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Ecclesial Leadership and Social Responsibility within the African Context of Economic Injustice
Get PDFThis article explores the phenomenon of ecclesial leadership and its relationship with social responsibility within the Sub-Saharan African context where many nations are experiencing economic injustices. It argues that failure to adequately engage with the neo-liberal economic order has resulted in ecclesial leadership that is increasingly losing public trust as perceptions of the leaders and the offices that they control are being corrupted by their insatiable appetite for financial greed. Contemporary ecclesial leaderships are caught in an ethical conundrum through their inability to missionally negotiate the spiritually disarming, attractive and additive lure of the ideologies of neoliberalism and neo-conservatism that are weakening the effectiveness of religious leaders who are easily entrapped because of their ‘love of money’. Their inability to exercise critical distance from the infectious and addictive lure of greed has compromised the authenticity of their integrity and the witness of the church’s mission in the world to be in solidarity with people that live on the margins of society (Keum 2012:14-16). The fall in ecclesial standards of leadership in exercising authentic social responsibility within communities of oppressed peoples living on the margins has now placed the need for ethical formation at the centre of ecclesial leadership within the African context. The fast growth in urbanization with millions of Africans being attracted to cities for work, study and living, has led to the rise of many independent charismatic/ Pentecostal communities led by self-styled charis-matic ‘Prophets’, ‘Apostles’ ‘Bishops’ and ‘Pastors’. They operate an all-inclusive ecclesial business with vast budgets within the communities of the poor that are experiencing socio-economic injustices that are fallouts from the neo-liberal economic policies that have been and continue to be adopted by their governments. The article concludes that the ethical formation that is needed to address the lack of credibility and public trust of ecclesial leadership serving communities experiencing socio-economic injustices necessitates, in Christian context, radical reformation in which leaders rediscover what Orbery Hendricks describes as ‘the politics of Jesus’. Christian leaders need to rediscover the true revolutionary nature of the historical Jesus’ teachings and practices (2006:5-10). Within the African context it will necessitate engaging in a spirituality of resistance against life life-denying forces of neo-liberal greed, and to do justice as a matter of faith confession and praxis. This would mean that African ecclesial leaders would embrace matters of economic and environmental justice, which are not only social, political, and moral issues but at the core, a matter of confessing the Christian faith (The Accra Confession 2004)
Advancing Teaching Innovation and Research Excellence in Higher Education
Get PDFThe theme of this special edition derives from the 10th Annual Teaching and Learning Conference, which focussed on advancing teaching innovation and research excellence in higher education. We were privileged to have hosted one of the world’s most eminent scholars of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL), Lee Shuman. Offering profound insights into the intersection of research and practice within the landscape of the Academy, Shulman asked: ‘What is “evidence” for the improvement of teaching and learning in an unscripted and highly contextualized world?’ He argued that ‘whether describing good medical practice, educational design, or management in business, experts insist that judgments and decisions are evidence-based’.Setting up for scrutiny the distinctions amongst evidence, conjecture, speculation, anecdote or fantasy, he challenged us to consider how we use, acquire, create or defend what counts as ‘evidence’ in our pedagogies and our designs. The question of evidence is particularly relevant in the context of challenging the archetypical university teacher who is expected to conduct research, teach, and perform community service. As teaching rises beyond the status of the ‘poor cousin’ of research, academics increasingly have an obligetion to make public the ‘evidence’ that characterises teaching excellence. Performance metrics no longer suffice as indicators of excellence, nor do self-study narratives
Towards a Realistic Description of Competence for New Radiology Graduates in South Africa
Get PDFIn this article, we trouble the notion of competence in current use to describe new radiological graduates. Against the backdrop of inequalities, a diverse set of experiences and scarce human and clinical resources alongside a lack of criterion-referenced descriptions, we argue that ‘competence’ is open to various interpretations and may unrealistically, include skills that an incumbent may not have acquired but is assumed to have. In this position piece, we suggest that a model to clarify radiological competence is possible by rearticulating Dreyfus and Dreyfus’ model of skills development. We posit that a re-articulated model could be useful to distinguish the nature of expert from novice radiological competence, using perceptual skill as an example. We conclude with an invitation to engage in a conversation with a wider audience to arrive at a consensual framework for a realistic description of competence for new radiologists
Electronic Health as a Component of G2C Services
Get PDFThis paper explores electronic health (eHealth) as a segment of electronic government. International practice in electronic health field and electronic health strategies adopted in Europe are analysed. Current practices in delivery of electronic health services in G2C are investigated and perspectives are explained. Future studies of best practices in this field will facilitate the expansion of citizen-centric e-services
A Health Sector Online Toolkit for Implementing Learning into Practice from Violence Against Women Trainings (TILPVAWT)
Get PDFViolence against women (VAW) is a major public health and human rights concern. Intimate partner violence and sexual violence are among the most pervasive forms of violence against women. Training health professionals in VAW is essential to raise awareness and improve the care for victims with a comprehensive approach. One of the objectives of this project was the development of a set of 28 tools to facilitate VAW training of health professionals, using certain common content, and the transfer of this knowledge into their clinical practice. This toolkit has been presented on the website http://www.toolner.com/en/. This website has been designed in an easy to use and friendly way, and is oriented to trainers, organisations and individuals interested in improving their teaching skills in VAW, but with the potential to be adapted and used independently by different organisations. The toolkit is divided into five phases of training: preparation, development, implementation, post-training, and assessment; each containing different tools and examples. Training in VAW is the first step to change attitudes but it is necessary to motivate professionals, adapt content, methodology and assess the impact of the training. This website is a tool by which to achieve this
Using Tele-Education for Professional Training in Mental Health Primary Care in Brazil
No full textIn 2006 the Brazilian Ministry of Health identified various experiences in the country involving Telemedicine and Telehealth, and a national telehealth pilot project encompassing the experiences was created named Brazil Telehealth Networks [Telessaúde Brasil Redes], to improve the quality of primary care delivery in Brazil's Unified Health System [Sistema Único de Saúde] (SUS). Meanwhile, starting in 2001, the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform had begun to make major changes in Brazil's hospital-centered mental health care model which previously focused on hospital stay – eliminating asylums and creating Family Health Support Centers [Núcleos de Apoio à Saúde da Família] (NASF) and Psychosocial Care Centers [Centros de Atenção Psicossocial] (CAPS), directing mental health assistance towards primary care. The objective of the present study was to identify Brazil's tele-education programs offering professional training in Mental Health Primary Care over the last two years. This is a descriptive review of the literature, using information from the websites of Brazilian Telehealth Centers registered with the Brazil Telehealth Networks. The study identified 18 telehealth centers located in all regions of Brazil, run by state and federal universities, with the largest number being the Northeast.Of the 18 centers found, 11 offered tele-education programs in mental health; two had no website; and five offered no mental health services. Of the 11 centers offering tele-education programs in mental health, two had courses targeting a specific professional category; while the other nine offered courses encompassing the multidisciplinary team. Our findings suggest that telehealth in Brazil is well-structured, targeted to all primary care sectors, with tele-education providing support for professional training in mental health, disseminating courses free in all regions of Brazil. Brazil's telehealth service were also found to be keeping up with the health panorama in the country and the world, operating in line with the points raised in the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform, helping to reduce stigma and prejudice towards mental health patients and qualify the care they receive
Implementation of a Management Registry for Storing Clinical Data in a Research Centre
Get PDFIn clinical research, there is great concern about the storage and veracity of electronic data to ensure the accuracy of information. Objective: To implement a management registry for storing study data in the cardiovascular area, conducted in a clinical research centre. Methods: This is a retrospective registry and prospective joint study. An electronic database was developed using REDCap software. Data elements were standardised in accordance with the American College of Cardiology Foundation and American Heart Association. Data were extracted from research participants from the clinical studies conducted in our Institution with records of cardiovascular diagnosis that were monitored by the health team from 2009 to 2015. Results: The registry was composed of eight sections: demographic variables, diagnostic tests, laboratory tests, cardiovascular risk factors (CV), comorbidities and pharmacological treatment used, and outcome of patients. Each session consisted of sub-items, totalling 113 variables. Phase III (57.8%) and phase IV (36.8%) studies with mean follow-up of 2+4 years were predominant. We used data from 490 participants randomised to 25 studies, 63 percent men, aged 63 ą 10 years, hypertensive (81.4%), with dyslipidaemia (56.5%), and diabetes 48 (36.3%). Most had previous myocardial infarction (72.7%) and underwent coronary angioplasty (87.2%). Conclusion: The implementation of an electronic database of research on participants with cardiovascular disease was applicable and reproducible in clinical practice, being a low cost and very useful tool to store and share data from multicentre studies of medium and large scale
A Reproducible and Standardised Clinical Registry for Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Heart Transplantation Patients
Get PDFThis study describes the creation and implementation of a prospective, reproducible and standardised clinical registry of outpatients who underwent heart transplantation. Methods and Results: The following steps were carried out: i) data were standardised in accordance with national and international standard data elements, ii) an initial data collection and clinical research workflow was developed, iii) electronic case reports were developed in accordance with the HIPAA privacy rule using REDCap, iv) pilot testing and validation of the data collection, clinical research workflows and case report forms was undertaken, and v) an automated data quality report was developed using REDCap. All patients undergoing heart transplantation in a reference cardiology hospital were included. Patients were excluded if they did not agree to participate in the study. The registry was designed to become multicentre in the future. Data were collected from the moment of the inclusion (hospital admission), at hospital discharge, and 1, 3 and 6 months and yearly after surgery. Clinical and cost-related outcomes included all-causes mortality, cardiovascular mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, hospital admissions, visits to the emergency department, organ rejection, infection, need for re-operation, any adverse event, costs related to treatment and procedures, and quality of life. Conclusions: This registry represents a powerful tool for assisting quality improvement, healthcare services management, technology assessment, health policies and clinical research since it contains comprehensive and representative data of the clinical practice and allows for interoperability and data integration with other datasets
RIAM – Multicentre, Interoperable, Clinical Registry of Acute Myocardial Infarction
Get PDFIntroduction: Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death in the world. In Brazil, in 2013, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was the main cause of mortality due to heart disease. A better identification of the patients will serve as a tool to improve the treatment of this pathology. Objective: To expand the database of patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) of the Cardiology Institute (Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil). Methods and Results: The following steps were taken: (1) data elements standardisation in accordance with standard variables, including all applicable standardized data elements published by the American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology, and Brazilian national datasets standards; (2) Development of electronic case reports (CRF) using REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) and in accordance with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy rule ; And (3) expansion of registration to other referral centers. The participating institutions are distributed in the regions of Santa Maria, Passo Fundo, Caxias do Sul all of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the regions of Santa Catarina and the Distrito Federal in Brasília. The data collected will be stored according to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Conclusion: The enhancement and expansion of the RIAM Registry to other referral centers is generating data directly into the REDCap CRF, is a tool with results the treatment of AMI in our environment, which contributes to clinical practice, health services management and policies
A 4-In-1 Chromotherapy, Aromatherapy, Light Therapy, Music Therapy Product for Well-Being of People
Get PDFWe present a novel concept of an all-in-1 system to recover well-being at home. The concept is based upon a playful and configurable combination of aromatherapy, light therapy, chromo therapy and music therapy to allow a “do-it-yourself” approach. These classical therapies are today usually sold separately in drugstores and we intend to integrate them into a single device which becomes a well-being centre. We introduce the concept of atmosphere and ambiance capsules that can be selected is the same manner as is done with a coffee machine. From the design point of view, the “CALM” system is built as a stone in reference to the Scandinavian design style. Several commercial packs are derived that will allow the user to select a panel of predefined atmospheres and even to build his own ones