Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery
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TOTAL DOCUMENTS

300
(FIVE YEARS 124)

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4
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Published By Unisa Press

2520-5293, 1682-5055

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lwandile Tokwe ◽  
Joanne Rachel Naidoo

South Africa has an increased number of people living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). In addition, older PLWH are prone to developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as co-morbid illnesses, in particular hypertension. South Africa is experiencing a dual burden of care, that being the co-morbidity of HIV and hypertension. The integration of HIV and non-communicable disease management is needed towards a synergised and comprehensive approach within primary health care (PHC) settings. This article presents nursing recommendations yielded by a descriptive phenomenological study on the management of HIV and hypertension in a rural PHC context. A qualitative research approach, using Husserl’s descriptive phenomenology, was employed, and data were gathered using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted by the first author at Sakhisizwe sub-district clinics, Eastern Cape. Purposive sampling was used to select nine participants. Giorgi’s phenomenological steps underpinned data analysis. Six nursing recommendations were developed to support professional nurses in the management of the co-morbidity of HIV and hypertension: 1) disease-specific health education as opposed to generic health education; 2) utilisation of existing programmes on the integration and management of chronic illnesses; 3) creating social support platforms or spaces; 4) referral pathways; 5) surveillance and monitoring; and 6) management of disease-related stigma. Professional nurses working in PHC clinics have several guidelines to manage chronic illnesses. However, there are limited nursing recommendations on how to manage the co-morbidity of HIV and hypertension. This study focused on a smaller sample of nine participants, in one sub-district and in one district.  


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vistolina Nuuyoma ◽  
Emelia Josef

Human anatomy is perceived by health science students and educators to be a burdensome, challenging and labour-intense course. In order to enhance understanding of human anatomy, the use of student-centred approaches is encouraged, of which drawing is included. However, it is not explicitly known how nursing students in Kavango east region experience the use of drawing. This research was conducted to explore and describe the experiences of first-year nursing students from a resource-constraint setting on the use of drawing as a learning activity in a human anatomy course. A qualitative descriptive, explorative, and contextual study was conducted in Kavango east region, Namibia. Data were collected via focus-group interviews with 28 participants who were conveniently selected. A qualitative content analysis was followed, while trustworthiness was ensured according to the four principles of Lincoln and Guba. Ethical clearance and permission were granted by the School of Nursing Research Committee. The ethical principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice were adhered to. The experienced beneficial aspects of drawing are enhancement of course understanding, boosting creativity, and integration of theory into practice. Challenging aspects were related to lacking artistical skills, time constraints, complex and complicated drawings as well as a shortage of materials and learning resources. In order to improve drawing as a learning activity in human anatomy, recommendations were made for nursing students, educators and future researchers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Izzeddin A. Bdair

Nurses need to master the core nursing competencies to perform their professional duties effectively. The Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) have been integrated as an innovative method of evaluating clinical skills in the nursing curriculum over the years. The study that directed this article aimed to assess nursing students’ perception toward OSCEs. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. A convenient sample of 429 undergraduate nursing students was enrolled. In addition to demographic data, the OSCEs’ evaluation questionnaire was used to gather data. The questionnaire assessed nursing students’ evaluation of the OSCEs’ attributes, the quality of OSCEs’ performance, and OSCEs’ scoring and objectivity. Seven questions about the evaluation of the OSCEs’ organisation were added. About two-thirds of the students were female (69.2%) and belonged to the age category of younger than 24 years (59.9%). The OSCEs were rated the most preferred assessment method for clinical competencies and fit for all student levels. Nursing students showed positive perspectives toward OSCEs’ attributes, quality of performance, scoring and objectivity, and organisation. OSCEs have been used as an innovative method of evaluating clinical nursing skills. OSCEs are accepted well by nursing students. The study recommends that academic institutions have to design OCSEs well in terms of preparation, planning, equipping labs, organisation, implementation, follow-up, and monitoring, and they should consider faculty and students’ feedback to make it more effective and valuable.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramin Shiraly ◽  
Mehrdad Askarian ◽  
Yves Longtin ◽  
Seyed Sadeq Seyed Nematian

Although alcohol-containing liquid cleansers have been increasingly used by healthcare workers, their application is still suboptimal. This study was carried out to assess the beliefs and practices of Muslim nurses with respect to alcohol-based hand rub solutions (ABHRs). A total of 374 hospital nurses from a large tertiary referral medical centre in Southern Iran were recruited. Beliefs and self-reported practices toward ABHRs were measured using a structured questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were shown to be satisfactory (Cronbach’s alpha value: 0.77 for beliefs and 0.86 for practices.) Overall, 16% of Muslim nurses believed that the use of ABHRs is religiously prohibited; approximately the same proportion of respondents believed that there may be concerns related to the fact that the alcoholic content of these hand rubs might be absorbed through the skin or respiratory tract. Overall, more than half of participants reported use of ABHRs before (60%) and after (75%) touching patients. Religious believers were less likely to report performing hand hygiene with ABHRs before patient contact. However, the total mean practice scores were not statistically different between religious believers and non-believers (t (372)=-0.88, P=0.413). Mean practice scores of nurses who had participated in hand hygiene training courses during the year before the study were higher than those who had not (t (372)=3.41, P< 0.001). The results of the present study showed that the practice of hand hygiene with alcohol-containing hand rubs is common among Iranian Muslim nurses and is not influenced by their religious beliefs toward alcohol.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tendani Ramukumba ◽  
Tshidi M. E. Masala-Chokwe ◽  
Takalani Mudau

A caesarean section is an incision of the abdomen and uterine walls to deliver the foetus. An emergency caesarean section may be performed if complications during pregnancy or labour arise. Various indications such as abnormal presentation, a previous caesarean section, and other related conditions may need an elective caesarean section. In South Africa, the national average caesarean section rate between 2015 and 2016 was 26.2 per cent, whereas the rate in district hospitals was 24.1 per cent. At a community hospital in the City of Tshwane, the caesarean section rate of 32 per cent in 2015 was recorded as high. The aim of this research was to explore and to describe patients’ lived experiences of the care provided before and after a caesarean section in the City of Tshwane, Gauteng, South Africa. To achieve the aim of the study, a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study was conducted. The sampling method used was purposive, and the sample size was determined by data saturation. An interview schedule was used to collect the data. The study concluded that some women were satisfied with the care provided, whereas the majority were dissatisfied. The need for strategies to improve such care provided by nurses and midwives was highlighted. Multidisciplinary teams have to acknowledge gaps and develop effective strategies to motivate nurses and midwives in the workplace to provide quality care. Research should be conducted to design an effective nursing framework for caesarean section care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mr Daniel Opoamutale Ashipala ◽  
Rebecca Musore Livingi

Research topic selection and problem formulation are prerequisites when preparing a proposal for conducting research. However, nursing students find this a daunting task when doing it for the first time, despite the research methodology module that introduces nursing students to research. Institutions of higher learning should, therefore, establish the challenges that undergraduate nursing students face when writing their research proposals to develop strategies in order to mitigate these challenges. In Namibia, students’ challenges when writing research proposals have not been extensively researched. This study aimed to explore and describe undergraduate nursing students’ challenges when writing research proposals at the University of Namibia (UNAM), with a view to describing the factors that affect this. Accordingly, a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was applied and purposive sampling was used to select 20 undergraduate nursing students enrolled for the Bachelor of Nursing Science (Clinical) (Honours) at UNAM. Individual interviews were conducted, using semi-structured interviews in line with an interview guide. Data were analysed by means of qualitative thematic analysis, which identified the following themes: challenging experiences when writing the research proposal; influence of the supervisor; and recommendations for improvement. The findings of this study call for well-articulated plans and actions from the lecturers and supervisors involved to address the challenges highlighted in this study, as well as actions and plans that should inform the curriculum. A need was identified for a strong focus on library information literacy and English for academic writing to be taught simultaneously with the writing of research proposals from the third year.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Lewis Dzimbiri ◽  
Alex Molefakgotla

The Malawi government established and implemented various talent management practices within public hospitals in the country to enhance accessibility, productivity and energy of its health personnel, and to boost the quality of health service delivery. Innovative work behaviours such as the creation, introduction and application of new ideas are key to achieving productivity, accessibility and energy of health personnel. The sure way of achieving innovative work behaviour is through the implementation of talent management. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of talent management on innovative work behaviour of registered nurses in public hospitals of Malawi. A quantitative research approach was employed, and an adapted Innovative Work Behaviour Questionnaire (IWB) was administered to a convenience sample of 947 (N=947) registered nurses in public hospitals of Malawi. The results of the study showed that talent management practices did not contribute to innovative work behaviour of registered nurses in public hospitals of Malawi. The study, therefore, recommends that management of public hospitals should pay attention to effective talent management practices of healthcare workers, particularly that of nurses in public hospitals. The implication of this study to management in public hospitals is that the results can be used to improve the application of talent management practices at healthcare facilities and help to advance innovative work behaviour of healthcare workers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafiat Anokwuru ◽  
Felicity M. Daniels

Good clinical education underscores good nursing practice and is the avenue through which students develop clinical skills. Baccalaureate graduates have been perceived as less skilled professional nurses when compared with graduates from the diploma-based nursing programme. However, this assumption is based on a perceived deficiency of clinical education in the baccalaureate programme. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of baccalaureate graduates on their clinical education and the effectiveness of clinical education in their service delivery. This was a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, contextual study. Twenty-nine graduates from four different universities, who had worked for a minimum of two years post-graduation, were interviewed for a period of 45–90 minutes each. The graduates of the baccalaureate nursing programme indicated that their clinical education was adequate, despite limited time allocated for clinical education and challenges at the clinical placement site. From the study, the researchers recommended that the nursing curriculum be evaluated to balance the time allocated for the theoretical and clinical components of the programme, and to ensure that in future there is better theory-praxis articulation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Plaxcedia Mahundi ◽  
Kirthee Pillay ◽  
Nicola Wiles

The optimal use of iron supplements by pregnant women is important in ensuring healthy pregnancy outcomes. However, some barriers may prevent the optimal use of iron supplements by pregnant women in developing countries, subsequently resulting in iron deficiency anaemia, threatening the health of the pregnant woman and the fetus. This study aimed to identify possible barriers to optimal iron supplementation among pregnant women and possible strategies for alleviating these barriers. This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Mutare City Clinic in Manicaland, Zimbabwe. A total of 64 Black African pregnant women aged between 17 and 39 years participated in 8 focus group discussions. The pregnant women identified several barriers to the optimal use of iron supplements. The major barriers were poor compliance mainly due to erratic supplies of iron supplements at the healthcare centre, inadequate nutrition education on the benefits of iron supplements, side effects, and religious and cultural beliefs. Poverty and the influence of family members were other barriers. Most pregnant women were accustomed to receiving iron supplements free of charge from the healthcare centres and could not afford to buy them from private pharmacies. Despite erratic supplies at healthcare centres, continuous reinforcement of positive iron supplementation could motivate pregnant women to take iron supplements. Intensive nutrition education programmes may help to improve perceptions of women towards iron supplements. This could possibly help to overcome barriers to optimal iron supplementation, and thus reduce the prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia among pregnant women in Zimbabwe.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pule Solomon Moabi ◽  
Ntombifikile Gloria Mtshali

The use of simulation learning in competency-based nursing education programmes is gaining momentum in an effort to ensure competency among graduates. Nursing education institutions are using various simulation methods, such as low, medium, and high fidelity. Simulation laboratories need to be manned by qualified personnel and the management of the institutions need to create an enabling environment for the implementation of simulation-based education. In Lesotho, nursing education institutions use improvised equipment and supplies, malfunctioning mannequins are not fixed timeously, and simulation laboratories are manned by educators who also conduct demonstrations and do student follow-ups in clinical areas. The aim of the study was to assess the readiness of the four private nursing education institutions in Lesotho to implement simulation-based education and to describe facilitators of and barriers to implementing simulation-based education. A quantitative, descriptive design was used, employing the Simulation Culture Organisational Readiness Survey questionnaire, with 63 nurse educators from the private nursing education institutions. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 27. Pearson’s Chi-square was used to assess the relationship between the variables of interest and frequency distribution was used to assess the distribution of responses. The results show that the institutions are moderately ready to implement simulation-based education (readiness score 134.2 to 136.8). Factors related to administration, management, and human resources have a major influence on institutions’ readiness. It is therefore concluded that management should motivate nurse educators to implement simulation-based education and also put policies in place in support of this.


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