scholarly journals Health education training needs of educators at Makapanstad schools in the North West province

Curationis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.D. Peu ◽  
L. Napoles ◽  
F. Wenhold ◽  
K. Mostert-Wentzel ◽  
N. Seane

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the health education needs of educators at health promoting schools in Makapanstad in North West Province. Methodology: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive paradigm was conducted. The population consisted of educators, at Makapanstad schools, who were directly involved with learners. The participants were purposively selected. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect relevant data from the participants. Tesch data analysis process was used to reach the findings of the research.Findings: The following categories were identified and theoretically confirmed: The need for the support by the University for the training of educators; The need for the University’s acknowledgement of educators’ responsibilities; The need for basic knowledge of health promotion; Common health needs of learners; and indirect health problems.Recommendation: It was recommended that a health education package be developed to assist in empowering learners in Makapanstad schools.

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobelungu S. Spencer ◽  
Antoinette Du Preez ◽  
Catharina S. Minnie

Background: According to a Cochrane review, continuous support during childbirth increases the mother’s chances of a vaginal birth without identified adverse effects. However, this evidence-based practice is not universally implemented. The objective of the study was to identify challenges encountered in implementing continuous support during childbirth in public hospitals in the North West Province of South Africa. Method: An explorative, descriptive and contextual qualitative approach was used. The data were collected during 2013 by conducting focus group interviews with 33 registered midwives who had worked in maternity units in three selected public hospitals in the North West Province for at least two years. Results: Midwives identified challenges that negatively impacted the implementation of continuous support during childbirth at organisational and interpersonal levels. At the organisational level, challenges included human resources, policies and guidelines as well as the architectural outlay of the maternity units. The personal challenges related to communication and attitudes of nurses, patients and their families.  Conclusions: Organisational and personal challenges had a negative impact on the provision of continuous care during childbirth.


Author(s):  
C.M. Veary ◽  
S.N. Manoto

A study to detect human taeniasis and cysticercosis was conducted in 4 village communities served by the Bethanie clinic in the North West Province, based on reports of people being diagnosed there with epileptiform episodes. Many home owners in the villages rear pigs in small numbers for both meat availability and an immediate income from live pig or pig meat sales. The primary aim of the work was to conduct in the study area a census of all small scale pig producers and a survey of rural village consumers, both by means of a structured questionnaire. The former reviewed pig husbandry practices, slaughter and marketing of pigs and the latter provided information on pork consumption, sanitation as well as people's basic knowledge of Taenia solium. Stool samples from consenting participants were screened by a contracted approved laboratory for T. solium. A descriptive analysis of retrospective data was conducted at the Bethanie clinic to determine the proportional morbidity of neurocysticercosis from the medical records of patients diagnosed with seizures in an attempt to establish possible sources of infection and routes of transmission. In addition, the total pig population in the study area was determined more accurately and the prevalence of cysticercosis investigated in pigs subjected to meat inspection at an approved abattoir. The questionnaires revealed a poor understanding of the disease, poor sanitation and hygiene, poor methods of pig husbandry and poor meat inspection and control in rural smallholder communities. There was no significant statistical difference in the proportion of households reporting evidence of epilepsy and owning pigs and those that did not. There is a strong evidence of a tendency towards an association between epilepsy, consumption habits and some identified epidemiological risk factors.


Author(s):  
Claire Van Deventer ◽  
Nontsikelelo Sondzaba

Background: The Integrated Primary Care (IPC) rotation is undertaken over six weeks by final year medical students at the University of Witwatersrand. Students are placed in either rural or urban primary health care centres based in Gauteng or the North West Province. As part of the IPC rotation, students undertake short quality improvement (QI) projects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of the QI projects undertaken over the period stretching from 2006 to 2010. Methods: An observational study of QI reports done by students. Project reports assessed and compared to site marks, indicators of learning assessed and individual and group marks compared.Results: Of 274 projects undertaken, 223 (81.4%) were available for evaluation. Geographical placements and QI themes were categorised. Management issues were most frequently identified as being problematic followed by chronic illnesses. Understanding and applying the principles of QI was partially achieved and gaps were identified for future projects. The most common intervention was training of personnel and design and distribution of posters or pamphlets.Conclusions: Most QI projects were well thought out and relevant to the chosen setting. In the majority of cases, a great deal of effort and creativity went into the process and skills other than clinical skills were employed such as writing, presentation of data in graphs and tables. Integration of theory and practice was achieved only partially.


Author(s):  
Gideon Van Riet

This article adopts an environmental justice approach to recurrent drought in the North-West Province of South Africa. It is based on a secondary data analysis of a study – of which the author was a research team member – conducted in the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality in February 2007, which assessed the impact of drought on older people. The methodology used during the initial study included observation, individual interviews, focus group interviews and participatory research. The author of the present article suggests, however, that discourses of Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and ’legislative compliance’, as in many other South African contexts, have not yet been a particularly useful framing for issues of disaster and drought. The author suggests that environmental justice discourses might offer a more useful framing or conceptualisation for those concerned with the issue of recurrent drought in the study area or similar contexts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petronella Benadé ◽  
Emmerentia Du Plessis ◽  
Magdalena P. Koen

Background: A shortage of nurses caring for older persons is experienced due to adverse working conditions. Resilience might empower nurses to persevere while caring for older persons. Research regarding the resilience of nurses caring for older persons is scarce.Objectives: The objectives were to explore and describe the strengths and coping abilities of nurses caring for older persons and to formulate recommendations to strengthen their resilience.Methodology: An explorative, descriptive qualitative research design was used. An allinclusive sample of nurses caring for older persons in an urban setting in the North West Province, South Africa, participated in the study. During phase one, demographic information was obtained, and narratives were written (n = 43). Four focus group interviews were conducted in phase two (n = 17) and recommendations were formulated in phase three. Content analysis was used.Principal results: Participants experienced adverse working circumstances while caring for older persons and they needed resilience to balance the emotional nature of the work, work ethics, staff shortages, physical demands of the work and the dependency of the older persons. These nurses used personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths to handle adverse working conditions.Conclusions: By applying their personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths, nurses could further enhance these strengths and possibly their resilience. The participants' identified strengths were used to formulate recommendations to strengthen resilience of nurses caring for older persons.


Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Siviwe Bangani ◽  
Glenda Makate ◽  
Boitumelo Masilo ◽  
Mathew Moyo

The aim of this study was to establish the impact of the North-West University’s language policy on its library’s print collections. It analyses the languages represented by books held by the North-West University Library and Information Services. The article further established the strategies used by the libraries to develop, preserve and promote African languages in support of the university’s language policy. The paper employed bibliometrics and focus group interviews to gather data. The findings revealed that books in African languages that were recognised by the university were difficult to get on the market. As a result, the majority of books accessioned by the libraries were in English, followed by Afrikaans, and relatively few books in Setswana, and Sesotho. The study is the first of its kind focusing on language policy and academic libraries in South Africa. It is valuable to both policy makers and librarians in their endeavours to develop sizeable African language collections in support of the curricula and research. Among the recommendations is that African language departments at various universities should collaborate with libraries to start open access African language journals, and publish them through the institutional repositories.


Author(s):  
Daryl A. Cornish ◽  
George L. Smit

Oreochromis mossambicus is currently receiving much attention as a candidater species for aquaculture programs within Southern Africa. This has stimulated interest in its breeding cycle as well as the morphological characteristics of the gonads. Limited information is available on SEM and TEM observations of the male gonads. It is known that the testis of O. mossambicus is a paired, intra-abdominal structure of the lobular type, although further details of its characteristics are not known. Current investigations have shown that spermatids reach full maturity some two months after the female becomes gravid. Throughout the year, the testes contain spermatids at various stages of development although spermiogenesis appears to be maximal during November when spawning occurs. This paper describes the morphological and ultrastructural characteristics of the testes and spermatids.Specimens of this fish were collected at Syferkuil Dam, 8 km north- west of the University of the North over a twelve month period, sacrificed and the testes excised.


Author(s):  
Blessing Mbatha

<p class="norm">The aim of this article is to shed some light on patterns of and major motives for the adoption of different types of disruptive learning innovations by Unisa academics. To realise the aim of the study, the following questions were addressed: What are the reasons for adopting disruptive learning innovations? What is the level of interaction with disruptive innovations? What training do Unisa academics require on disruptive innovations? A qualitative approach was adopted by conducting focus group interviews with 76 Unisa academics. The data was analysed using open and axial coding, where dominant themes from the discussions were identified and discussed in detail. The findings show that the interaction of Unisa lecturers with different technologies varied from technology to technology. The study also found that disruptive innovations play a pivotal role in opening avenues and collapsing the transactional distance in an ODL institution. Some lecturers lack skill in using some technology, which is a cause for concern. Therefore, lecturers need to be trained in using technology and develop a good understanding of it to improve teaching and learning.</p>


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