scholarly journals Guidelines to facilitate self-care among older persons in South Africa

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinda Rabie ◽  
Hester C. Klopper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
Care Guidelines ◽  
Professional Nurses ◽  
Care Agency

Background: The number of older persons is growing at an alarming rate, yet the South African healthcare sector is not giving this issue the required attention. Moreover, the healthcare sector serves four-fifths of the country's population and primary healthcare (PHC) facilities are overcrowded, and thus professional nurses are prevented from providing sufficient self-care health education to older persons.Aim: To develop guidelines for the three role players — the public health sector, professional nurse and older person — to facilitate self-care among older persons in South Africa.Design: Quantitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual research design.Methods: A literature review followed by a self-care assessment of a sample of older persons using the Appraisal of Self-care Agency (ASA-A) and Exercise of Self-care Agency (ESCA) questionnaires which led to the identification of conclusions and self-care deficits.Results: Based on Menon's psychological health empowerment model, and from the conclusions and self-care deficits, nine self-care guidelines were developed for the public health sector, professional nurses and older persons.Conclusion: This is the first systematic development of guidelines to facilitate self-care among older persons in South Africa.Implications for practice: The implementation of the self-care guidelines by the public health sector, professional nurses and older persons will improve the healthcare of older persons at home which will in turn improve their quality of life, reduce unintentional self-neglect, as well as assist in alleviating overcrowding in clinics because unnecessary visits to the clinic will drop.

scholarly journals Work Features that Influence the Retention of Professional Nurses in the Public Health Sector in Windhoek, Namibia

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frieda N. Washeya ◽  
Laetitia N. Fürst
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Professional Nurse ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
Professional Nurses

The retention of professional nurses in the public health sector is essential for maintaining quality nursing care. Effective retention strategies enhance nurses’ job satisfaction, promote professionalism, decrease organisational costs and improve patients’ care. The Namibian public health sector has, for a long time, experienced challenges in retaining professional nurses and this has affected patient care, students’ clinical practice and the facilities’ status. A qualitative descriptive design was used in this study to explore professional nurses’ perceptions of factors influencing the retention of professional nurses at a health facility in Windhoek, Namibia. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 11 professional nurses. Tesch’s eight steps for data analysis generated two themes, namely: 1) Satisfaction with remuneration varied; the work environment was non-conducive and management was inadequate; and 2) Dissatisfaction resulted from negative psychological effects of the work environment and lack of career development opportunities. Remuneration packages in the public healthcare sector were regarded as inadequate compared to the private healthcare sector, which was deemed as greener pastures. The physical work environment is non-conducive and under-resourced, which has an effect on the physiological work environment when staff develop feelings of guilt, frustration, stress, feeling unsafe and uncared for—all potential catalysts for the loss of the professional nurse workforce due to resignations. In addition, career development opportunities were experienced as biased and unfair. Strategies are recommended to improve the remuneration packages and provide a well-resourced and conducive work environment, which supports the professional nurse to ensure quality patient care.

Corrupt Practices in the Public Health Sector: A Focus on Metropolitan Local Government Areas of Kano State, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Mohammed Mustapha Namadi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Healthcare Provision ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector ◽  
The Government

Corruption is pervasive in Nigeria at all levels. Thus, despite recent gains in healthcare provision, the health sector faces numerous corruption related challenges. This study aims at examining areas of corruption in the health sector with specific focus on its types and nature. A sample size of 480 respondents aged 18 years and above was drawn from the eight Metropolitan Local Government Areas of Kano State, using the multistage sampling technique. The results revealed evidence of corrupt practices including those related to unnecessary-absenteeism, diversion of patients from the public health facilities to the private sector, diverting money meant for the purchase of equipment, fuel and diesel, bribery, stealing of medications, fraud, misappropriation of medications and unjustifiable reimbursement claims. In order to resolve the problem of corrupt practices in the healthcare sector, the study recommended the need for enforcement of appropriate code of ethics guiding the conduct of the health professionals, adoption of anti-corruption strategies, and strengthening the government monitoring system to check corruption in public health sector in order to ensure equitable access to healthcare services among the under-privileged people in the society.

scholarly journals Relation of socio-economic status to the independent application of self-care in older persons of South Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 155-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinda Rabie ◽  
Hester C. Klopper ◽  
Martha J. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Older Persons ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Self Care ◽  
Healthcare Sector ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Socio Economic Status ◽  
Public Healthcare Sector ◽  
Care Agency

Background: Many older persons in South Africa (SA) are affected by a poor socio-economic status, leading to an increase in the use of the public healthcare sector. However, the public healthcare sector is burdened by high volumes of patients and long waiting periods. As a result, professional nurses in primary healthcare (PHC) facilities are not able to spend enough time on proper physical examinations and assessment of needs, including health education and support to older persons to help them apply independent self-care.Aim: To determine if the socio-economic status of older persons affects their ability to apply self-care independently without support from professional nurses in the PHC facility.Design: Quantitative, descriptive research design.Methods: Older persons (N = 198; n = 192 respondents) were asked to complete the Appraisal of Self-care Agency (ASA-A) and Exercise of Self-care Agency (ESCA) questionnaires. Seven self-care deficits were identified through deductive logic after analysis of the two questionnaires. These seven self-care deficits were compared to the socio economic status of the same sample.Results: Seven self-care deficits were identified after analysis of the ASA-A and ESCA questionnaires. One self-care deficit was found to have a relationship with the socioeconomic status of the older persons.Conclusions: Low literacy levels of older persons with a low socio-economic status affect their ability to apply self-care independently without the support from a professional nurse in the PHC facility. Data analysis of the ASA-A and ESCA revealed that these older persons suffer from a “lack of knowledge and ability to acquire knowledge with regard to self-care” which had a relationship with the socio-economic status of older persons with specific reference to low literacy levels and poverty. Implications for practice: More attention should be given to older persons with a low socioeconomic status as their ability to apply self-care independently without the support from a professional nurse is limited. This would lead to less frequent visits to PHC facilities by older persons for minor ailments, decrease healthcare costs, relieve overcrowding in PHC facilities and prevent possible unintentional self-neglect.

scholarly journals Identifying and bridging the knowledge-to-practice gaps in rehabilitation professionals working with at-risk infants in the public health sector of South Africa: a multimethod study protocol

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e039242
Author(s):  
Pragashnie Govender
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Neonatal Intensive Care ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector

IntroductionEarly childhood is a critical time when the benefits of early interventions are intensified, and the adverse effects of risk can be reduced. For the optimal provision of early intervention, professionals in the field are required to have specialised knowledge and skills in implementing these programmes. In the context of South Africa, there is evidence to suggest that therapists are ill-prepared to handle the unique challenges posed in neonatal intensive care units and wards with at-risk infants in the first few weeks of life. This is attributed to several reasons; however, irrespective of the causative factors, the need to bridge this knowledge-to-practice gap remains essential.Methods and analysisThis study is a multimethod stakeholder-driven study using a scoping review followed by an appreciative inquiry and Delphi process that will aid in the development, implementation and evaluation of a knowledge translation intervention to bridge knowledge-gaps in occupational and physiotherapists working in the field. Therapists currently working in the public health sector will be recruited for participation in the various stages of the study. The analysis will occur via thematic analysis for qualitative data and percentages and frequencies for descriptive quantitative data. Issues around trustworthiness and rigour, and reliability and validity, will be ensured within each of the phases, by use of a content validity index and inter-rater reliability for the Delphi survey; thick descriptions, peer debriefing, member checking and an audit trail for the qualitative data.Ethics and disseminationThe study has received full ethical approval from the Health Research and Knowledge Management Directorate of the Department of Health and a Biomedical Research Ethics Committee. The results will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals and disseminated to the relevant stakeholders within this study.

Koordination im Gesundheitssystem – neue Anforderungen an Dienstleistungen und Interaktionsarbeit / Coordination in the public health sector – new demands on services and interaction work

Arbeit ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Stöger
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Sector ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Sector

AbstractDer Artikel schildert Teilergebnisse eines Forschungsprojektes über Gesundheitsdienstleistungen am Beispiel der seltenen Krankheit ALS. Dargestellt wird die Interaktionsarbeit der Gesundheitskoordination, die PatientInnen bei der Bewältigung der Krankheitsfolgen Hilfestellung bietet und deren Interessen gegenüber den AkteurInnen im Gesundheitssystem vertritt. Sie übernimmt damit eine Koordinierungsfunktion, die aufgrund der steigenden Abstimmungsprobleme zwischen den einzelnen Leistungsbereichen der Gesundheitsversorgung notwendig wird. Die Tätigkeit stellt höchste Ansprüche an die Interaktionsarbeit, die durch geeignete Arbeitsgestaltungsmaßnahmen gefördert werden kann.

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