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PubMed2001

Strike action by nurses in South Africa: a value clarification.

The Labour Relations Act (South Africa, 1991) made provision for protected strike action by employees, subject to certain conditions, procedures and negotiated agreements. This led to the removal of the strike clause in the Nursing Act (South Africa, 1992). The labour rights of all citizens are entrenched in the Constitution of the country (South Africa, 1996). Participation in strike action by the nurse/midwife, regardless of the legal requirements and specifications, does, however, pose an ethical question. It is therefore necessary to conduct a value clarification on strike action by nurses in South Africa. The purpose of this research is to explore and describe the perceived values of participants from an accessible population on this phenomenon. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research design was deployed. The perceived values of nurses on strike action were collected by means of an open-ended questionnaire/sketch. Over a period of three years a purposive and convenient sampling method was used, involving all the enrolled post basic nursing/midwifery students/learners at a particular Nursing Education Institution. The justification of the sample was further enhanced by also collecting data on the participants' age and provincial distribution location. Although a 63% sample realisation (of the accessible population) was achieved, this represents only 1.5% of the registered nursing/midwifery population in the country. A descriptive analysis of the participants' age and provincial distribution was undertaken, as well as a content analysis of their perceived values on strike action. The mean age of the participants was 48 years, which could be attributed to the fact that most of them were enrolled for a post-basic Diploma in Community Nursing Science. Most of the responses (52.7%) were against strike action and 32.5% supported strike action by nurses as a constitutional and legal right. A fairly substantial number of participants (14.8%) expressed mixed views as to whether strike action by nurses is right or wrong. Some respondents (15.7%) also reflected confusion regarding the enactment of strike action and the removal of the strike clause from the nursing legislation. Although this study does not claim external validity due to inappropriate representation of the nursing profession, the nurse of today opposes strike action. It is recommended that the study be replicated at national level and that the values be entrenched and published in position papers of and by the regulatory and organised nursing profession.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Australian medical patents granted in the United States in 1984-1999.

OBJECTIVE: To describe all medical patents granted in the United States to Australian-resident inventors between 1984 and 1999. DATA SOURCES: All patent data originated from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Data for 1984-1994 were compiled by CHI Research Inc, and data for 1995-1999 were obtained from the Community of Science website. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of medical patents granted in the US to Australian-resident inventors; assignees (owners) of these medical patents; proportion of these medical patents related to biotechnology. RESULTS: From 1984 to 1999, 7835 utility patents were granted in the US to Australian-resident inventors. Of these, 1308 patents (17%) were identified as medical patents; 489 (37%) of these were biotechnology patents. Medical patents account for an increasing proportion of all US patents granted to Australian inventors, increasing from 10% in 1984 to 25% in 1999. Biotechnology accounted for an increasing proportion of medical patents, rising from 10% to 55% between 1984 and 1999. More than half the medical patents are owned by commercial interests, and 33% by only 14 organisations, six of which are universities and their affiliated institutions. CONCLUSION: Only a few organisations account for most of the patenting of medical technology. The inventors and their organisations listed on medical patents could be canvassed when developing government policy and targeted for support in commercialising their medical technology.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Breaking the cycle.

While malnutrition is associated with sub-Saharan Africa, there are nearly double the numbers affected in heavily populated areas of South Asia. The Child in Need Institute has been working to break the malnutrition cycle for 30 years.

Academies and Institutes↗
PubMed2000

An evaluation of the effectiveness of nutrition advisers in three rural areas of northern province.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a nutrition education intervention programme undertaken by trained local women (nutrition advisers) in rural villages in Northern Province. The programme was aimed at the caregivers of infants living in those villages. STUDY DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey design undertaken in 1989 and again in 1992. STUDY POPULATION: Female caregivers of infants living in three study villages (study area (SA)) and three control villages (control area (CA)) in Northern Province. Households were randomly selected. The response rate of households in the SA and CA was 70% (N = 1,040) at baseline and 84% (N = 1,263) after intervention. METHODS: A baseline study was undertaken in the SA and CA in 1989. A questionnaire eliciting sociodemographic data and information on dietary practices and nutritional knowledge was developed and used in the baseline study and after intervention. A nutrition education programme was undertaken by 6 trained local women (nutrition advisers) in the SA. After 2 years the survey was repeated using the same questionnaire in both the SA and CA. The SA and CA were compared with regard to breast-feeding and infant feeding practices; use of milk, brown bread, legumes and nuts; and use of school lunch boxes by older children. RESULTS: The percentage of women who initiated breast-feeding on the day of birth improved significantly in the SA from 60% to 90%. The frequency of feeding infants at 6 months improved significantly in the SA (P < 0.01). The introduction of solid foods to infants on the first day of life decreased from 26.5% to 6.3% in the SA. There were no significant differences in the SA only with regard to use of milk, brown bread, legumes, nuts, and school lunch boxes. However, some positive findings were a greater increase in the use of these items in the SA compared with the CA. CONCLUSION: A nutrition education programme undertaken by trained local women can significantly improve breast-feeding and infant feeding practices in rural areas.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Strengthening primary health care and family planning services in Pakistan: some critical issues.

OBJECTIVE: The Lady Health Workers (LHWs) under the Ministry of Health and the Village-based Family Planning Workers (VBFPWs) under the Ministry of Population Welfare are mandated to bring services to the people and are often the only health care resource available particularly for women. This study was conducted to understand the problems faced by the LHWs and VBFPWs in their routine work. STUDY DESIGN: A situational analysis followed by focus group discussions conducted with a cross-section of LHWs and VBFPWs in four districts, one from each province. RESULTS: Findings reveal that LHWs and VBFPWs are faced with a number of problems that severely limit their effectiveness. Findings suggest that the population/health worker ratios vary considerably from one district to another. Moreover, these two categories of workers differ considerably in terms of level of education, training and skills. There is lack of well-designed client record cards, proper training and backup support, including emergency obstetric care, to cover the range of essential services demanded by the consumers and a lack of information feedback. CONCLUSION: These issues need to be recognized and addressed to further strengthen primary health care and family planning services in the country. The paper presents some of the important findings of the survey and focus group discussions conducted by the Community Health Sciences Department of the Aga Khan University as part of a broader study funded by the United Nations Population Fund. These findings have serious implications for future primary health care and family planning policies in Pakistan.

Delivery of Health Care↗
PubMed2003

Gene indexing: characterization and analysis of NLM's GeneRIFs.

We present an initial analysis of the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Gene Indexing initiative. Gene Indexing occurs at the time of indexing for all 4600 journals and over 500,000 articles added to PubMed/MEDLINE each year. Gene Indexing links articles about the basic biology of a gene or protein within eight model organisms to a specific record in the NLM's LocusLink database of gene products. The result is an entry called a Gene Reference Into Function (GeneRIF) within the LocusLink database. We analyzed the numbers of GeneRIFs produced in the first year of GeneRIF production. 27,645 GeneRIFs were produced, pertaining to 9126 loci over eight model organisms. 60% of these were associated with human genes and 27% with mouse genes. About 80% discuss genes with an established MeSH Heading or other MeSH term. We developed a prototype functional alerting system for researchers based on the GeneRIFs, and a strategy to find all of the literature related to genes. We conclude that the Gene Indexing initiative adds considerable value to the life sciences research community.

Abstracting and Indexing↗
PubMed2004

Census survey for a primary health care programme.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of gathering information from a census survey as a preliminary step for supporting the working of a primary health care center. It also presents briefly the results of the survey and its broader implications on the health needs of the local population. METHODS: A questionnaire was used to obtain basic information regarding the ethnicity/area of origin, number of household members and their breakdown according to gender, age and marital status. The medical students of different batches were involved in the data collection process, as part of their Survey Methodology course of Community Health Sciences (CHS) in first year. RESULTS: Data was obtained from 2,033 houses, having a total population of 16,118 persons. Fifty three per cent of the population was under fifteen years, 42% were between 15-49 and 5% were over 50 years of age. The overall percentage of males was 52% and females 48%. Approximately 79 percent people were Pushto speaking. CONCLUSION: Sikanderabad is a typical slum settlement, with an emigrant population being mostly of Pathan and Afghan refugees. The fertility rate in Sikanderabad is much higher than that of Karachi. This highlights the need for education and availability of family planning facilities. At the same time, due to the fact that there is a major portion of the population aged under five years, so facility for treating children must be appropriately provided. The Primary Health Care center established in Sikanderabad is based on the above information. The emphasis is on maternal and childcare, including antenatal and postnatal care; family planning and nutritional counseling.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Shaping the mental health role of family physicians.

Family physicians have an important role in mental health care delivery. The psychiatry and family practice faculty at the University of Alabama College of Community Health Sciences recently examined the principal elements of this role and the ways in which these elements might best be incorporated into the teaching/learning process of a family medicine residency. Competency based approaches to curriculum development were chosen to permit flexibility of implementation and to allow involved physicians to participate in definition of their mental health roles. Methods used to construct the curriculum included interviews with graduated residents of the first four classes of the program, literature review, and a modified delphi/nominal group technique with family medicine and psychiatry faculty. The result was a competency based psychiatric curriculum supervised cooperatively by both psychiatry and family medicine faculty. This program is begun early in the residency, is integrated longitudinally into the rest of the residents' curriculum, and utilizes seminars, clinical experience, and liaison with a mental health team in the training design.

Alabama↗