B5 South Africa: Building Or Destroying Health Systems?

Climate change is a global problem, which affects the various geographical regions at different levels. It is also associated with a wide range of human health problems, which pose a burden to health systems, especially in regions such as Africa. Indeed, across the African continent public health systems are under severe pressure, partly due to their fragile socioeconomic conditions. This paper reports on a cross-sectional study in six African countries (Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Namibia, Ethiopia, and Kenya) aimed at assessing their vulnerabilities to climate change, focusing on its impacts on human health. The study evaluated the levels of information, knowledge, and perceptions of public health professionals. It also examined the health systems’ preparedness to cope with these health hazards, the available resources, and those needed to build resilience to the country’s vulnerable population, as perceived by health professionals. The results revealed that 63.1% of the total respondents reported that climate change had been extensively experienced in the past years, while 32% claimed that the sampled countries had experienced them to some extent. Nigerian respondents recorded the highest levels (67.7%), followed by Kenya with 66.6%. South Africa had the lowest level of impact as perceived by the respondents (50.0%) when compared with the other sampled countries. All respondents from Ghana and Namibia reported that health problems caused by climate change are common in the two countries. As perceived by the health professionals, the inadequate resources reiterate the need for infrastructural resources, medical equipment, emergency response resources, and technical support. The study’s recommendations include the need to improve current policies at all levels (i.e., national, regional, and local) on climate change and public health and to strengthen health professionals’ skills. Improving the basic knowledge of health institutions to better respond to a changing climate is also recommended. The study provides valuable insights which may be helpful to other nations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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A case report of evaluating a large-scale health systems improvement project in an uncontrolled setting: a quality improvement initiative in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

BMJ Quality & Safety ◽

10.1136/bmjqs-2012-001244 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 22 (11) ◽

pp. 891-898 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Kedar S Mate ◽

Wilbroda Hlolisile Ngidi ◽

Jennifer Reddy ◽

Wendy Mphatswe ◽

Nigel Rollins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Quality Improvement ◽

Case Report ◽

Health Systems ◽

Large Scale ◽

Quality Improvement Initiative ◽

Improvement Project ◽

Kwazulu Natal

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Rethinking collaboration: developing a learning platform to address under-five mortality in Mpumalanga province, South Africa

Health Policy and Planning ◽

10.1093/heapol/czz047 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (6) ◽

pp. 418-429 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lucia D’Ambruoso ◽

Maria van der Merwe ◽

Oghenebrume Wariri ◽

Peter Byass ◽

Gerhard Goosen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Health Policy ◽

Health Systems ◽

Health Priorities ◽

Local Data ◽

Under Five ◽

Systems Research ◽

Learning Platform ◽

Institutional Infrastructure ◽

The Right

Abstract Following 50 years of apartheid, South Africa introduced visionary health policy committing to the right to health as part of a primary health care (PHC) approach. Implementation is seriously challenged, however, in an often-dysfunctional health system with scarce resources and a complex burden of avoidable mortality persists. Our aim was to develop a process generating evidence of practical relevance on implementation processes among people excluded from access to health systems. Informed by health policy and systems research, we developed a collaborative learning platform in which we worked as co-researchers with health authorities in a rural province. This article reports on the process and insights brought by health systems stakeholders. Evidence gaps on under-five mortality were identified with a provincial Directorate after which we collected quantitative and qualitative data. We applied verbal autopsy to quantify levels, causes and circumstances of deaths and participatory action research to gain community perspectives on the problem and priorities for action. We then re-convened health systems stakeholders to analyse and interpret these data through which several systems issues were identified as contributory to under-five deaths: staff availability and performance; service organization and infrastructure; multiple parallel initiatives; and capacity to address social determinants. Recommendations were developed ranging from immediate low- and no-cost re-organization of services to those where responses from higher levels of the system or outside were required. The process was viewed as acceptable and relevant for an overburdened system operating ‘in the dark’ in the absence of local data. Institutional infrastructure for evidence-based decision-making does not exist in many health systems. We developed a process connecting research evidence on rural health priorities with the means for action and enabled new partnerships between communities, authorities and researchers. Further development is planned to understand potential in deliberative processes for rural PHC.

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Lessons on Implementation and Sustainability of M-Health Solutions in South Africa

Advances in Electronic Government, Digital Divide, and Regional Development - Perspectives on ICT4D and Socio-Economic Growth Opportunities in Developing Countries ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2983-6.ch005 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 127-152

Author(s):

Idon-Nkhenso Sibuyi ◽

Vincent Horner

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Health Systems ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Face To Face ◽

Department Of Health ◽

Task Team ◽

Health Project ◽

Facility Level ◽

Health Application ◽

Systems Framework

The Momconnect project was launched in 2014 by its champion, the minister of health, Hon. Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi. The system is an m-health application targeted at maternal health patients in South Africa. Execution of the project was carried out by a consortium headed by the National Department of Health. Project execution began in 2012, and the launch was two years later in 2014. In this research, a health systems framework for evaluation of implementations of m-health systems in developing countries was used to review the system. The sources of data for the study were face-to-face interviews of the Momconnect Task Team, Ministerial Advisory Committee on e-Health, and a sample of health care providers and consumers from the health facility level in Johannesburg Metro City. These interviews were supplemented by a document review. The findings of the study are reported according to the four headings of the study framework.

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