scholarly journals A qualitative exploration of doctors and nurses experiences on the management of tuberculosis and HIV co-infection in a tuberculosis-HIV high burden community in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Author(s):  
Mbuso Mabuza ◽  
Constance Shumba

South Africa is faced with a huge challenge of addressing the high burden of tuberculosis-human immune virus (TBHIV) co-infection, and this challenge is more pronounced in the province of KwaZulu-Natal which has one of the highest burdens of TB-HIV co-infection in the world. The study explored the experiences of doctors and nurses with regard to the management of tuberculosis and HIV coinfection in a TB-HIV high burden community in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The particular focus was to provide insight and to inform policy and programme development for effective management of TB-HIV co-infection in the TB-HIV high burden community of northern KwaZulu- Natal. An interpretivist exploratory qualitative approach was employed through individual semi-structured interviews of 16 participants comprising eight doctors and eight nurses, with a total interview time of 8.95 hours. Purposive sampling was used to select the doctors and nurses from the public and private sector of the TB-HIV high burden community of northern KwaZulu- Natal. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Five key themes emerged from this study and these themes were discussed together with the sub-themes based on the various participant responses. The five key themes were practical experience about the management of TB-HIV co-infection; access to information and training on the management of TB-HIV co-infection; challenges and concerns about the management of TB-HIV co-infection; perception about local beliefs; and knowledge of policies and guidelines. Overall, this study highlights barriers that hamper the effective management of TB-HIV co-infection in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Recommendations of this study point towards an urgent need to scale up the management of TB-HIV co-infection through effective policies, improved capacity and infrastructure, stronger partnerships of all stakeholders, and further research.

Antibiotics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Carolyn Tarrant ◽  
Andrew M. Colman ◽  
David R. Jenkins ◽  
Edmund Chattoe-Brown ◽  
Nelun Perera ◽  
...  

Antimicrobial stewardship programs focus on reducing overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics (BSAs), primarily through interventions to change prescribing behavior. This study aims to identify multi-level influences on BSA overuse across diverse high and low income, and public and private, healthcare contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 46 prescribers from hospitals in the UK, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, including public and private providers. Interviews explored decision making about prescribing BSAs, drivers of the use of BSAs, and benefits of BSAs to various stakeholders, and were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Analysis identified drivers of BSA overuse at the individual, social and structural levels. Structural drivers of overuse varied significantly across contexts and included: system-level factors generating tensions with stewardship goals; limited material resources within hospitals; and patient poverty, lack of infrastructure and resources in local communities. Antimicrobial stewardship needs to encompass efforts to reduce the reliance on BSAs as a solution to context-specific structural conditions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 037957212098250
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Foley ◽  
Kristina D. Michaux ◽  
Bho Mudyahoto ◽  
Laira Kyazike ◽  
Binu Cherian ◽  
...  

Background: Micronutrient deficiencies affect over one quarter of the world’s population. Biofortification is an evidence-based nutrition strategy that addresses some of the most common and preventable global micronutrient gaps and can help improve the health of millions of people. Since 2013, HarvestPlus and a consortium of collaborators have made impressive progress in the enrichment of staple crops with essential micronutrients through conventional plant breeding. Objective: To review and highlight lessons learned from multiple large-scale delivery strategies used by HarvestPlus to scale up biofortification across different country and crop contexts. Results: India has strong public and private sector pearl millet breeding programs and a robust commercial seed sector. To scale-up pearl millet, HarvestPlus established partnerships with public and private seed companies, which facilitated the rapid commercialization of products and engagement of farmers in delivery activities. In Nigeria, HarvestPlus stimulated the initial acceptance and popularization of vitamin A cassava using a host of creative approaches, including “crowding in” delivery partners, innovative promotional programs, and development of intermediate raw material for industry and novel food products. In Uganda, orange sweet potato (OSP) is a traditional subsistence crop. Due to this, and the lack of formal seed systems and markets, HarvestPlus established a network of partnerships with community-based nongovernmental organizations and vine multipliers to popularize and scale-up delivery of OSP. Conclusions: Impact of biofortification ultimately depends on the development of sustainable markets for biofortified seeds and products. Results illustrate the need for context-specific, innovative solutions to promote widespread adoption.


2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lyne ◽  
Paul Zille ◽  
Douglas Graham

This paper compares the results of public and private land redistribution in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It identifies problems that constrain access to the land market, and describes recent efforts to address the liquidity problem associated with mortgage finance. The Land Reform Credit Facility (LRCF) was launched by government in May 1999 to help alleviate cash flow problems on farms purchased by disadvantaged buyers and financed with mortgage loans from commercial banks. The LRCF does not offer subsidies. Rather it offers loans with deferred or graduated repayment schedules to reputable banks and venture capital investors who finance, on similar terms, equity-share projects and land purchased by aspiring farmers. The paper outlines the LRCF experience and considers reasons for its promising start. The loan target of R15 million (US$2.15 million) set for the first year was reached after only eight months.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Njeri Wabiri ◽  
Inbarani Naidoo ◽  
Esther Mungai ◽  
Candice Samuel ◽  
Tryphinah Ngwenya

Author(s):  
Andreas Wörgötter ◽  
Sihle Nomdebevana

AbstractThis paper investigates the public-private remuneration patterns in South Africa with time-series methods for the first time since the introduction of an inflation-targeting framework in 2000. Co-integration tests and analysis confirm that there is a stable, long-run relationship between nominal and real remuneration in the public and private sector. The adjustment to the deviations from this long-run relationship is strong and significant for public-sector remuneration, while private-sector wages neither respond to deviations from the long-run relationship nor lagged changes in public-sector remuneration. The causal direction from private- to public-sector remuneration does not change if real earnings are calculated with the gross domestic product deflator. This is confirmed by simple Granger-causality tests.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (26) ◽  
pp. 121-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clinton David van der Merwe

Abstract Heritage tourism is a significant contemporary facet of tourism in many developing countries. This paper analyses the economic opportunities for battlefield- heritage tourism in South Africa by examining the battlefields route within KwaZulu-Natal. Through structured interviews with stakeholders and structured questionnaires with visitors and local residents, this research explores the understanding of heritage tourism as well as perceptions of its influence on the physical landscape and gauges the importance of this form of tourism as a driver for local economic development in South Africa. Dundee, a small coal-mining town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa - where several battlefields are found, is used as a case study. The study demonstrates that several issues need to be addressed if this niche of cultural and heritage tourism is to be a sustainable and responsible form of tourism in South Africa.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-13
Author(s):  
Dominika Čeryová ◽  
Jana Ladvenicová ◽  
Zuzana Bajusová

Abstract Renewable energy sources have become a compelling investment proposition, and investment into renewable power has grown in the recent years. Scale up renewable energy investment is critical to accelerate the global energy transformation and reap its many benefits, while achieving climate and development targets. Public finance institutions provide public money to support public and private sector projects as well as policies and programmes that serve the public good with economic, environmental, or social benefits. Several such institutions have been established and resourced with the aim of supporting renewable energy investments such as: international financial institutions, development finance institutions, local financial institutions, export credit agencies, and climate finance institutions. The main aim of this paper was to analyze the investments provided by this type of institutions in the renewable energy sector in the world with a specific focus on European Union member states in 2009–2016.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 36
Author(s):  
Robert Mash ◽  
Klaus Von Pressentin

This paper reports on a workshop held at the 19th National Family Practitioners Conference in August 2016. The aim of the workshop was to describe possible future scenarios for the discipline of family medicine in South Africa and identify possible options for action. The workshop led a group of 40 family physicians from academic, public and private sector settings through a scenario planning process developed by Clem Sunter and Chantell Ilbury. After an overview of the current situation the participants reached a consensus on the rules of the game, key uncertainties, future scenarios and options for action. The main message was that the South African Academy of Family Physicians as a professional body needs to take a stronger role in advocating for the contribution of family medicine to government, health managers and the public. (Full text of the research articles are available online at www.medpharm.tandfonline.com/ojfp) S Afr Fam Pract 2017; DOI: 10.1080/20786190.2016.1272231


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document