-advertise the study. We could not ensure safety and privacy during interviews. Regardless of all the safety and privacy measures we put in place during the research process, some participants had an adult person present in the room during interviews, and the researchers had no control over interruptions. Rapport was difficult to establish without an in-person connection, which limited disclosure about violence experience (amongst women) and perpetration (amongst men). Conclusions: Given the methodological and ethical challenges which limited disclosure of VAW remotely, we conclude that telephone interviews used in our study impacted on the quality of study data. Therefore, we do not recommend VAW research to be conducted remotely, unless it is essential and participants are already known to the interviewer and trust has been established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research studies as well as anecdotal evidence suggest that there are challenges regarding the NHI plan implementation. These include problems such as an increase in illnesses and a shortage of personnel to drive the project in South African public hospitals. This is exacerbated by the existing situation of most government-funded healthcare institutions, which are characterized by bad administration, insufficient budget, inadequate infrastructure, and insufficient drug supply, as highlighted in several studies. The hospital under investigation is one such facility, with a history of patients sleeping on the floor and people being turned away owing to a shortage of experts and an overburdened staff. This situation is concerning, given that the government claims to be providing appropriate funds to the institution. The hospital under research is highly regarded by the surrounding community. However, a visit by the Health MEC in 2014 revealed that the facility had insufficient sanitary standards and a high complaint rate. Based on the foregoing, as well as the difficulties that both employees and patients are confronted with at the  selected hospital, the question that emerges is whether the hospital is fit for the implementation of the NHI.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the preparation for the launch of the national health insurance scheme at a Johannesburg hospital.Setting: The study was conducted at a hospital situated in eastern suburbs of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa.Method: The study employed a qualitative method with an explorative, descriptive, qualitative study design. The population consisted of selected hospital employees, such as doctors, dispensary officers, hospital managers, human resources workers, facility managers, and administration record officials who were employed at the selected hospital. Purposive sampling was used to select participants.Sample Size: Category saturation was used to determine the sample size. The participants for the study were chosen using purposeful sampling, with the researcher aiming for those who were familiar with the NHI scheme at the institution. Semi structured interviews and a focus group discussion were used to gather data. The data from the focus group discussion and semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.Results: The investigation found that the hospital was preparing to for the NHI implementation, but that was riddled with lack of resources, poor infrastructure, lack of training, delays in development and poor technological advances.Recommendations: The paper suggests that human resources be increased, infrastructure be upgraded, medicines and equipment be increased, and enough training on NHI implementation be provided.Contribution: The paper adds to the body of knowledge regarding the NHI in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community health worker programmes have the potential to contribute critically towards universal health coverage. However, CHWs globally have often continued to operate on the periphery of the health care system, viewed as a non-essential cadre. This results in a workforce that often remains disempowered and under-supported. This paper presents evidence from a study conducted in a rural part of South Africa, to better understand issues of CHW prioritisation, integration, and empowerment. Methods: We applied an analytical lens based on empowerment theory and conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data emerging from a sub-study of a cRCT evaluating the effectiveness of supportive supervision for CHWs within a large-scale national CHW programme. The cRCT was conducted between 2017 and 2022, and 39 CHWs were included in the study. Results: We organised our findings across the four domains of structural empowerment; information, resources, support, and opportunity, and mapped these domains against the domains of psychological empowerment. Our findings show how CHWs are still working in the periphery of the healthcare system. Without sufficient prioritisation, high level-support from national and district governments, and sufficient investments in programmatic domains—such as training, equipment, and supportive supervision—it is likely that the CHW cadre will continue to be seen as informal health care workers. Conclusions: CHW empowerment could be a lever to potentially transform the current health system towards universal coverage; however, this process can only happen with sufficient high-level prioritization and investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As surveillance is a key strategy for malaria elimination in South Africa, ensuring strong surveillance systems is a National Department of Health priority. Historically, real time tracking of case trends and reporting within 24 h—a requirement in South Africa's National surveillance guidelines—has not been possible. To enhance surveillance and response efficiency, a mobile surveillance tool, MalariaConnect, was developed using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) technology. It was rolled out in health facilities in malaria endemic areas of South Africa to provide 24-h reporting of malaria cases. Methods: To evaluate the efficiency of the mobile tool to detect an outbreak data were extracted from the paper based and MalariaConnect reporting systems in Bushbuckridge from 1 January to 18 June 2017. These data were subject to time series analyses to determine if MalariaConnect provided sufficient data reliably to detect increasing case trends reported through the paper system. The Chi squared test was used to determine goodness of fit between the following indicator data generated using MalariaConnect and paper reporting systems: timeliness, completeness, and precision. Results: MalariaConnect adequately tracked case trends reported through the paper system. Timeliness of reporting increased significantly using MalariaConnect with 0.63 days to notification compared to 5.65 days using the paper-system (p < 0.05). The completeness of reporting was significantly higher for the paper system (100% completion; p < 0.05), compared to confirmed MalariaConnect cases (61%). There was a moderate association between data precision and the reporting system (p < 0.05). MalariaConnect provided an effective way of reliably and accurately identifying the onset of the malaria outbreak in Bushbuckridge. Conclusion: Timeliness significantly improved using MalariaConnect and in a malaria elimination setting, can be used to markedly improve case investigation and response activities within the recommended 72-h period. Although data completeness and precision were lower compared to paper reporting, MalariaConnect data can be used to trigger outbreak responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vaccination is essential for the prevention of infectious diseases and has helped to reduce disease-related mortality, such as pneumonia. However, traditional vaccine development is time-consuming and risky. Reverse vaccinology (RV) is a promising alternative to developing vaccines based on the in silico discovery of antigens, often termed 'potential vaccine candidates' (PVCs), using a pathogen's proteome. RV prediction technologies, such as VaxiJen (founded in 2007), are used to take the first step toward vaccine development. VaxiJen is used by researchers to identify PVCs for various diseases. A 10-year review of these PVCs was published in 2017. There has since been no review of viral PVCs predicted by VaxiJen from 2017 to 2021. The proposed scoping review aims to address this gap. Methods: This protocol is reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 checklist. The review will employ Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage methodological framework, which was later enhanced by Levac et al. and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). The PRISMA extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guideline will be utilized with this framework. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest One Academic will be searched using the term 'vaxijen'. The inclusion criteria will be English-only full-text original articles published in peer-reviewed journals and unpublished papers from 2017 to 2021. Rayyan will be used to deduplicate, screen titles and abstracts of articles. The articles' full texts will be examined. The data will be extracted using Microsoft Excel. Using a data charting form, data will be sifted and organized by key categories and themes. Discussion: This protocol was submitted for publication and went through an extensive peer review process. The review has implications for novel vaccine development against various viruses. The key limitation of this study is language bias due to the selection of English-only papers because of limited resources. This study will not require ethical clearance since it will use secondary data and will not include patients. Nevertheless, this research is part of a larger project that was submitted for ethical consideration to the Biomedical Research Ethics Committee of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. This study's findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and provided to relevant stakeholders. Systematic review registration: Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/ht8wr [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Substance use is an escalating public health problem in South Africa resulting in risky behaviours and poor educational attainment among adolescents. There is a huge battle to overcome substance use among learners as more drugs become easily available with the mean age of drug experimentation reported to be at 12 years of age. It is important to continuously understand the trends in substance use in order to assess if there are positive changes and provide evidence for the development of context-specific effective interventions. This paper outlines the prevalence of substance use among selected high schools in a district in Limpopo province. Methods: To determine the prevalence of substance use among selected high school learners in a district in Limpopo Province, a cross-sectional school survey of 768 learners was conducted. Data was analysed using SPSS v 26. Descriptive analysis was used to describe the independent and dependent variables and Chi-Square test was used to investigate associations between demographic characteristics and substance use among high school learners. Results: The most abused substances by learners were alcohol (49%), cigarettes (20.8%) and marijuana (dagga/cannabis) (16.8%). In a lifetime, there was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in cigarette smoking with gender, school, and grade; with more use in males (14.2%) than females (7.6%); in urban schools (14.6) than peri-urban (6.7%) and more in Grade 12 (6.4%). There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in alcohol use with more use in Grade 10 (12.6%) and varied use among male and female learners but cumulatively more alcohol use in females (27.7%). Drug use varied, with an overall high drug use in urban schools (20.7%). Conclusions: Substance use is rife among high school learners in the district and health promotion initiatives need to be tailored within the context of socio-demographic characteristics of learners including the multiple levels of influence such as peer pressure, poverty, unemployment and child headed families. Additional research is required to investigate the factors leading to a notable gradual increase in use among female learners and into the environmental and family settings of learners in influencing substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a life-threatening, chronic, autoimmune disease requiring long term subspecialty care due to its complex and chronic nature. Childhood-onset SLE (cSLE) is more severe than adult-onset, and the cSLE population in South Africa has been reported to have an even higher risk than patients elsewhere. Therefore, it is critical to promptly diagnose, treat, and manage cSLE. In this paper, we aim to describe and evaluate barriers and enablers of appropriate long-term care of cSLE South Africa from the perspective of caregivers (parents or family members). Methods: Caregivers (n = 22) were recruited through pediatric and adult rheumatology clinics. Individuals were eligible if they cared for youth (≤ 19 years) who were diagnosed with cSLE and satisfied at least four of the eleven ACR SLE classification criteria. Individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted between January 2014 and December 2014, and explored barriers to and facilitators of ongoing chronic care for cSLE. Data were analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Results: Four barriers to chronic care engagement and retention were identified: knowledge gap, financial burdens, social stigma of SLE, and complexity of the South African medical system. Additionally, we found three facilitators: patient and caregiver education, robust support system for the caregiver, and financial support for the caregiver and patient. Conclusion: These findings highlight multiple, intersecting barriers to routine longitudinal care for cSLE in South Africa and suggest there might be a group of diagnosed children who don't receive follow-up care and are subject to loss to follow-up. cSLE requires ongoing treatment and care; thus, the different barriers may interact and compound over time with each follow-up visit. South African cSLE patients are at high risk for poor outcomes. South African care teams should work to overcome these barriers and place attention on the facilitators to improve care retention for these patients and create a model for other less resourced settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, mothers have identified work as one of the main obstacles to exclusive and continued breastfeeding. The support a woman receives in her workplace in terms of workplace arrangements can be critical to enable women to continue breastfeeding. This study aimed to develop and assess the face validity of a practice model to support exclusive and continued breastfeeding in workplaces in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods: An explanatory, sequential, mixed-method research design, was conducted (June 2017 to March 2019) in three distinct phases. Phase one employed a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study design. Phase 2 used a qualitative, multiple case study. Phase three involved the development and face validity of a practice model to support exclusive breastfeeding in workplaces. The face validity included two Delphi rounds for experts to provide input on the draft practice model. This paper will only report on phase 3 of the study. The practice model was developed, drawing on the analysis of data from phases one and two and using programme theory approaches and a logic model. Results: The practice model was positively perceived. Participants viewed it as informative, well designed and easy to follow, even for those not knowledgeable about the subject. It was viewed as an ideal tool, if accompanied by some training. Participants were positive that the model would be feasible and most commended the tiered approach to implementation. They felt that workplaces would be more open to a step-by-step approach to implementation and if only a few activities are implemented it would be a start to make the work environment more conducive for breastfeeding employees. There were mixed opinions regarding commitment; a few participants mentioned commitment as a challenge they anticipated in the male-dominant environments in which they worked. The provision of space for breastfeeding at the workplace was also highlighted as a potential challenge. Conclusions: Advocacy around creating an enabling workplace environment for breastfeeding is needed. The practice model has the potential to be internationally relevant, locally applied and may be of particular use to workplaces that want to initiate and/or strengthen breastfeeding support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper investigates the perceptions of medical interns regarding the usefulness of non-mother tongue communication skills taught during the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. In 2003, the university decided to incorporate Afrikaans and IsiXhosa communication skills into the new MBChB curriculum in order to meet the Faculty of Health Sciences goals to promote quality and equity in healthcare, and to prepare graduating health practitioners for multilingual communities where they would be serving. Despite annual internal evaluations and reviews of the languages courses, the usefulness, if any, of the additional languages in the working clinical environment had not been determined. Methods: Data were collected during the second year of medical internship across a five-year period through survey questionnaires, as well as focus group interviews conducted in the Western Cape, South Africa. Surveys were conducted from 2009 to 2013. Results: The study shows that the usefulness of each of the probed categories was not consistent across both languages. The interns expressed a need for an overall improvement of the isiXhosa course offering, while the outcomes for the Afrikaans language were more positive across all categories except for cultural understanding. Conclusion: The study indicates a positive trend amongst the interns towards developing usefulness in communication skills in Afrikaans and isiXhosa to communicate with their patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest under-five mortality rate globally. Child healthcare decisions should be based on rigorously developed evidence-informed guidelines. The Global Evidence, Local Adaptation (GELA) project is enhancing capacity to use global research to develop locally relevant guidelines for newborn and child health in South Africa (SA), Malawi, and Nigeria. The first step in this process was to identify national priorities for newborn and child health guideline development, and this paper describes our approach. Methods: We followed a good practice method for priority setting, including stakeholder engagement, online priority setting surveys and consensus meetings, conducted separately in South Africa, Malawi and Nigeria. We established national Steering Groups (SG), comprising 10–13 members representing government, academia, and other stakeholders, identified through existing contacts and references, who helped prioritise initial topics identified by research teams and oversaw the process. Various stakeholders were consulted via online surveys to rate the importance of topics, with results informing consensus meetings with SGs where final priority topics were agreed. Results: Based on survey results, nine, 10 and 11 topics were identified in SA, Malawi, and Nigeria respectively, which informed consensus meetings. Through voting and discussion within meetings, and further engagement after the meetings, the top three priority topics were identified in each country. In SA, the topics concerned anemia prevention in infants and young children and post-discharge support for caregivers of preterm and LBW babies. In Malawi, they focused on enteral nutrition in critically ill children, diagnosis of childhood cancers in the community, and caring for neonates. In Nigeria, the topics focused on identifying pre-eclampsia in the community, hand hygiene compliance to prevent infections, and enteral nutrition for LBW and preterm infants. Conclusions: Through dynamic and iterative stakeholder engagement, we identified three priority topics for guideline development on newborn and child health in SA, Malawi and Nigeria. Topics were specific to contexts, with no overlap, which highlights the importance of contextualised priority setting as well as of the relationships with key decisionmakers who help define the priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In South Africa, the prevalence of gestational diabetes (GDM) is growing, concomitant with the dramatically increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity among women. There is an urgent need to develop tailored interventions to support women with GDM to mitigate pregnancy risks and to prevent progression to type 2 diabetes post-partum. The IINDIAGO study aims to develop and evaluate an intervention for disadvantaged GDM women attending three large, public-sector hospitals for antenatal care in Cape Town and Soweto, SA. This paper offers a detailed description of the development of a theory-based behaviour change intervention, prior to its preliminary testing for feasibility and efficacy in the health system. Methods: The Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) and the COM-B model of behaviour change were used to guide the development of the IINDIAGO intervention. This framework provides a systematic, step-by-step process, starting with a behavioural analysis of the problem and making a diagnosis of what needs to change, and then linking this to intervention functions and behaviour change techniques to bring about the desired result. Findings from primary formative research with women with GDM and healthcare providers were a key source of information for this process. Results: Key objectives of our planned intervention were 1) to address women's evident need for information and psychosocial support by positioning peer counsellors and a diabetes nurse in the GDM antenatal clinic, and 2) to offer accessible and convenient post-partum screening and counselling for sustained behaviour change among women with GDM by integrating follow-up into the routine immunisation programme at the Well Baby clinic. The peer counsellors and the diabetes nurse were trained in patient-centred, motivational counselling methods. Conclusions: This paper offers a rich description and analysis of designing a complex intervention tailored to the challenging contexts of urban South Africa. The BCW was a valuable tool to use in designing our intervention and tailoring its content and format to our target population and local setting. It provided a robust and transparent theoretical foundation on which to develop our intervention, assisted us in making the hypothesised pathways for behaviour change explicit and enabled us to describe the intervention in standardised, precisely defined terms. Using such tools can contribute to improving rigour in the design of behavioural change interventions. Trial registration: First registered on 20/04/2018, Pan African Clinical Trials Registry (PACTR): PACTR201805003336174. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV diagnosis in South Africa is based on a point-of-care testing (PoCT) algorithm with paper-based record-keeping. Aggregated testing data are reported routinely. To facilitate improved HIV case-based surveillance, the Western Cape Province implemented a unique pilot intervention to digitise PoCT results, at an individual level, and generate an electronic register using the newly developed Provincial Health Data Centre (PHDC). We describe the intervention (phased) and present an evaluation of the operational feasibility of the intervention. We also offer implementation insights into establishing electronic capture of individual level testing data.Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted on records of all patients attending a local Community Health Centre who had an HIV-PoCT during the study period. Data from the intervention were linked to the PHDC using a unique identifier and compared with aggregate data from the paper-based register. Correlation coefficients were calculated to quantify the correlation between the two monthly datasets. To support an understanding of the findings, the Department of Health project management team generated reflections on the implementation process, which were then grouped thematically into implementation lessons.Results: In total, 11,337 PoCT records were digitised (70% (7954) during Phase I; and 30% (3383) during Phase II). Linkage of forms to the PHDC was 96% in Phase I and 98% in Phase II. Comparison with aggregate data showed high correlation during Phase I, but notable divergence during Phase II. Divergence in Phase II was due to stringent data quality requirements and high clinical staff turnover. Factors supporting implementation success in Phase I included direct oversight of data capturing by a manager with clinical and operational insight. Implementation challenges included operational, health system, and high cost-related issues.Conclusions: We demonstrate that rapid digitisation of HIV PoCT data, without compromising currently collected aggregate data, is operationally feasible, and can contribute to person-level longitudinal HIV case-based surveillance. To take to scale, we will need to improve PoCT platforms and clerical and administrative systems. Although we highlight challenges, we demonstrate that electronic HIV testing registers can successfully replace manual registers and improve efforts to monitor and evaluate HIV testing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV education targeting children and adolescents is a key component of HIV prevention. This is especially important in the context of increasing HIV prevalence rates among adolescents and young people. The authors sought to examine the role and effectiveness of an extra-curricular school based programme, Soul Buddyz Clubs (SBC) on HIV knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and biomedical outcomes.Methods: This paper employs a mixed methods approach drawing on data from independent qualitative and quantitative sources. Secondary data analysis was performed using survey data from a nationally representative sample that was restricted to 10-14 year-old males and females living in South Africa. Ten focus group discussions and ten in-depth interviews conducted with SBC members and facilitators from 5 provinces, as part of a process evaluation are used to triangulate the effectiveness of SBC intervention.Results: The analysis of survey data from 2 198 children indicated that 12% of respondents were exposed to SBC with 4% reporting that they had ever belonged to a club. Children exposed to SBC were more likely to be medically circumcised (AOR 2.38; 95%CI 1.29 -4.40, p=0.006), had correct HIV knowledge (AOR 2.21; 95%CI 1.36 - 3.57, p<0.001) and had less HIV stigmatising attitudes (AOR 0.54; 95%CI 0.31-0.93, p=0.025), adjusting for age, sex, province and exposure to other media - in comparison to those not exposed. Propensity Score Matching findings were consistent with the regression findings. Qualitative findings also supported some of the quantitative results. SBC members reported having learnt about HIV prevention life skills, including condom use, positive attitudes towards people living with HIV, and alcohol abuse.Conclusions: Participation in SBC is associated with accessing biomedical HIV prevention services, specifically MMC, correct HIV prevention knowledge and less HIV stigmatizing attitudes. This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of a school-based extracurricular intervention using a club approach targeting boys and girls ages 10-14 years on some of the key HIV prevention biomarkers as well as knowledge and attitudes. The article suggests that extra-curricular interventions can form an effective component of school-based comprehensive sexuality education in preventing HIV and promoting medical male circumcision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Electronic clinical decision-making support systems (eCDSS) aim to assist clinicians making complex patient management decisions and improve adherence to evidence-based guidelines. Integrated management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) provides guidelines for management of sick children attending primary health care clinics and is widely implemented globally. An electronic version of IMCI (eIMCI) was developed in South Africa. Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial comparing management of sick children with eIMCI to the management when using paper-based IMCI (pIMCI) in one district in KwaZulu-Natal. From 31 clinics in the district, 15 were randomly assigned to intervention (eIMCI) or control (pIMCI) groups. Computers were deployed in eIMCI clinics, and one IMCI trained nurse was randomly selected to participate from each clinic. eIMCI participants received a one-day computer training, and all participants received a similar three-day IMCI update and two mentoring visits. A quantitative survey was conducted among mothers and sick children attending participating clinics to assess the quality of care provided by IMCI practitioners. Sick child assessments by participants in eIMCI and pIMCI groups were compared to assessment by an IMCI expert. Results: Self-reported computer skills were poor among all nurse participants. IMCI knowledge was similar in both groups. Among 291 enrolled children: 152 were in the eIMCI group; 139 in the pIMCI group. The mean number of enrolled children was 9.7 per clinic (range 7-12). IMCI implementation was sub-optimal in both eIMCI and pIMCI groups. eIMCI consultations took longer than pIMCI consultations (median duration 28 minutes vs 25 minutes; p = 0.02). eIMCI participants were less likely than pIMCI participants to correctly classify children for presenting symptoms, but were more likely to correctly classify for screening conditions, particularly malnutrition. eIMCI participants were less likely to provide all required medications (124/152; 81.6% vs 126/139; 91.6%, p= 0.026), and more likely to prescribe unnecessary medication (48/152; 31.6% vs 20/139; 14.4%, p = 0.004) compared to pIMCI participants. Conclusions: Implementation of eIMCI failed to improve management of sick children, with poor IMCI implementation in both groups. Further research is needed to understand barriers to comprehensive implementation of both pIMCI and eIMCI. (349) Clinical trials registration: Clinicaltrials.gov ID: BFC157/19, August 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global Human Resources for Health (HRH) strategy emphasizes the need to invest in HRH to meet population needs and improve the provision of quality health care services. In South Africa, dietitians are recognized as registered professionals who provide nutrition services. In this paper, we used 2 key steps (3 and 4) of the eight step World Health Organization (WHO) Workload Indicators of Staffing Need (WISN) methodology to determine the workload components and activity standards for dietitians at South African central and tertiary public hospitals. Methods: All (9) provincial nutrition managers (phase one) and 21 out of a total 22 head dietitians at central and tertiary public hospitals (phase two) participated in an online survey. In phase one, the provincial managers provided the job descriptions (JDs) of dietitians in their provinces, and the JDs were analyzed to determine the baseline workload components. In phase two, dietitians participated in a multi-stage Delphi process to reach consensus on workload components and activity standards. Consensus was deemed to be agreement of 70% or more, while the median of participants' responses was used to obtain consensus on the activity standards. Results: The JDs of dietitians were a useful baseline for the consensus exercise as there were no other suitable source documents. The response rate was 100% for all three rounds of the Delphi survey. Dietitians reached agreement (consensus ≥ 70%) on 92% of proposed workload components and activity standards. Following the removal of duplicate and certain administrative activities, a total of 15 health, 15 support and 15 additional service activities with aligned activity standards resulted from the consensus exercise. Conclusion: The Delphi technique was a suitable method for reaching agreement on workload components and activity standards for dietitians at South African central and tertiary public hospitals. The findings from this study can now be used to compile a standardized list of workload components and activity standards and ultimately to determine dietetic staffing needs for the central and tertiary public hospital level of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Low-resource settings are often less capable of responding to and implementing available quality research evidence for public healthcare practice and policy development due to various factors. In most low-resource settings, limited empirical evidence is available to help deal with localised factors that contribute to low public health research uptake, particularly from the perspective of key research stakeholders. Methods: Although the study initially employed a two-phase exploratory sequential approach, this paper focuses on the results generated from a quantitative approach. Considering the determining factors that affect research uptake in the context of low-resource settings, a measuring instrument was developed and its reliability and validity were assessed using an exploratory factor analysis approach. Results: A total of 212 respondents, according to their job roles and titles, were identified as researchers, front-line workers, programme managers, and directors/senior managers of higher learning institutions, indicating that the three constructs applied in the questionnaire, namely (1) individual factors, (2) organisational factors, and (3) research characteristics, demonstrated relatively high reliability with a Cronbach's alpha of greater than 0.791. Conclusion: The study concludes that the instrument can potentially be used to measure factors that affect research uptake in low-resource settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gender equality remains an outstanding global priority, more than 25 years after the landmark Beijing Platform for Action. The disconnect between global health policy intentions and implementation is shaped by several conceptual, pragmatic and political factors, both globally and in South Africa. Actor narratives and different framings of gender and gender equality are one part of the contested nature of gender policy processes and their implementation challenges. The main aim of this paper is to foreground the range of policy actors, describe their narratives and different framings of gender, as part exploring the social construction of gender in policy processes, using the Adolescent Youth Health Policy (AYHP) as a case study. Methods: A case study design was undertaken, with conceptual underpinnings combined from gender studies, sociology and health policy analysis. Through purposive sampling, a range of actors were selected, including AYHP authors from government and academia, members of the AYHP Advisory Panel, youth representatives from the National Department of Health Adolescent and Youth Advisory Panel, as well as adolescent and youth health and gender policy actors, in government, academia and civil society. Qualitative data was collected via in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 30 policy actors between 2019 and 2021. Thematic data analysis was used, as well as triangulation across both respondents, and the document analysis of the AYHP. Results: Despite gender power relations and more gender-transformative approaches being discussed during the policy making process, these were not reflected in the final policy. Interviews revealed an interrelated constellation of diverse and juxtaposed actor gender narratives, ranging from framing gender as equating girls and women, gender as inclusion, gender as instrumental, gender as women's rights and empowerment and gender as power relations. Some of these narrative framings were dominant in the policy making process and were consequently included in the final policy document, unlike other narratives. The way gender is framed in policy processes is shaped by actor narratives, and these diverse and contested discursive constructions were shaped by the dynamic interactions with the South Africa context, and processes of the Adolescent Youth Health Policy. These varied actor narratives were further contextualised in terms of reflections of what is needed going forward to advance gender equality in adolescent and youth health policy and programming. This includes prioritising gender and intersectionality on the national agenda, implementing more gender-transformative programmes, as well as having the commitments and capabilities to take the work forward. Conclusions: The constellation of actors' gender narratives reveals overlapping and contested framings of gender and what is required to advance gender equality. Understanding actor narratives in policy processes contributes to bridging the disconnect between policy commitments and reality in advancing the gender equality agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has developed into a pandemic. Data-driven techniques can be used to inform and guide public health decision- and policy-makers. In generalizing the spread of a virus over a large area, such as a province, it must be assumed that the transmission occurs as a stochastic process. It is therefore very difficult for policy and decision makers to understand and visualize the location specific dynamics of the virus on a more granular level. A primary concern is exposing local virus hot-spots, in order to inform and implement non-pharmaceutical interventions. A hot-spot is defined as an area experiencing exponential growth relative to the generalised growth of the pandemic. This paper uses the first and second waves of the COVID-19 epidemic in Gauteng Province, South Africa, as a case study. The study aims provide a data-driven methodology and comprehensive case study to expose location specific virus dynamics within a given area. The methodology uses an unsupervised Gaussian Mixture model to cluster cases at a desired granularity. This is combined with an epidemiological analysis to quantify each cluster's severity, progression and whether it can be defined as a hot-spot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Child hunger has long-term and short-term consequences, as starving children are at risk of many forms of malnutrition, including wasting, stunting, obesity and micronutrient deficiencies. The purpose of this paper is to show that the child hunger and socio-economic inequality in South Africa increased during her COVID-19 pandemic due to various lockdown regulations that have affected the economic status of the population.Methods: This paper uses the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM WAVES 1-5) collected in South Africa during the intense COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 to assess the socioeconomic impacts of child hunger rated inequalities. First, child hunger was determined by a composite index calculated by the authors. Descriptive statistics were then shown for the investigated variables in a multiple logistic regression model to identify significant risk factors of child hunger. Additionally, the decomposable Erreygers' concentration index was used to measure socioeconomic inequalities on child hunger in South Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic.Results: The overall burden of child hunger rates varied among the five waves (1-5). With proportions of adult respondents indicated that a child had gone hungry in the past 7 days: wave 1 (19.00%), wave 2 (13.76%), wave 3 (18.60%), wave 4 (15, 68%), wave 5 (15.30%). Child hunger burden was highest in the first wave and lowest in the second wave. The hunger burden was highest among children living in urban areas than among children living in rural areas. Access to electricity, access to water, respondent education, respondent gender, household size, and respondent age were significant determinants of adult reported child hunger. All the concentrated indices of the adult reported child hunger across households were negative in waves 1-5, suggesting that children from poor households were hungry. The intensity of the pro-poor inequalities also increased during the study period. To better understand what drove socioeconomic inequalites, in this study we analyzed the decomposed Erreygers Normalized Concentration Indices (ENCI). Across all five waves, results showed that race, socioeconomic status and type of housing were important factors in determining the burden of hunger among children in South Africa.Conclusion: This study described the burden of adult reported child hunger and associated socioeconomic inequalities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The increasing prevalence of adult reported child hunger, especially among urban children, and the observed poverty inequality necessitate multisectoral pandemic shock interventions now and in the future, especially for urban households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rehabilitation can improve function in many people with chronic health conditions. It is important to consider priority conditions requiring rehabilitation, so it can be realistically positioned and costed in national health financing systems like South Africa (SA)'s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI). This paper describes temporal trends of top-ranked conditions on years lived with disability (YLDs) rates in SA, for which physical rehabilitation can ameliorate associated disability.Methods: This study is a systematic synthesis of publicly available Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2017 estimates. The top 11 conditions contributing most to YLDs and for which evidence-based rehabilitation interventions exist were identified. Age-standardized rates per 100,000 and YLDs counts were extracted from 1990 to 2017. Significance of changes in temporal trends was determined using Mann-Kendall trend tests. Best-fit rates of yearly changes were calculated per condition, using GBD estimates (2012-2017), and extrapolated (by imposing the best-fit regression line onto results for each subsequent predicted year) as forecasts (2018-2022).Results: Trends for YLDs counts per condition year (1990-2017) and forecasted values (2018-2022) showed an overall steady increase for all conditions, except HIV and respiratory conditions. YLDs counts almost doubled from 1990 to 2017, with a 17% predicted increase from 2017 to 2022. The proportionate contribution to YLDs counts reduced over time for all conditions, except HIV. Although age-standardized YLDs rates appear relatively stable over the analyzed periods for all conditions (except HIV, respiratory conditions and type 2 diabetes), trend changes in YLDs rates over 28 years were significant for all conditions, except neonatal (p = 0.855), hearing loss (p = 0.100) and musculoskeletal conditions (p = 0.300). Significant trend decreases were apparent for 4/9 conditions, implying that another 5/9 conditions showed trend increases over 28 years. Predicted all-age prevalence in 2022 suggests relatively large increases for cardiovascular disease and heart failure, and burns, while relative decreases are predicted for fractures and dislocations, stroke, and musculoskeletal conditions.Conclusion: Rehabilitation needs in SA are potentially massive and unmet, highlighting the need for innovative and context-specific rehabilitation that considers current local needs and projected changes. These findings should be considered when designing the NHI and other schemes in SA to ensure human and financial resources are deployed efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five years into South Africa's constitutional democracy provides an opportunity to take stock of the social and structural determinants of adolescent health. Those born in democratic South Africa, commonly known as the 'Born Frees', are perceived to be able to realise equal rights and opportunities, yet many factors constrain their lives. In bringing together approaches to understanding context in health policy and systems research and the social determinants of health, the paper develops a conceptual framework to guide the narrative review examining the key contextual social and structural determinants of adolescent health in South Africa. Illustrative examples drawing from 65 papers from public health and the social sciences describe and link these determinants across micro, meso and macro levels of society, their global determinants, and their intersections with compounding axes of power and inequality.At a micro level individual adolescent sexual and gender identities are expressed through multiple and evolving forms, while they experience growing autonomy and agency, they do so within a broader context characterised by regressive social norms, gender inequality and other intersecting power relationships. At the meso level, organisational and sectoral determinants shape adolescents health and rights, both in being supportive, but they also replicate the biases and inequalities that characterise South African society. In addition, the macro level national and global determinants, such as the structural colonial and apartheid legacies, shape adolescents' health. Despite constitutional and other legislative rights, these determinants and compound economic, geographic, gender and other intersecting inequalities.A key finding is that current experiences and health of adolescents is shaped by past social and structural determinants and power relations, with apartheid inequalities still echoing in the lives of the adolescents, 25 years into democracy. More research and work is needed to provide insights into determinants of adolescent health beyond just the micro level, but also at the interrelated and dynamic meso and macro levels, nested in global determinants. The findings raise critical considerations and implications for understanding the social and structural determinants in the South African context and what this means for adolescent health in the SDG era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa presents one of the riskiest patterns of alcohol consumption, with per capita consumption above the African regional average. Globally, there has been an increased focus on the potential of appointing lay counsellors to administer alcohol intervention strategies in resource-limited contexts. Given the increasing need for relevant and efficient intervention strategies in response to high-risk alcohol consumption, screening instruments such as the AUDIT-C have gained increased attention. Methods: This paper explores the experiences of 15 lay counsellors in response to the training received on how to administer the AUDIT-C instrument, as well as provide interventions such as brief advice or an appropriate referral, in the resource-limited South African township of Alexandra, Johannesburg. A focus group was facilitated for this purpose and, thereafter, a thematic content analysis was applied to identify the themes most central to the lay counsellors' experiences. Results: The research findings suggest that the lay counsellors perceived the training to be adequate in preparing them for administrating the AUDIT-C and for providing any relevant interventions, and that their confidence in administering the instrument developed as the project progressed. However, recruitment and administration challenges were experienced in primary healthcare and community settings, and lay counsellors perceived home visits to be more appropriate with respect to issues related to confidentiality and stigmatisation. Conclusion: Overall, while lay counsellors feel that the training they received on the tool and the tool itself is useful for effectively implementing the AUDIT-C in low-resource communities, the availability and efficiency of alcohol treatment services in Alexandra Township need to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa (SA) is on the brink of implementing workplace-based assessments (WBA) in all medical specialist training programmes in the country. Despite the fact that competency-based medical education (CBME) has been in place for about two decades, WBA offers new and interesting challenges. The literature indicates that WBA has resource, regulatory, educational and social complexities. Implementing WBA would therefore require a careful approach to this complex challenge. To date, insufficient exploration of WBA practices, experiences, perceptions, and aspirations in healthcare have been undertaken in South Africa or Africa. The aim of this study was to identify factors that could impact WBA implementation from the perspectives of medical specialist educators. The outcomes being reported are themes derived from reported potential barriers and enablers to WBA implementation in the SA context. Methods: This paper reports on the qualitative data generated from a mixed methods study that employed a parallel convergent design, utilising a self-administered online questionnaire to collect data from participants. Data was analysed thematically and inductively. Results: The themes that emerged were: Structural readiness for WBA; staff capacity to implement WBA; quality assurance; and the social dynamics of WBA. Conclusions: Participants demonstrated impressive levels of insight into their respective working environments, producing an extensive list of barriers and enablers. Despite significant structural and social barriers, this cohort perceives the impending implementation of WBA to be a positive development in registrar training in South Africa. We make recommendations for future research, and to the medical specialist educational leaders in SA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite a high number of recorded COVID-19 infections and deaths in South Africa, COVID-19 vaccine coverage remained low in March 2022, ten months into the national vaccine roll-out. This study provides evidence on the correlates of vaccine intentions, attitudes towards vaccination and opinions about mandates. Methods: We used data from the second COVID-19 Vaccine Survey (CVACS), a telephone survey conducted February-March 2022 among 3,608 South African adults who self-reported not being vaccinated against COVID-19. The survey instrument was designed in consultation with government, policymakers, and civil society; and segmented the sample into four distinct groups with different vaccine intentions (synonymous with vaccine hesitancy levels). Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to examine the sociodemographic characteristics, attitudes and behaviours associated with the different vaccination intentions groups. Thematic coding of responses to open-ended questions elicited insights on reasons for not being vaccinated and attitudes towards mandates. Results: Intentions to get vaccinated were greater among individuals with lower socio-economic status (Mann–Whitney Z = -11.3, p < 0.001); those believing the vaccine protects against death (Kruskal–Wallis Χ2 = 494, p < 0.001); and those who perceived themselves at risk of COVID-19-related illness (Χ2 = 126, p < 0.01). Vaccine intentions were lower among individuals who believed that the vaccine causes death (Χ2 = 163, p < 0.001); believed that the vaccine is unsafe for the babies of pregnant/breastfeeding mothers, or the chronically ill (Χ2 = 123, p < 0.01); those not trusting government health information about COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccine (Kendall's τ = -0.41, p < 0.01); and those in opposition to mandates (τ = 0.35, p < 0.001). Only 25% supported mandates, despite 48% thinking mandates would work well, with 54% citing individual rights as their main reason for mandate opposition. Conclusion: The profile of individuals not vaccinated against COVID-19 as of March 2022 varied markedly by self-reported vaccination intentions, underscoring the importance of tailored demand-creation efforts. This paper highlights several factors which differ significantly across these groups. These findings could inform the design of future vaccination campaigns, potentially increasing their likelihood of success. This is an important policy objective given widespread vaccine hesitancy, and further work is required on this topic. Mandates remain an option to increase coverage but need to be carefully considered given extensive opposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Internationally, there has been renewed focus on primary healthcare (PHC). PHC revitalisation is one of the mechanisms to emphasise health promotion and prevention. However, it is not always clear who should lead health promotion activities. In some countries, health promotion practitioners provide health promotion; in others, community health workers (CHWs) are responsible. South Africa, like other countries, has embarked on reforms to strengthen PHC, including a nationwide CHW programme - resulting in an unclear role for pre-existing health promoters. This paper examined the tension between these two cadres in two South African provinces in an era of primary health reform.Methodology: We used a qualitative case study approach. Participants were recruited from the national, provincial, district and facility levels of the health system. Thirty-seven face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 health promotion managers, 12 health promoters and 13 facility managers during a 3-month period (November 2017 to February 2018). Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Both inductive and deductive thematic content analysis approaches were used, supported by MAXQDA software.Results: Two South African policy documents, one on PHC reform and the other on health promotion, were introduced and implemented without clear guidelines on how health promoter job descriptions should be altered in the context of CHWs. The introduction of CHWs triggered anxiety and uncertainty among some health promoters. However, despite considerable role overlap and the absence of formal re-orientation processes to re-align their roles, some health promoters have carved out a role for themselves, supporting CHWs (for example, providing up-to-date health information, jointly discussing how to assist with health problems in the community, providing advice and household-visit support).Conclusions: This paper adds to recent literature on the current wave of PHC reforms. It describes how health promoters are 'working it out' on the ground, when the policy or process do not provide adequate guidance or structure. Lessons learnt on how these two cadres could work together are important, especially given the shortage of human resources for health in low- and middle-income settings. This is a missed opportunity, researchers and policy-makers need to think more about how to feed experience/tacit knowledge up the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite progress, maternal and neonatal mortality and still births remain high in South Africa. The South African National Department of Health implemented a quality improvement (QI) programme, called Mphatlalatsane, to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality and still births. It was implemented in 21 public health facilities, seven per participating province, between 2018 and 2022. Methods: We conducted a qualitative process evaluation of the contextual and implementation process factors' influence on implementation uptake amongst the QI teams in 15 purposively selected facilities. Data collection included three interview rounds with the leaders and members of the QI teams in each facility; intermittent interviews with the QI advisors; programme documentation review; observation of programme management meetings; and keeping a fieldwork journal. All data were thematically analysed in Atlas.ti. Implementation uptake varied across the three provinces and between facilities within provinces. Results: Between March and August 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted uptake in all provinces but affected QI teams in one province more severely than others, because they received limited pre-pandemic training. Better uptake among other sites was attributed to receiving more QI training pre-COVID-19, having an experienced QI advisor, and good teamwork. Uptake was more challenging amongst hospital teams which had more staff and more complicated MNH services, versus the primary healthcare facilities. We also attributed better uptake to greater district management support. A key factor shaping uptake was leaders' intrinsic motivation to apply QI methodology. We found that, across sites, organic adaptations to the QI methodology were made by teams, started during COVID-19. Teams did away with rapid testing of change ideas and keeping a paper trail of the steps followed. Though still using data to identify service problems, they used self-developed audit tools to record intervention effectiveness, and not the prescribed tools. Conclusions: Our study underscores the critical role of intrinsic motivation of team leaders, support from experienced technical QI advisors, and context-sensitive adaptations to maximise QI uptake when traditionally recognised QI steps cannot be followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Implementation frameworks and theories acknowledge the role of power as a factor in the adoption (or not) of interventions in health services. Despite this recognition, there is a paucity of evidence on how interventions at the front line of health systems confront or shape existing power relations. This paper reports on a study of actor power in the implementation of an intervention to improve maternal, neonatal and child health care quality and outcomes in a rural district of South Africa.Methods: A retrospective qualitative case study based on interviews with 34 actors in three 'implementation units' - a district hospital and surrounding primary health care services - of the district, selected as purposefully representing full, moderate and low implementation of the intervention, some three years after it was first introduced. Data are analysed using Veneklasen and Miller's typology of the forms of power - namely 'power over', 'power to', 'power within' and 'power with'.Results: Multiple expressions of actor power were evident during implementation and played a plausible role in shaping variable implementation, while the intervention itself acted to change power relations. As expected, a degree of buy-in of managers (with power over) in implementation units was necessary for the intervention to proceed. Beyond this, the ability to mobilise collective action (power with), combined with support from champions with agency (power within) were key to successful implementation. However, local empowerment may pose a threat to hierarchical power (power over) at higher levels (district and provincial) of the system, potentially affecting sustainability.Conclusions: A systematic approach to the analysis of power in implementation research may provide insights into the fate of interventions. Intervention designs need to consider how they shape power relations, especially where interventions seek to widen participation and responsiveness in local health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many people diagnosed with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) in tertiary and district hospitals in South Africa do not arrive at their primary care clinic for continued care after they are discharged from the hospital. This loss to follow up is a major, ongoing problem for public health in South Africa, and contributes to drug-resistant TB strains. The objective of this paper was to explore patients' experiences and perceptions of diagnosis and treatment before their discharge from hospital. We use a framework known as patient-centred care to illustrate how these patient narratives point to lapses in these principles within the hospital system, and to show how such lapses may contribute to loss to follow up and inconsistent TB care.Methods: We employed a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews to investigate patient and healthcare workers' experiences and perceptions of TB care in two Western Cape hospitals. We purposefully sampled 17 patients, 10 healthcare workers, and two key informant policy makers, all of whom had relevant experiences and insights. Data collection was done between October 2015 and February 2017. Data were analysed using Miles and Huberman's qualitative analysis framework.Results: Hospitals did not achieve patient-centred care. Newly diagnosed patients were provided with inadequate TB education, diseased-focused approaches were favoured over patient-focused approaches, and there was limited engagement with patients to understand their needs and feelings during the critical period between diagnosis and discharge. Consequently, some patients felt anxious prior to their discharge from hospital. Coupled with their overwhelming socio-economic barriers and complex family situations, some patients felt hopeless and powerless as they prepared for discharge. Finally, there was a lack of patient-provider partnership due to problems including healthcare workers' time constraints and heavy workloads, which detracted from a focus on patients' needs and feelings.Conclusions: Improving the three intersecting elements of patient-centred care (health education, engaging with patients' needs and feelings, and shared decision-making) has the potential to positively influence patients' continuity of care for TB in South Africa. It would be helpful to also proactively address how patients plan to stay connected to care, on treatment, and supported, in light of their family situation or socio-economic circumstances. Detailed and unique pre-discharge counselling for each patient may be valuable in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self-interviews, where the respondent rather than the interviewer enters answers to questions, have been proposed as a way to reduce social desirability bias associated with interviewer-led interviews. Computer-assisted self-interviews (CASI) are commonly proposed since the computer programme can guide respondents; however they require both language and computer literacy. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of using electronic methods to administer quantitative sexual behaviour questionnaires in the Somkhele demographic surveillance area (DSA) in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Methods: We conducted a four-arm randomized trial of paper-and-pen-interview, computer-assisted personal-interview (CAPI), CASI and audio-CASI with an age-sex-urbanicity stratified sample of 504 adults resident in the DSA in 2015. We compared respondents' answers to their responses to the same questions in previous surveillance rounds. We also conducted 48 cognitive interviews, dual-coding responses using the Framework approach.Results: Three hundred forty (67%) individuals were interviewed and covariates and participation rates were balanced across arms. CASI and audio-CASI were significantly slower than interviewer-led interviews. Item non-response rates were higher in self-interview arms. In single-paper meta-analysis, self-interviewed individuals reported more socially undesirable sexual behaviours. Cognitive interviews found high acceptance of both self-interviews and the use of electronic methods, with some concerns that self-interview methods required more participant effort and literacy.Conclusions: Electronic data collection methods, including self-interview methods, proved feasible and acceptable for completing quantitative sexual behaviour questionnaires in a poor, rural South African setting. However, each method had both benefits and costs, and the choice of method should be based on context-specific criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Detecting the risk of stillbirth during pregnancy remains a challenge. Continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound (CWDU) can be used to screen for placental insufficiency, which is a major cause of stillbirths in low-risk pregnant women. This paper describes the adaptation and implementation of screening with CWDU and shares critical lessons for further rollout. Screening of 7088 low-risk pregnant women with Umbiflow™ (a CWDU device) was conducted in 19 antenatal care clinics at nine study sites in South Africa. Each site comprised a catchment area with a regional referral hospital and primary healthcare antenatal clinics. Women with suspected placental insufficiency as detected by CWDU were referred for follow-up at the hospital. A 35–43% reduction in stillbirths was recorded. Methods: The authors followed an iterative reflection process using the field and meeting notes to arrive at an interpretation of the important lessons for future implementation of new devices in resource-constrained settings. Results: Key features of the implementation of CWDU screening in pregnancy combined with high-risk follow-up are described according to a six-stage change framework: create awareness; commit to implement; prepare to implement; implement; integrate into routine practice; and sustain practice. Differences and similarities in implementation between the different study sites are explored. Important lessons include stakeholder involvement and communication and identifying what would be needed to integrate screening with CWDU into routine antenatal care. A flexible implementation model with four components is proposed for the further rollout of CWDU screening. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the integration of CWDU screening into routine antenatal care, combined with standard treatment protocols at a higher-level referral hospital, can be achieved with the necessary resources and available maternal and neonatal facilities. Lessons from this study could contribute to future scale-up efforts and help to inform decisions on improving antenatal care and pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and researchers have used routine health data to estimate potential declines in the delivery and uptake of essential health services. This research relies on the data being high quality and, crucially, on the data quality not changing because of the pandemic. In this paper, we investigated those assumptions and assessed data quality before and during COVID-19. Methods: We obtained routine health data from the DHIS2 platforms in Ethiopia, Haiti, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal, and South Africa (KwaZulu-Natal province) for a range of 40 indicators on essential health services and institutional deaths. We extracted data over 24 months (January 2019–December 2020) including pre-pandemic data and the first 9 months of the pandemic. We assessed four dimensions of data quality: reporting completeness, presence of outliers, internal consistency, and external consistency. Results: We found high reporting completeness across countries and services and few declines in reporting at the onset of the pandemic. Positive outliers represented fewer than 1% of facility-month observations across services. Assessment of internal consistency across vaccine indicators found similar reporting of vaccines in all countries. Comparing cesarean section rates in the HMIS to those from population-representative surveys, we found high external consistency in all countries analyzed. Conclusions: While efforts remain to improve the quality of these data, our results show that several indicators in the HMIS can be reliably used to monitor service provision over time in these five countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is estimated that 38.8% of mothers develop postpartum depression (PPD) in South Africa. While empirical evidence documents an association between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization in pregnancy and PPD among adult women, the association has been underexamined among adolescent mothers (< 19 years). The study's purpose is to examine whether IPV victimization during pregnancy is associated with PPD among adolescent mothers. Methods: Adolescent mothers (14–19 years) were recruited at a regional hospital's maternity ward in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa between July 2017-April 2018. Participants completed behavioral assessments at two visits (n = 90): baseline (up to 4 weeks postpartum) and follow-up (6–9 weeks postpartum, when PPD is typically assessed). The WHO modified conflict tactics scale was used to create a binary measure of any physical and/or psychological IPV victimization that occurred during pregnancy. Participants with scores ≥ 13 on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) were classified as having symptoms of PPD. We used a modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors to assess PPD in association with IPV victimization during pregnancy, controlling for relevant covariates. Results: Nearly one-half (47%) of adolescent mothers reported symptoms of PPD by 6–9 weeks post-delivery. Further, IPV victimization during pregnancy was highly prevalent (40%). Adolescent mothers who reported IPV victimization during pregnancy had marginally higher risk of PPD at follow-up (RR: 1.50, 95 CI: 0.97–2.31; p = 0.07). The association was strengthened and significant in covariate-adjusted analysis (RR: 1.62, 95 CI: 1.06–2.49; p = 0.03). Conclusions: Poor mental health was common among adolescent mothers, and IPV victimization during pregnancy was associated with PPD risk among adolescent mothers. Implementing IPV and PPD routine screenings during the perinatal period may aid in identifying adolescent mothers for IPV and PPD interventions and treatment. With the high prevalence of IPV and PPD in this vulnerable population and the potential negative impact on maternal and infant outcomes, interventions to reduce IPV and PPD are needed to improve adolescent mothers' well-being and their baby's health. Plain language summary: Background: More than one-third of adult mothers experience postpartum depression (PPD) in South Africa and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization is a strong risk factor of PPD for adult mothers. However, there are no studies on adolescent mothers that look at the link between IPV victimization and PPD. This paper aims to examine whether IPV victimization during pregnancy is associated with PPD among adolescent South African mothers. Methods: We had 90 adolescent mothers (aged 14–19 years old) complete an initial survey between delivery and 4 weeks postpartum to collect information on IPV during their pregnancy. Participants completed an additional survey between 6 and 9 week postpartum to collect information on the symptoms of PPD. Results: Nearly one-half (47%) of adolescent mothers reported symptoms of PPD by 6–9 weeks post-delivery. Report of IPV victimization during pregnancy was also very high (40%). Adolescent mothers who experienced IPV victimization during pregnancy were more likely to report symptoms of PPD between 6 and 9 weeks postpartum. Conclusions: PPD and IPV was very common in our sample, and IPV victimization during pregnancy was linked to PPD among adolescent mothers. Having routine screenings during pregnancy and postpartum period can identify adolescent mothers IPV and PPD interventions and treatment. With the high reports of IPV and PPD in this sample and the potential negative impact on maternal and infant outcomes, interventions to reduce IPV and PPD are needed to improve adolescent mothers' well-being and their baby's health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years a growing number of manufacturers and medical abortion products have entered country markets and health systems, with varying degrees of quality and accessibility. An interplay of factors including pharmaceutical regulations, abortion laws, government policies and service delivery guidelines and provider's knowledge and practices influence the availability of medical abortion medicines. We assessed the availability of medical abortion in eight countries to increase understanding among policymakers of the need to improve availability and affordability of quality-assured medical abortion products at regional and national levels. Methods: Using a national assessment protocol and an availability framework, we assessed the availability of medical abortion medicines in Bangladesh, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and South Africa between September 2019 and January 2020. Results: Registration of abortion medicines—misoprostol or a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol—was established in all countries assessed, except Rwanda. Mifepristone and misoprostol regimen for medical abortion was identified on the national essential medicines list/standard treatment guidelines for South Africa as well as in specific abortion care service and delivery guidelines for Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, and Rwanda. In Liberia, Malawi, and Sierra Leone—countries with highly restrictive abortion laws and no abortion service delivery guidelines or training curricula—no government-supported training on medical abortion for public sector providers had occurred. Instead, training on medical abortion was either limited in scope to select private sector providers and pharmacists or prohibited. Community awareness activities on medical abortion have been limited in scope across the countries assessed and where abortion is broadly legal, most women do not know that it is an option. Conclusion: Understanding the factors that influence the availability of medical abortion medicines is important to support policymakers improve availability of these medicines. The landscape assessments documented that medical abortion commodities can be uniquely impacted by the laws, policies, values, and degree of restrictions placed on service delivery programs. Results of the assessments can guide actions to improve access. Plain Language Summary: Unsafe abortion is a leading cause of death and disability among women of reproductive age. Medical management of abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol pills, or just misoprostol, is a safe and effective way to end a pregnancy. Owing to an increase in the number of medical abortion products that have entered country health systems, we examined access to these medicines from supply to demand in selected countries. The overarching goal of the national landscape assessments was to produce evidence to support advocacy efforts and policymaking for improved access to quality medical abortion products that is appropriate to the needs of the country. This paper aims to describe key findings across eight country settings on the availability of medical abortion medicines and identify key opportunities to improve access to them across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the last decade, developments in e-Learning and technologies are creating the groundwork for health sciences and medical education. Literature demonstrates that we have yet to reach any form of consensus about which indicators are needed to assess and teach quality health sciences and medical education through technology or innovation. There is, therefore, a greater need for a tool or platform that is properly constructed, validated and tested within health sciences. Methods: This paper presents a study, which is part of a larger research project assessing staff and students' perceptions of the importance and relevance of different aspects of e-Learning and mHealth in health sciences curricula at four universities in South Africa. The specific objectives of this study were to: (i) assess health sciences staffs' perceptions and understanding of these two applications; and (ii) establish challenges and opportunities of e-Learning and mHealth applications in the health sector, as well as perceptions on the importance and relevance of these applications to their curricula and future practices. A combination of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and a key-informant interview was used. A total of 19 staff from four universities participated. Atlast.ti was used for the data analysis and the findings were coded using a primarily deductive thematic coding framework. Results: The findings revealed that not all staff members are equipped or trained with new applications or technologies, such as mHealth. Most participants believed that diverse technologies and tools could be integrated with mHealth and e-Learning. Furthermore, participants agree that a new multi-modal platform, in the form of a learning management system (LMS) with relevant applications (and possible plugins) integrated, tailored towards health sciences will benefit all stakeholders, and be valuable to higher education and health sectors. Conclusions: Digitalisation as well as digital citizenship is gradually being integrated into teaching and learning. It is imperative to adapt the health sciences curricula through constructive alignments and promote health sciences education in the current 4IR. This would allow graduates to be better prepared for digitalised practice environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reflecting global norms, South Africa is associated with high levels of cross-border and internal population mobility, yet migration-aware health system responses are lacking. Existing literature highlights three methodological challenges limiting the development of evidence-informed responses to migration and health: (1) lack of engagement with the process of migration; (2) exclusion of internal migrants; and (3) lack of methodologies that are able to capture 'real-time' data about health needs and healthcare seeking experiences over both time and place. In this paper, we reflect on a four-month pilot project which explored the use of WhatsApp Messenger - a popular mobile phone application used widely in sub-Saharan Africa - and assessed its feasibility as a research tool with migrant and mobile populations in order to inform a larger study that would address these challenges.Method: A four-month pilot was undertaken with eleven participants between October 2019 and January 2020. Using Survey Node, an online platform that allows for the automatic administration of surveys through WhatsApp, monthly surveys were administered. The GPS coordinates of participants were also obtained. Recruited through civil society partners in Gauteng, participants were over the age of 18, comfortable engaging in English, and owned WhatsApp compatible cell phones. Enrolment involved an administered survey and training participants in the study protocol. Participants received reimbursement for their travel costs and monthly cell phone data.Results: Out of a possible eighty eight survey and location responses, sixty one were received. In general, participants responded consistently to the monthly surveys and shared their location when prompted. Survey Node proved an efficient and effective way to administer surveys through WhatsApp. Location sharing via WhatsApp proved cumbersome and led to the development of a secure platform through which participants could share their location. Ethical concerns about data sharing over WhatsApp were addressed.Conclusions: The success of the pilot indicates that WhatsApp can be used as a tool for data collection with migrant and mobile populations, and has informed the finalisation of the main study. Key lessons learnt included the importance of research design and processes for participant enrolment, and ensuring that the ethical concerns associated with WhatsApp are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Community health workers (CHW) are undertaking more complex tasks as part of the move towards universal health coverage in many low- and middle-income settings. They are expected to provide promotive and preventative care, make referrals to the local clinic, and follow up on non-attendees for a range of health conditions. CHW programmes can improve access to care for vulnerable communities, but many such programmes struggle due to inadequate supervision, low levels of CHW literacy, and the marginalized status of CHW in the health system. In this paper, we assess the effect of a roving nurse mentor on the coverage and quality of care of the CHW service in two vulnerable communities in South Africa. Participants: CHW, their supervisors, household members. Intervention: Roving professional nurse mentor to build skills of supervisors and CHW teams. Methods: Three household surveys to assess household coverage of the CHW service (baseline, end of the intervention, and 6 months after end of intervention); structured observations of CHW working in households to assess quality of care. Results: The intervention led to a sustained 50% increase in the number of households visited by a CHW in the last year. While the proportion of appropriate health messages given to household members by CHW remained constant at approximately 50%, CHW performed a greater range of more complex tasks. They were more likely to visit new households to assess health needs and register the household in the programme, to provide care to pregnant women, children and people who had withdrawn from care. CHW were more likely to discuss with clients the barriers they were facing in accessing care and take notes during a visit. Conclusion: A nurse mentor can have a significant effect both on the quantity and quality of CHW work, allowing them to achieve their potential despite their marginalised status in the health system and their limited prior educational achievement. Supportive supervision is important in enabling the benefit of having a health cadre embedded in marginalised communities to be realised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: HIV and sub-optimal infant feeding practices remain important threats to child growth, development, and survival in low- and middle-income countries. To our knowledge, few studies have explored health service users' perspective of infant feeding in the context of WHO Option B+ policy to prevent vertical HIV transmission (PMTCT). This paper is a sub-analysis of qualitative data from a mixed-methods multi-level process evaluation of Option B+ implementation in South Africa (SA). In this study we explored health facility users' infant feeding knowledge, perceptions, and practices one year after SA adopted the 2016 updated World Health Organization prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV Option B+ infant feeding guidelines. Methods: Nineteen focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with six groups of men and women whose infants were aged < 6 months. Participants were attending randomly selected primary health care facilities within six purposively selected priority districts. The six groups included in the FGDs were: (i) adolescent girls and young women living with HIV (WHIV), (ii) adolescent girls and young women not living with HIV (WNHIV), (iii) older postnatal WHIV (iv) older postnatal WNHIV (v) pregnant women, and (vi) men. Data collection took place between April and December 2018. Data analysis involved coding and thematic framework analysis. Results: Women and men have suboptimal knowledge of the recommended breastfeeding duration and exclusive breastfeeding, especially for HIV-exposed infants. Most women received sub-optimal infant feeding counselling and mixed messages from health care workers. Fewer WHIV initiated breastfeeding at birth compared to WNHIV. Most parents believed that HIV-exposed infants should be breastfed for 6 months and many postnatal women on antiretroviral drugs and younger mothers lacked confidence to breastfeed beyond 6 months. Mixed feeding was predominant among all women due to individual, family, and socio-structural barriers. Many men were supportive on infant feeding; however, they lacked the appropriate information and skills to influence their partners' infant feeding decisions. Conclusions: Differences in breastfeeding practices between WHIV and WNHIV are highly influenced by the lack of knowledge of infant feeding policy recommendations. Multiple-level factors deter many mothers from adhering to recommended guidelines. Appropriate ongoing infant feeding counselling and breastfeeding support are required for women and their partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A task-sharing collaborative care model for integrated depression care for South Africa's burgeoning primary health care population with chronic conditions was developed and tested through two pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trials. One trial focused on patients with hypertension and was located in one district where a collaborative care model was co-designed with district stakeholders. The other trial, focused on patients on antiretroviral treatment, was located in the same district site, with the addition of a second neighbouring district, without adaptation of the original model. This paper describes the package used to implement this model, and implementation outcomes across the two sites, and summarises lessons and challenges. Methods: The Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) framework, adapted for complex health systems interventions, was used to describe components of the package. Additional elements of 'modifications made' and 'actual implementation' introduced in the 'Getting messier with TIDieR' framework, were used to describe implementation outcomes in terms of reach, adoption and implementation across the two trial districts. Results: In the absence of a co-design process to adapt the model to the context of the second site, there was less system level support for the model. Consequently, more project employed human resources were deployed to support training of primary care nurses in identification and referral of patients with depression; and supervise co-located lay counsellors. Referrals to co-located lay counselling services were more than double in the second site. However, uptake of counselling sessions was greater in the first site. This was attributed to greater in-vivo supervision and support from existing mental health specialists in the system. There was greater reliance on online supervision and support in the second site where geographical distances between clinics were larger. Conclusion: The need for in-country co-designed collaborative care models, and 'implementation heavy' implementation research to understand adaptations required to accommodate varying in-country health system contexts is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One of the key challenges of community health worker (CHW) programmes across the globe is inadequate supervision. Evidence on effective approaches to CHW supervision is limited and intervention research has up to now focused primarily on outcomes and less on intervention development processes. This paper reports on participatory and iterative research on the supervision of CHWs, conducted in several phases and culminating in a co-produced district level supportive supervision framework for Ward Based Outreach Teams in a South African district.Methods: Drawing on a conceptual framework of domains of co-production, the paper reflects on the implications of the research process adopted for participants, generation of research knowledge and recommendations for practice, as well as lessons for research on the supervision of CHWs.Results: Through the research process, participants reflected and engaged meaningfully, honestly and productively across hierarchies, and were able to forge new, dialogic relationships. The iterative, back forth feedback, involving a core group of participants across phases, enabled additions and validations, and informed further data collection. The culmination of the process was consensus on the key issues facing the programme and the generation of a set of recommendations for a local, context-specific framework of supportive supervision. The process of engagement, relationships built and consensus forged proved to be more significant than the framework itself.Conclusion: The co-production approach can enable local impact of research findings by providing a bottom-up collaborative platform of active participation, iterative feedback, knowledge generation and mutual learning that can complement guidance and frameworks from above. Although time consuming and not without its limitations, this approach to research has much to offer in advancing understanding of CHW supervision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The rising burden of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa has motivated the application of modeling strategies to predict the COVID-19 cases and deaths. Reliable and accurate short and long-term forecasts of COVID-19 cases and deaths, both at the national and provincial level, are a key aspect of the strategy to handle the COVID-19 epidemic in the country.Methods: In this paper we apply the previously validated approach of phenomenological models, fitting several non-linear growth curves (Richards, 3 and 4 parameter logistic, Weibull and Gompertz), to produce short term forecasts of COVID-19 cases and deaths at the national level as well as the provincial level. Using publicly available daily reported cumulative case and death data up until 22 June 2020, we report 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-day ahead forecasts of cumulative cases and deaths. All predictions are compared to the actual observed values in the forecasting period.Results: We observed that all models for cases provided accurate and similar short-term forecasts for a period of 5 days ahead at the national level, and that the three and four parameter logistic growth models provided more accurate forecasts than that obtained from the Richards model 10 days ahead. However, beyond 10 days all models underestimated the cumulative cases. Our forecasts across the models predict an additional 23,551-26,702 cases in 5 days and an additional 47,449-57,358 cases in 10 days. While the three parameter logistic growth model provided the most accurate forecasts of cumulative deaths within the 10 day period, the Gompertz model was able to better capture the changes in cumulative deaths beyond this period. Our forecasts across the models predict an additional 145-437 COVID-19 deaths in 5 days and an additional 243-947 deaths in 10 days.Conclusions: By comparing both the predictions of deaths and cases to the observed data in the forecasting period, we found that this modeling approach provides reliable and accurate forecasts for a maximum period of 10 days ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in an enormous dislocation of society especially in South Africa. The South African government has imposed a number of measures aimed at controlling the pandemic, chief being a nationwide lockdown. This has resulted in income loss for individuals and firms, with vulnerable populations (low earners, those in informal and precarious employment, etc.) more likely to be adversely affected through job losses and the resulting income loss. Income loss will likely result in reduced ability to access healthcare and a nutritious diet, thus adversely affecting health outcomes. Given the foregoing, we hypothesize that the economic dislocation caused by the coronavirus will disproportionately affect the health of the poor. Methods: Using the fifth wave of the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) dataset conducted in 2017 and the first wave of the NIDS-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) dataset conducted in May/June 2020, this paper estimated income-related health inequalities in South Africa before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health was a dichotomized self-assessed health measure, with fair and poor health categorized as "poor" health, while excellent, very good and good health were categorized as "better" health. Household per capita income was used as the ranking variable. Concentration curves and indices were used to depict the income-related health inequalities. Furthermore, we decomposed the COVID-19 era income-related health inequality in order to ascertain the significant predictors of such inequality. Results: The results indicate that poor health was pro-poor in the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 periods, with the latter six times the value of the former. Being African (relative to white), per capita household income and household experience of hunger significantly predicted income-related health inequalities in the COVID-19 era (contributing 130%, 46% and 9% respectively to the inequalities), while being in paid employment had a nontrivial but statistically insignificant contribution (13%) to health inequality. Conclusions: Given the significance and magnitude of race, hunger, income and employment in determining socioeconomic inequalities in poor health, addressing racial disparities and hunger, income inequality and unemployment will likely mitigate income-related health inequalities in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association structure linking the longitudinal and survival sub-models is of fundamental importance in the joint modeling framework and the choice of this structure should be made based on the clinical background of the study. However, this information may not always be accessible and rationale for selecting this association structure has received relatively little attention in the literature. To this end, we aim to explore four alternative functional forms of the association structure between the CD4 count and the risk of death and provide rationale for selecting the optimal association structure for our data. We also aim to compare the results obtained from the joint model to those obtained from the time-varying Cox model.Methods: We used data from the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA) AIDS Treatment programme, the Starting Antiretroviral Therapy at Three Points in Tuberculosis (SAPiT) study, an open-label, three armed randomised, controlled trial between June 2005 and July 2010 (N=642). In our analysis, we combined the early and late integrated arms and compared results to the sequential arm. We utilized the Deviance Information Criterion (DIC) to select the final model with the best structure, with smaller values indicating better model adjustments to the data.Results: Patient characteristics were similar across the study arms. Combined integrated therapy arms had a reduction of 55% in mortality (HR:0.45, 95% CI:0.28-0.72) compared to the sequential therapy arm. The joint model with a cumulative effects functional form was chosen as the best association structure. In particular, our joint model found that the area under the longitudinal profile of CD4 count was strongly associated with a 21% reduction in mortality (HR:0.79, 95% CI:0.72-0.86). Where as results from the time-varying Cox model showed a 19% reduction in mortality (HR:0.81, 95% CI:0.77-0.84).Conclusions: In this paper we have shown that the "current value" association structure is not always the best structure that expresses the correct relationship between the outcomes in all settings, which is why it is crucial to explore alternative clinically meaningful association structures that links the longitudinal and survival processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seminal to the process of a health sciences curriculum evaluation is the periodic review of clinical assessment instruments that measure competency. An assessment of quality is facilitated by using a well-structured, authentic and reliable instrument. This process rests on designing and measuring the instrument against a sound framework and validating it for scientific merit. This paper documents the pedagogy and the process taken in developing an improved formative competency-based assessment instrument for the final year students of the Bachelor of Oral Health program (BOH) at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). Methods: A qualitative research study design employing the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used as a method for gaining small group consensus on the clinical assessment instrument for exit level Oral Hygiene (BOH3) students within the parameters of assessment principles. The key contributors to the instrument development process were the academic staff of the Department of Oral Hygiene, involved in clinical teaching and assessment of student competency. Results: The domains of ethics and professionalism, patient assessment, diagnosis, treatment planning and implementation was identified as the core elements in the assessment. The principles of assessment, which include, alignment with outcomes, feedback, transparency and validity, were used to guide the instrument development. The assessment criteria were cross examined for alignment to the learning outcomes of the module and the program whilst formative feedback was foregrounded as a central feature to support student learning and progress monitoring. Transparency was obtained by providing students access to the instrument before and after the assessment including the written feedback on their performance. The instrument embodied a range of criteria to be assessed rather than on the awarding of a cumulative score. This allowed for the identification of the criteria or domain within which a student is struggling or excelling. Consensus on the instrument design was achieved using the NGT phases throughout the instrument development process including the weighting of the domains and grading. This level of engagement together with the application of scientifically sound assessment principles contributed to the validation of the instrument. Conclusion: The development of a competency-based assessment instrument was the result of a structured, collaborative and scientifically engaged process framed around specific assessment principles. The process culminated in the development of a formative competency-based clinical assessment instrument that was fit for purpose in the Bachelor of Oral Health program. The Nominal Group Technique served to be a valuable approach for small group consensus in developing the instrument. It served to promote individual perspectives and to generate debate and group discussion between academics that were proficient in clinical teaching and, finally to facilitate group consensus on the instrument structure and system for administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The relationship between social capital and self-rated health has been documented in many developed compared to developing countries. Because social capital and health play important roles in development, it may be valuable to study their relationship in the context of a developing country with poorer health status. Further, the role of social capital research for health policy has not received much attention. This paper therefore examines the relationship between social capital and health in South Africa, a country with the history of colonialism and apartheid that has contributed to the social disintegration and destruction of social capital. Methods: This study uses data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the first nationally representative panel study in South Africa. Two waves of the NIDS were used in this paper - Wave 1 (2008) and Wave 2 (2010). Self-rated health, social capital (individual- and contextual-level), and other covariates related to the social determinants of health (SDH) were obtained from the NIDS. Individual-level social capital included group participation, personalised trust and generalised trust while contextual-level or neighbourhood-level social capital was obtained by aggregating from the individual-level and household-level social capital variables to the neighbourhood. Mixed effects models were fitted to predict self-rated health in Wave 2, using lagged covariates (from Wave 1). Results: Individual personalised trust, individual community service group membership and neighbourhood personalised trust were beneficial to self-rated health. Reciprocity, associational activity and other types of group memberships were not found to be significantly associated with self-rated health in South Africa. Results indicate that both individual- and contextual-level social capital are associated with self-rated health. Conclusion: Policy makers may want to consider policies that impact socioeconomic conditions as well as social capital. Some of these policies are linked to the SDH. We contend that the significant social capital including community service membership can be encouraged through policy in a way that is in line with the values of the people. This is likely to impact on health and quality of life generally and lead to a reduction in the burden of disease in South Africa considering the historic context of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]