Reasons for inpatients not to seek clarity at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria

Background: Healthcare practitioners should provide patients with information regarding their clinical conditions. Patients should also feel free to seek clarity on information provided. However, not all patients seek this clarity.Objectives: To explore the reasons inpatients gave for not seeking clarity on information that was received but not understood.Methods: This was a qualitative arm of a larger study, titled ‘Are inpatients aware of the admission reasons and management plans of their clinical conditions? A survey at a tertiary hospital in South Africa’, conducted in 2010. Of the 264 inpatients who participated in the larger study, we extracted the unstructured responses from those participants (n = 152) who had indicated in the questionnaire that there was information they had not understood during their encounter with healthcare practitioners, but that they had nonetheless not sought clarity.Data were analysed thematically.Results: Themes that emerged were that inpatients did not ask for clarity as they perceived healthcare practitioners to be ‘too busy’, aloof, non-communicators and sometimes uncertain about patients’ conditions. Some inpatients had unquestioning trust in healthcare practitioners,whilst others had experiences of bad treatment. Inpatients had poor self-esteem, incapacitating clinical conditions, fear of bad news and prior knowledge of their clinical conditions. Some inpatients stated that they had no reason for not seeking clarity.Conclusion: The reasons for not seeking clarity were based on patients’ experiences with the healthcare practitioners and their perceptions of the latter and of themselves. A programme should be developed in order to educate inpatients on effective communication with their healthcare practitioners.

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Inpatients’ awareness of admission reasons and management plans of their clinical conditions at a tertiary hospital in South Africa

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-015-0754-y ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Langalibalele H Mabuza ◽

Olufemi B Omole ◽

Indiran Govender ◽

John V Ndimande ◽

Herman S Schoeman

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Management Plans ◽

Clinical Conditions

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An audit of mother to child HIV transmission rates and neonatal outcomes at a tertiary hospital in South Africa

BMC Research Notes ◽

10.1186/s13104-019-4617-1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ghad Benali ◽

Tanusha Ramdin ◽

Daynia Ballot

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Hiv Transmission ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Academic Hospital ◽

Child Transmission ◽

Transmission Rates ◽

Hiv Exposure ◽

Hiv Exposed ◽

Mother To Child

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to explore the prevalence of congenital HIV infection of neonates at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH) between 2015 and 2017, as well as compare the HIV PCR positive and HIV PCR negative neonates. Results A total number of 1443 HIV exposed neonates was examined for the study period out of a total of 5029 admissions (HIV exposure 28.6%) The study found that the rate of HIV transmission at birth was 2.52%. The majority of infants had low birth weight and were also born prematurely. These results show that, despite the introduction of the extended mother to child transmission programme, HIV transmission is high.

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Antimicrobial resistance patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from canine clinical cases at a veterinary academic hospital in South Africa

Journal of the South African Veterinary Association ◽

10.4102/jsava.v91i0.2052 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 91 ◽

Author(s):

Ulemu L. Eliasi ◽

Dikeledi Sebola ◽

James W. Oguttu ◽

Daniel N. Qekwana

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Academic Hospital ◽

Resistance Patterns ◽

Clinical Cases

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Tube Feeding Practices and Transition to Breastfeeding Experiences of Mothers of Preterm Infants at a Kangaroo Mother Care Unit of a Tertiary Hospital in South Africa

Global Pediatric Health ◽

10.1177/2333794x211037032 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 2333794X2110370

Author(s):

Sphiwe Madiba ◽

Malmsey Sengane

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Preterm Infants ◽

Neonatal Intensive Care ◽

Tube Feeding ◽

Feeding Practices ◽

Tertiary Hospital ◽

Very Preterm Infants ◽

Mothers Of Preterm Infants ◽

Group Interviews

To receive human milk, most preterm infants initially receive the mothers’ expressed milk through a nasogastric tube. However, breast milk feeding the preterm infant and making the transition to direct breast-feeding come with significant challenges. The study explored and described the experiences of mothers of preterm infants regarding initiation and expressing breast milk, tube feeding practices, and transition to breastfeeding during the infants’ stay in a kangaroo care unit (KMC) of an academic hospital in South Africa. Using a qualitative design, focus group interviews were conducted with 38 mothers of preterm infants after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). We analyzed transcripts following the 5 steps for qualitative thematic data analysis. Tube feeding and breastfeeding preterm infants was challenging and exhausting for the mothers. Many described their experiences of initiating expression and sustaining milk supply as negative. They had constant concerns about their ability to produce adequate milk volumes to feed their infants. They had immense dislike of expressing, which they described as physically exhausting, stressful, and painful. Those who had initiated breastfeeding were highly motivated to breastfeed their preterm infants. They described breastfeeding as a positive bonding experience that they derived pleasure from. The mothers’ dislike of expressing was overshadowed by their emotional obligation toward their preterm infants. Although the KMC unit promotes breastfeeding, mothers encountered problems and struggled to initiate expression and sustain milk production. Mothers of extreme and very preterm infants need support to continue with milk expression during the long NICU and KMC stay.

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