Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “SOUTH AFRICA”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

HIV/AIDS and the workplace: perceptions of nurses in a public hospital in South Africa.

AIM: The purpose of this article is to report a study of the perceptions and experiences of nurses caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in the public health sector in South Africa. BACKGROUND: The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa has escalated at an alarming rate. Many people being hospitalized are HIV positive, and hence nurses are in more regular and prolonged contact with people suffering from HIV/AIDS than is the case in other working environments. Although studies focusing on nurses' experiences of caring for patients with HIV/AIDS have been done in numerous countries, little is known about nurses' views in Africa, and South Africa in particular. To ensure quality care for patients with HIV/AIDS, it is important to understand nurses' experiences of nursing HIV-positive patients and how they may influence their attitudes towards these patients. METHOD: A qualitative approach was used, the primary method of data collection being in-depth interviews. These interviews were conducted with 35 nurses at a public hospital in the Gauteng province of South Africa in 2002-2003. FINDINGS: Seven themes were identified: helplessness, emotional stress and fatigue, fear, anger and frustration, occupational-related concerns, empathy, and self-fulfilment. CONCLUSIONS: Increased understanding of the stresses and rewards experienced by these nurses can contribute to policy development in this area. It is also important to provide appropriate preregistration and continuing education and support for nurses working in this field, and to ensure that the working environment is adequate in terms of resources.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Towards enhanced OSCE in Australian nurse education: a contribution from South Africa.

In the area of nurse education, one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of the use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is South Africa. South African nurse educators have developed and implemented the use of OSCE as a form of assessment and evaluated its effectiveness over a considerable number of years. In contrast the use of OSCE in nurse education in Australia is in its infancy. This paper describes an in-depth case study undertaken to gather information from South African experts in pre-registration nurse education about clinical skills evaluation and, in particular, about the use of OSCE. Recommendations about the development, administration and evaluation of OSCE generated from this information provided a resource and guide that could be used in the development and refinement of OSCE in the context of pre-registration nursing education in Australia. The findings of this study, along with information about the pre-registration context of nurse education in Australia to which they are intended to be applied, are presented. This provides feedback to those who participated in the study and information for nurse educators interested in reviewing their OSCE strategies.

Australia↗
PubMed1995

Expenditure on health research in South Africa, 1991/1992.

OBJECTIVE: To determine expenditure on health research in South Africa in 1991/1992. DESIGN: Data from the financial statements of large statutory councils conducting research in South Africa, as well as other relevant reports, particularly the Department of National Education's (NATED) survey of research institutions, were analysed. RESULTS: A total of R198.7 million was spent on health research in 1991/1992, 56.1% by the tertiary education sector and 20.7% by the Medical Research Council. Only 1.1% of expenditure on health was spent on research. Less than 9% of health research expenditure by tertiary educational institutions is classified within the category of 'comprehensive medicine' (which includes community health, epidemiology and nutrition), whereas 82% of expenditure by autonomous government institutions is so classified. CONCLUSIONS: Given that expenditure on health research in South Africa is relatively low by international standards, an increase in expenditure by both the public and private sectors should be considered. Given the scarcity of research resources, there should be adequate planning, co-ordination, and particularly prioritisation of resource allocations, so that research can be directed towards addressing the country's health needs.

Health Expenditures↗
PubMed1992

Seroprevalence of HIV infection in rural South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence of HIV infection in rural South Africa and to investigate demographic factors that influence this prevalence. DESIGN: An anonymous HIV seroprevalence survey was performed in conjunction with a population-based malaria surveillance programme. SETTING: The rural area of northern Natal/KwaZulu, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 5023 black African participants were recruited by malaria surveillance agents during house-to-house visits; each house in an endemic malaria area is visited approximately once every 6 weeks. Participants included 4044 healthy and 979 febrile individuals (i.e., suspected of having malaria). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: HIV-1 and HIV-2 serological status, degree of mobility, age and sex. RESULTS: Sixty of the 5023 blood specimens were confirmed to be HIV-1-antibody-positive by Western blot, an overall prevalence of 1.2% (95% confidence interval, 0.9-1.5). None of the specimens was positive for HIV-2 antibodies. After adjusting for age, presence of fever and migrancy, women had a 3.2-fold higher prevalence of HIV-1 infection than men. HIV-1 infection was approximately three times more common among subjects who had changed their place of residence recently (2.9 versus 1.0%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of HIV-1 infection is higher among women than men resident in rural Natal/KwaZulu, South Africa. This is at least in part the result of oscillatory migration, particularly of men who work in urban areas but have families and homes in rural areas. Migration is associated with a higher prevalence of HIV-1 infection, suggesting that improving social conditions so that families are not separated and become settled in their communities is one way to help reduce the spread of HIV-1.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Double standards: the multinational asbestos industry and asbestos-related disease in South Africa.

This study documents and contrasts the development of knowledge about asbestos-related disease (ARD) in South Africa and the United Kingdom. It also contributes to the globalization debate by exploring corporate decision-making in a multinational industry. Between the 1930s and 1960s, the leading U.K. asbestos companies developed a sophisticated knowledge of ARD, though in South Africa, where the leading companies such as Turner & Newall and Cape Asbestos owned mines, there was little attempt to apply this knowledge. Asbestos mines (and their environments) in South Africa were uniquely dusty and ARD was rife. Social and political factors in South Africa, especially apartheid, allowed these companies to apply double standards, even after 1960 when the much more serious hazard of mesothelioma was identified. This shows the need for greater regulation of multinationals. Because of the lack of such regulation in the early 1960s, an opportunity was lost to prevent the current high morbidity and mortality of ARD both in South Africa and worldwide.

Asbestos↗
PubMed2000

Anopheles funestus resistant to pyrethroid insecticides in South Africa.

Northern Kwazulu/Natal (KZN) Province of South Africa borders on southern Mozambique, between Swaziland and the Indian Ocean. To control malaria vectors in KZN, houses were sprayed annually with residual DDT 2 g/ m2 until 1996 when the treatment changed to deltamethrin 20-25 mg/m2. At Ndumu (27 degrees 02'S, 32 degrees 19'E) the recorded malaria incidence increased more than six-fold between 1995 and 1999. Entomological surveys during late 1999 found mosquitoes of the Anopheles funestus group (Diptera: Culicidae) resting in sprayed houses in some sectors of Ndumu area. This very endophilic-vector of malaria had been eliminated from South Africa by DDT spraying in the 1950s, leaving the less endophilic An. arabiensis Patton as the only vector of known importance in KZN. Deltamethrin-sprayed houses at Ndumu were checked for insecticide efficacy by bioassay using susceptible An. arabiensis (laboratory-reared) that demonstrated 100% mortality. Members of the An. funestus group from Ndumu houses (29 males, 116 females) were identified by the rDNA PCR method and four species were found: 74 An. funestus Giles sensu stricto, 34 An. parensis Gillies, seven An. rivulorum Leeson and one An. leesoni Evans. Among An. funestus s.s. females, 5.4% (4/74) were positive for Plasmodium falciparum by ELISA and PCR tests. To test for pyrethroid resistance, mosquito adults were exposed to permethrin discriminating dosage and mortality scored 24h post-exposure: survival rates of wild-caught healthy males were 5/10 An. funestus, 1/9 An. rivulorum and 0/2 An. parensis; survival rates of laboratory-reared adult progeny from 19 An. funestus females averaged 14% (after 1h exposure to 1% permethrin 25:75cis:trans on papers in WHO test kits) and 27% (after 30 min in a bottle with 25 microg permethrin 40:60cis:trans). Anopheles funestus families showing >20% survival in these two resistance test procedures numbered 5/19 and 12/19, respectively. Progeny from 15 of the families were tested on 4% DDT impregnated papers and gave 100% mortality. Finding these proportions of pyrethroid-resistant An. funestus, associated with a malaria upsurge at Ndumu, has serious implications for malaria vector control operations in southern Africa.

Africa, Southern↗
PubMed1997

Current status of food-borne parasitic zoonoses in South Africa and Namibia.

Epidemiological data on food-borne parasitic zoonoses in countries of southern Africa are sporadic. In a study of toxoplasmosis in South Africa, there was an overall prevalence of 21% (2, 147/10,228). Prevalences vary between the different cultural groups and from one geographical region to another. The prevalence rate for the San (Bushmen) people of Namibia and Botswana was 9% (65/725) compared to the 30% (190/635) found in the Indian and Black communities of Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa. These variations are probably linked to the dietary habits of the different cultural communities. Cysticercosis appears to be most prevalent in the Eastern Cape Province (former Transkei), where pigs roam freely and sanitation facilities are inadequate or non-existent. Segments of tapeworms often feature as an ingredient of concoctions prepared by traditional healers and are suspected sources of many of the cases of cysticercosis in South Africa. Trichinella nelsoni has been identified in wild game in South Africa: so far no cases of infection in humans have been recorded. Cases of Sarcocystis have been identified in some instances but infection is probably underdiagnosed in the country.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Outbreak of Rickettsia africae infections in participants of an adventure race in South Africa.

African tick-bite fever, caused by Rickettsia africae and transmitted by Amblyomma ticks, is an emerging rickettsiosis in southern Africa. Because of increased tourism to this area, several cases in tourists have been reported recently. We report 13 cases of R. africae infection diagnosed in France that occurred in competitors returning from an adventure race in South Africa and compare our data with previously reported findings. Most of our patients presented with fever, headache, multiple inoculation eschars, and regional lymphadenopathies, but only 15.4% had a cutaneous rash. Diagnosis was confirmed either by isolation of R. africae from an eschar biopsy specimen or by serological methods, including cross-adsorption between R. africae and Rickettsia conorii. The purpose of this study was to raise physicians' awareness of R. africae infections in an attempt to facilitate the rapid diagnosis and treatment of imported African tick-bite fever in developed countries.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Collaborative research, participatory solutions: research on asbestos in Kuruman, South Africa.

The 1998 South African National Asbestos Summit proposed a post-apartheid asbestos policy for the country. In the areas of environmental rehabilitation, health care, and compensation, it envisioned connecting asbestos mitigation to participatory development. In 2001, the Asbestos Collaborative, an international and interdisciplinary team, conducted follow-up research on the recommendations of the 1998 Summit, researching environmental, health, and compensation issues through consultation of documents and interviews with officials in urban areas and with people in Kuruman, a former crocidolite-mining site with high rates of asbestos-related disease. In Kuruman, local opinion supported the recommendations of the Asbestos Summit, insisting that policies to mitigate the problem of asbestos must also address poverty. In the wake of the 2001 research, a new organization, the Asbestos Interest Group (AIG), has been founded to facilitate grassroots participation in asbestos issues. One success of the AIG has been the settlement of a lawsuit by former workers against the former mining company in Kuruman.

Asbestos↗
PubMed1993

Correlations between job insecurity and psychological well-being among white and black employees in South Africa.

In a South African manufacturing company the correlations between perceived job insecurity and psychological well-being were examined among 54 white managers in relatively 'safe' jobs and 78 black production workers in relatively 'unsafe' jobs. The former felt more secure in their jobs but not less anxious or depressed than the latter. Job insecurity was positively related to both anxiety and depression (.30 to .40) in both groups, confirming the benefits of perceived job security to employees, irrespective of whether they felt initially secure or not in their jobs.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2003

The pollination ecology of an assemblage of grassland asclepiads in South Africa.

The KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa hosts a large diversity of asclepiads (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae), many of which are endemic to the area. The asclepiads are of particular interest because of their characteristically highly evolved floral morphology. During 3 months of fieldwork (November 2000 to January 2001) the flower visitors and pollinators to an assemblage of nine asclepiads at an upland grassland site were studied. These observations were augmented by laboratory studies of flower morphology (including scanning electron microscopy) and flower colour (using a spectrometer). Two of the specialized pollination systems that were documented are new to the asclepiads: fruit chafer pollination and pompilid wasp pollination. The latter is almost unique in the angiosperms. Taxa possessing these specific pollination systems cluster together in multidimensional phenotype space, suggesting that there has been convergent evolution in response to similar selection to attract identical pollinators. Pollination niche breadth varied from the very specialized species, with only one pollinator, to the more generalized, with up to ten pollinators. Pollinator sharing by the specialized taxa does not appear to have resulted in niche differentiation in terms of the temporal or spatial dimensions, or with regards to placement of pollinaria. Nestedness analysis of the data set showed that there was predictability and structure to the pattern of plant-pollinator interactions, with generalist insects visiting specialized plants and vice versa. The research has shown that there is still much to be learned about plant-pollinator interactions in areas of high plant diversity such as South Africa.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Norms for mental health services in South Africa.

BACKGROUND: In the aftermath of apartheid, South Africa has inherited a fragmented, under-resourced and inequitable public sector mental health service. Attempts are being made to reform mental health services, in keeping with new health policy, which proposes the downscaling of psychiatric institutions and the development of community-based services. This study set out to develop a set of service norms for the care of people with severe psychiatric conditions (SPC) in South Africa, to assist the implementation of the new policy. METHODS: A national situation analysis of current public sector mental health services was conducted. A model was developed for estimating the mental health service resource needs of people with SPC. Following consultation with provincial stakeholders, a set of service norms were developed taking into account national indicators from the situation analysis (as a baseline level) and proposals of the model (as a target level). RESULTS: The study recommends an increase in the number of acute psychiatric beds in general hospitals; development of community-based residential care; redistribution of staff from hospital to community services, particularly in rural areas; and the development of information systems to monitor the transitions to community-based care. CONCLUSIONS: The norms proposals presented in this study express mental health service needs in terms of quantifiable service resource and utilisation levels. In doing so, the study attempts to make explicit the assumptions and values on which planning is based.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed2001

Developing a District Health Information System in South Africa: a social process or technical solution?

South Africa initiated a national District Health Information System rollout strategy in the latter half of 1999. Experience has demonstrated that the implementation of an information system as a vehicle for the delivery of accountability in the management of health services, demands organisational change within a framework of human resource development and technical support. The aim of training, to empower facility and district staff to use locally generated information to improve coverage and quality of primary health care services, can only be realized if training and innovation for change are appropriately marketed and supported. The appeal of HISP software, a locally developed application system lies in its user acceptance. While computers form a vital tool in providing easily accessible information for decision-making, their use must not be seen as a panacea for all information problems in primary health care services. Strategies for promoting sustainability of DHIS implementation lie in the social processes of human resource development, changing organisational infrastructure and the use of ongoing evaluation rather than those of technical infrastructure. South Africa has developed a variety of mechanisms to facilitate this process.

Community Networks↗
PubMed1993

Two successive outbreaks of SRSV-associated gastroenteritis in South Africa.

Two successive outbreaks of gastroenteritis in South Africa were investigated to identify the aetiological agents. Some patients were involved in both outbreaks. Enteropathogenic bacteria or parasites were not evident in either outbreak. Small round structured viruses (SRSVs) were demonstrated in both outbreaks by direct electron microscopy. SRSV UK3/Hawaii virus was identified by immune electron microscopy as the causative agent in the first outbreak. Using new recombinant Norwalk virus (rNV) immunoassays for antibodies and antigen, Norwalk virus was implicated in the second outbreak. Preexisting antibodies to Norwalk virus were not protective and there was no cross protection between Hawaii and Norwalk viruses. There was no anamnestic response to Norwalk virus following the SRSV UK3/Hawaii outbreak although those affected had preexisting antibodies to Norwalk virus. To our knowledge, this is the first definitive diagnosis of SRSV-associated gastroenteritis in South Africa.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

[Comparison between nursing in child psychiatry in South Africa and in San Francisco].

The provision of services to children with psychiatric disorders in the Republic of South Africa--especially black and underprivileged children--is limited and inadequate. The practice of the nurse in the field of child psychiatry is vague and undeveloped and there are few nurses in South Africa with the knowledge and skills to set guidelines for this area of practice. A qualitative field study was undertaken in South Africa and San Francisco to analyze, describe and compare the situation in regard to contemporary nursing practice in child psychiatry. The result showed that nurses in San Francisco were academically better qualified than their colleagues in South Africa, while many similarities regarding therapeutic skills were found. Problems in South Africa included rigid systems, insufficient recognition, poor job descriptions and inadequate supervision. Large numbers of nurses who are specialized in child psychiatry have left the health services as a result of frustration and problems encountered in practice. These problems must be addressed in order to retain nurses recruited to this field of practice.

Child↗
PubMed2004

Confirmation of occurrence of Babesia canis vogeli in domestic dogs in South Africa.

The prevalence of Babesia infections in domestic dogs in South Africa was studied using reverse line blot hybridization and 18S sequence analysis. Babesia canis vogeli was confirmed for the first time in domestic dogs in South Africa. Out of a total of 297 blood samples collected from domestic dogs in Bloemfontein, East London, Johannesburg, Durban and from the Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, 31 were positive for Babesia canis rossi, whereas B. c. vogeli was detected in 13 dogs. None of the dogs carried both parasites. The detection of B. c. vogeli has implications with regard to prevalence and varied clinical manifestation of canine babesiosis in South Africa.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The epidemiology of rape and sexual coercion in South Africa: an overview.

During 1999 the issue of rape in South Africa was debated at the highest levels. The epidemiology of rape has become an issue of considerable political importance and sensitivity, with President Mbeki demanding an answer to the question: how much rape is there in South Africa? The purpose of this paper is both to summarise and synthesise the findings of research to provide an overview of the epidemiology of rape of women in South Africa and to show how difficult it is to answer the President's question. The review begins by considering why rape is so difficult to research. Data available shows that rape reported to the police (240 incidents of rape and attempted rape per 100,000 women each year) represents the tip of an ice berg of sexual coercion. Representative community-based surveys have found, for example, that in the 17-48 age group there are 2070 such incidents per 100,000 women per year. Non-consensual sex in marriage and dating relationships is believed to be very common but is usually not well reported in surveys. Forced sexual initiation is reported by almost a third of adolescent girls. In addition coerced consensual sex is a common problem in schools, workplaces and amongst peers. Knowledge of causal and contributory factors influencing the high levels of rape are also discussed. We conclude that the rape statistic for the country is currently elusive but levels of non-consensual and coerced sex are clearly very high. International comparison needs to be approached with caution because most developing countries lack the infrastructure for accurate crime reporting and do not have such a substantial body of survey data.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Orthodontic treatment in general dental practice in South Africa.

There is an increased demand for orthodontic treatment in South Africa and the general practitioner is showing increasing interest in implementing orthodontic treatment in private practice. The present study investigated the scope of orthodontics undertaken by the private practitioner in South Africa, in order to study the desirability of more comprehensive undergraduate training in orthodontics and continuing education for general practitioners. A questionnaire was completed by 1,012 dental practitioners. The data were analysed statistically by means of the SAS software. The results indicated that general practitioners are engaged in a wider range of orthodontic treatment modalities. The competence of the general practitioner to treat the spectrum of dental malocclusions and the ability of continuing education courses to produce "instant general-practitioner orthodontists", remains a cause for concern. Curricular restructuring requires realistic surveying of sociodemographics, including changes in birthrate and the need and demand for orthodontics in the unique South African situation, if it is to be the goal of the profession to strive for the highest standards. The educational institutions in South Africa should give attention to realistic orthodontic curricular restructuring in view of the changing dental treatment patterns currently being experienced in this country.

Education, Dental, Continuing↗