Researchers in Community & Health Sciences

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Browsing by Subject "Africa"

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    Challenges facing physiotherapy education in Africa
    (Nova Southeastern University, 2007) Frantz, Jose M.
    Health care is changing and the demands put on health professionals are increasing. Physiotherapy education should reflect the health and social priorities of the nation. The World Confederation of Physical Therapy (WCPT) is committed to assisting physiotherapy associations in developing educational standards. Physiotherapy education in Africa however, seems to have a real need for assistance from the WCPT. The aim of this paper is to highlight the challenges facing physiotherapy education in Africa. The Delphi methodology was used to obtain information from key informants involved in the area of physiotherapy education from a variety of African countries. The majority of the participants were people who have experienced physiotherapy education in Africa either as graduates or current teachers. Data were analyzed into themes and sent back to respondents for confirmation. The most important challenges highlighted were: lack of undergraduate training opportunities, limited number of therapists, upgrading of physiotherapy educators, research as a major component of physiotherapy education, and recognition of physiotherapy as an essential service. It is concluded that assistance is needed for physiotherapists from Africa to take their rightful place in the health team and higher education institutions should look at improving diploma qualifications of physiotherapists in African countries.
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    Role analysis of the nurse/midwives in the health services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2013) Uys, Leana; Chipps, Jennifer; Kohi, Thekla; Makoka, Dickson; Libetwa, Miriam
    AIM : The aim of this paper is to describe the actual current roles and tasks of nurses in Sub- Saharan African health services. BACKGROUND: The current roles of nurses and midwives in the African region of the World Health Organization have not been empirically established, with only two country studies found (South Africa and Mozambique). This makes it difficult to establish whether current nursing education programmes and nursing regulations adequately address the needs in the health services. METHODS: This was a descriptive quantitative study using two survey questionnaires, a 120 task Hospital Questionnaire and a 153 Primary Health Care task questionnaire. Nurses from nine African countries (five Anglophone and four Francophone) completed a hospital or Primary Health Care task questionnaire - a total of 927 respondents from both hospital and Primary Health Care settings. Data was collected between June and December 2010. Results: The highest role functioning in both settings was found in the role “General Care”. The lowest role functioning in both settings was found in the role “Maternal and Child Health” and in “The Provision of Mental Health Care”. The role performance in Anglophone countries was significantly higher than in Francophone countries and this was also reflected in regional comparisons. CONCLUSION: The development of competency in nursing roles other than medical surgical roles (general assessment and care) should receive more attention in curricula. Special attention needs to be given to Francophone countries, where the professions of nursing and midwifery are poorly developed.
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    A systematic review of the relationship between family structure and health risk behaviours amongst young people: An African perspective
    (Bentham Science Publishers, 2015) Sixaba, Zinzi; Smith, Mario; Frantz, Jose M.
    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review the published literature on the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour amongst youth in African countries. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted between 2000 and 2014. Suitable titles were identified from database searches. Thereafter, abstracts were evaluated along specific inclusion criteria. Eleven full text articles were evaluated for methodological quality using a modified critical appraisal tool and six studies were included in the final review that satisfied the threshold criterion of 70%. A narrative synthesis was completed for all included records to provide a textual answer to the research question. RESULTS: Findings indicated that there was a relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour, specifically risky sexual behaviour. The importance of family structure was evident, and the active involvement of parents in the activities of youth is cardinal. The review further underscores that there is lack of methodologically rigorous research that can provide empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and engagement in health risk behaviour. DISCUSSION: Risky sexual behaviour was the most prevalent outcome assessed across studies. Family structure impacted positively on delaying or reducing engagement in risky sexual behaviour. Diverse family structures were identified and orphans living with caregivers were identified as a particular structure that might be more prevalent in the African context. Parental involvement and investment in adolescent activities were more strongly identified as an important factor. There is a lack of and need for more methodologically rigorous research to gain empirical support for and insight into the relationship between family structure and health risk behaviours.