Policy development in malaria vector management in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe

Introduction: Chiropractic is a health profession specialising in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders affecting the bones, joints, muscles and nerves in the body. It is a type of alternative or complimentary medicine concerned with the relationship between the body's structure and its functioning. The Durban University of Technology (DUT) and University of Johannesburg are the two internationally accredited academic institutions in South Africa to offer the chiropractic programme. The Chiropractic Department at the DUT is one of 13 departments within the Faculty of Health Sciences. A student who successfully completes the chiropractic-training programme becomes registered as doctor of chiropractic by the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa under Act 63 of 1982 (as amended). However, a number of students drop out from the chiropractic programme before completion. Some of these students transfer to other programmes; others deregister and leave the university, while others are excluded because of the progression rule or because of having exceeded the maximum duration of the programme. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of the students regarding dropping out from the chiropractic programme at the DUT. The study aimed to answer three research questions, which were: 1) what are the perceptions of students regarding dropout from the chiropractic programme at the DUT? 2) what are the determinants of student dropout from the chiropractic programme at the DUT? and 3) how can the dropout rate in the chiropractic programme at the DUT be minimised? Methodology: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed. The DUT was used as a data collection site. Data was collected between May and June 2018 using one-on-one semi structured interviews with 12 former students who were previously registered for the chiropractic programme and dropped out before completion. Tesch’s eight steps of data analysis guided thematic data analysis. Findings: The students’ perceptions regarding dropout from the chiropractic programme were grouped into five major themes and several subthemes. The major themes included financial constraints, post course employment, personal, course related and socio- cultural factors. All these themes were, according to the participants, determinants of student dropout from the chiropractic programme. Recommendation from the study findings focused on how the dropout rate in the chiropractic programme could be minimised. Conclusion: The study discovered that, according to the students’ perceptions, there are several determinants of the high dropout rate from the chiropractic programme. Some of these are intrinsic chiropractic programme factors such as course structure, workload and assessment strategy. However, other determinants are outside the programme and generic to all university disciplines/programmes. Nevertheless, it is still critical that attention be given to all determining factors to facilitate retention of students into the chiropractic programme. Recommendations: The following recommendations with special reference to policy development and implementation, institutional management and practice, chiropractic education and further research, are presented. The national and institutional policies regarding application and administration of financial aid should be reviewed and guidelines for application and appeals procedures should be made known to students. Student teaching and assessment strategies should be reviewed periodically and input from students be invited. The Chiropractic Department should ensure that information about the programme and qualification is made available to the public. The chiropractic curriculum should include entrepreneurship to provide information and guidance on how to set up own private practice. The chiropractic programme should institute measures of decolonising the programme in order to address challenges of racial discrimination. A broader research study on reasons for student dropout is recommended.

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Impact of the Integrated Food and Nutrition Programme in Kungwini, South Africa

Social Work and Social Sciences Review ◽

10.1921/swssr.v17i2.552 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 6-21 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Reineth Prinsloo ◽

V. Pillay

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Policy Development ◽

Poverty Reduction ◽

Participant Observation ◽

Qualitative Interviews ◽

Collaborative Partnerships ◽

The Poor ◽

Food And Nutrition ◽

The Impact ◽

Nutrition Programme

This article discusses the impact of the Integrated Food and Nutrition Programme (IFNP) in light of collaborative partnerships for poverty reduction in a developing municipal area in South Africa. The programme aimed to develop home, community and school food gardens to meet the daily nutritional needs of poor households and the process was then to be broadened into marketing surplus garden produce, providing employment and income-generating opportunities. The programme thus aimed to address more than just basic food and nutrition. The purpose of the research was to obtain data through participant observation, focus group discussions and extended household interviews. Drawing on the qualitative interviews conducted with the beneficiaries of the IFNP, the article describes the manner in which poverty can continue to entrench the social exclusion of the poor (despite a specific policy intervention to improve their circumstances) when appropriate stakeholder collaboration is not fully developed and harnessed. The research recommendations include improving weak institutional environments, which may hinder effective service delivery, identifying appropriate skills development for the poor, ensuring community involvement in policy processes, maintaining efficient communication in collaborative partnerships, and maintaining personnel training on policy development and in project management skills.

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Protocol for a Multi-Level Policy Analysis of Non-Communicable Disease Determinants of Diet and Physical Activity: Implications for Low- and Middle-Income Countries in Africa and the Caribbean

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182413061 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (24) ◽

pp. 13061

Author(s):

Maylene Shung-King ◽

Amy Weimann ◽

Nicole McCreedy ◽

Lambed Tatah ◽

Clarisse Mapa-Tassou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

South Africa ◽

Policy Development ◽

Salt Intake ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Middle Income ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Country Level ◽

Promotion Of Physical Activity ◽

Low And Middle Income

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Despite significant global policy development for addressing NCDs, the extent to which global policies find expression in low-and-middle income countries’ (LMIC) policies, designed to mitigate against NCDs, is unclear. This protocol is part of a portfolio of projects within the Global Diet and Activity Research (GDAR) Network, which aims to support the prevention of NCDs in LMICs, with a specific focus on Kenya, Cameroon, South Africa and Jamaica. This paper outlines the protocol for a study that seeks to explore the current policy environment in relation to the reduction of key factors influencing the growing epidemic of NCDs. The study proposes to examine policies at the global, regional and country level, related to the reduction of sugar and salt intake, and the promotion of physical activity (as one dimension of healthy placemaking). The overall study will comprise several sub-studies conducted at a global, regional and country level in Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa. In combination with evidence generated from other GDAR workstreams, results from the policy analyses will contribute to identifying opportunities for action in the reduction of NCDs in LMICs.

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‘In-Between’ Rural Tourism: Rethinking Rural Tourism Spaces for Policy Development in South Africa

African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure ◽

10.46222/ajhtl.19770720.169 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10(4) (10(4)) ◽

pp. 1394-1413

Author(s):

Christian M Rogerson ◽

Jayne M Rogerson

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Policy Development ◽

Best Practice ◽

Global South ◽

Rural Tourism ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Rural Space ◽

Starting Point ◽

Local Municipality ◽

Tourism Policy

Rural tourism is the focus of major international scholarship. This paper contributes to policy debates about rural tourism in the Global South using the example of South Africa. Specifically, it points to a need for rethinking of rural tourism spaces for policy development in South Africa. Arguably, ‘rural spaces’ cannot be viewed homogeneously simply as places outside of cities; instead rural tourism spaces must be unpacked and differentiated. The South African case is of special interest in Global South scholarship because national government launched initiatives to prepare an appropriate rural tourism policy. It is argued that a spatially differentiated approach to rural tourism policy is useful and recommends as a starting point drawing upon best practice international research which identifies (at least) three different categories of rural space, namely fringe, exotic/remote and in-between rural spaces. Insight is provided of two examples of ‘in-between’ rural spaces in South Africa, namely Greater Giyani Local Municipality in Limpopo and Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality in Eastern Cape.

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The views of public service managers on the implementation of National Health Insurance in primary care: a case of Johannesburg Health District, Gauteng Province, Republic of South Africa

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-021-06990-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

S D Murphy ◽

S Moosa

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Health Insurance ◽

National Health Insurance ◽

National Health ◽

Policy Development ◽

Implementation Strategies ◽

Policy Formulation ◽

Top Down ◽

Urban District ◽

Strategic Purchasing

Abstract Background The South African government is implementing National Health Insurance (NHI) as a monopsony health care financing mechanism to drive the country towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). Strategic purchasing, with separation of funder, purchaser and provider, underpins this initiative. The NHI plans Contracting Units for Primary healthcare (PHC) Services (CUPS) to function as either independent sub-district purchasers or public providers and District Health Management Offices (DHMOs) to support and monitor these CUPS. This decentralised operational unit of PHC, the heartbeat of NHI, is critical to the success of NHI. The views of district-level managers, who are responsible for these units, are fundamental to this NHI implementation. This qualitative study aimed to explore district and sub-district managerial views on NHI and their role in its implementation. Methods Purposive sampling was used to identify key respondents from a major urban district in Gauteng, South Africa, for participation in in-depth interviews. This study used framework analysis methodology within MaxQDA software. Results Three main themes were identified: managerial engagement in NHI policy development (with two sub-themes), managerial views on NHI (with three sub-themes) and perceptions of current NHI implementation (with six sub-themes). The managers viewed NHI as a social and moral imperative but lacked clarity and insight into the NHI Bill as well as the associated implementation strategies. The majority of respondents had not had the opportunity to engage in NHI policy formulation. Managers cited several pitfalls in current organisational operations. The respondents felt that national and provincial governments continue to function in a detached and rigid top-down hierarchy. Managers highlighted the need for their inclusion in NHI policy formulation and training and development for them to oversee the implementation strategies. Conclusions It appears that strategic purchasing is not being operationalised in PHC. NHI policy implementation appears to function in a rigid top-down hierarchy that excludes key stakeholders in the NHI implementation strategy. The findings of this study suggest an inadequate decentralisation of healthcare governance within the public sector necessary to attain UHC. District managers need to be engaged and capacitated to operationalise the planned decentralised purchasing-provision function of the DHS within the NHI Bill.

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MAPPING THE EMERGENCE OF LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA SINCE THE DAWN OF DEMOCRACY

10.31730/osf.io/hcxk4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Gail Denise Parker ◽

King Costa

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Economic Development ◽

Policy Development ◽

Local Economic Development ◽

Secondary Analysis ◽

Monitoring And Evaluation ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Successful Implementation ◽

Execution Monitoring ◽

Donor Agencies

This paper is an explorative discourse on strategies used for local economic development since the dawn of a new democracy in South Africa. In doing so, the study reflected on international experience and current local economic development practices while at the same time focusing on variables that could be characterized as enablers or barriers to successful implementation in poor areas. It is a theoretical paper, hinged upon secondary analysis of publications in relation to local economic development between the period of 1994 and 2004 with a specific intent to understand the strength and weakness of the foundations upon which the current policies are based. The synthesis focused on concepts such as poverty alleviation initiatives linked to land-based local economic development in South Africa. The study concluded that while there are similarities in the emergence of LED across the global spectrum, less developed countries such as South Africa continue to face a myriad of challenges related to policy development, execution, monitoring and evaluation. It was further recommended that strategic intents for LED should be aligned to community aspirations to have a sustainable impact. It was further recommended that while donor agencies remain crucial, proper allocation and reporting mechanisms may help sustain relationships between LED practitioners and funders. Lastly, it was recommended that a strong and legitimized political will and leadership are vital in encouraging popular participation and sustained community based response.

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