Research Output Repository (HSRC)
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Empowering men, preventing HIV: HIV self-testing and HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as critical innovations in HIV prevention
Get PDFPaper presented at the GYA International Conference of Young Scientists and AGM, JuneN/
The emerging BRICS financial architecture: a catalyst for global governance reform?
Get PDFThis article critically examines whether the BRICS Financial Architecture (BFA) offers a genuine alternative to the Global Financial Architecture (GFA) by introducing the concept of replicative institutionalism. Established after the 2008 financial crisis, the BFA—comprising the New Development Bank (NDB) and Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)—purportedly challenges Western-dominated financial institutions. However, this research demonstrates that the BFA reproduces rather than transforms global financial hierarchies through institutional mimicry and adherence to prevailing orthodoxies. The significance of this analysis extends beyond academic discourse by revealing how attempts at reform by emerging powers can inadvertently reinforce existing power structures, offering critical lessons for future institutional design. Without addressing fundamental asymmetries in
governance and operational logics, alternative financial architectures risk becoming vehicles for symbolic rather than substantive change in global economic governance.
South Africa’s Air Quality Index (AQI) overview: cities and provinces. Spatial Insights: Edition 18
No full textN/
Provider perspectives on empirical antibiotic treatment for tuberculosis-like symptoms in South Africa’s private general practice sector: a qualitative study in two cities
Get PDFWhile tuberculosis (TB) in South Africa is commonly treated in the public sector, some clients first seek care in the private sector. Research has demonstrated that private general practitioners (GPs) perform less well than do public sector care providers in TB testing and drug-dispensing practices. We aimed to describe GPs’
decision-making practices related to empiric antibiotic treatment when presented with symptoms that may be related to TB, to inform potential interventions. Within a larger study on private sector TB management, we qualitatively interviewed 30 purposively selected GPs, who varied by gender, age, practice community, and how they managed TB and HIV in the parent study. Data were analyzed through coding and constant comparison. GPs acknowledged the common use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for respiratory symptoms, driven by experience treating presumed bacterial infections and by a desire to rule out other causes before referring clients for potentially inconvenient TB tests in the private or public sector. Management decisions were susceptible to perceived or expressed pressure from clients, who may expect on-the-spot treatment. Additionally, GPs indicated using antibiotics to mitigate financial strain on economically vulnerable clients. Empirical antibiotic treatment for
presentations that may be related to TB in the private sector, which can delay TB diagnosis, could be explained by the absence of accessible and affordable TB and general bacteriologic tests at the point of care, leading GPs to, among others, seek to ‘rule out’ possible bacterial infection. Potential interventions include increasing the salience of inappropriate antibiotic use, heightening GPs’ suspicion index for TB, and linking GPs directly to public sector TB tests for clients.
Understanding science and technology: views from the South African public
No full textScience and technology influence and shape numerous aspects of our daily lives in various ways. Understanding this empowers people to make more informed personal and societal decisions, promotes more economic opportunities, facilitates the effective use of digital technologies and adaptation to new innovations, and encourages more meaningful participation in related decision-making processes. Examining South Africans’ understanding of “science” and “technology”, this is one of three articles in the June edition of the HSRC Review that draws on data from the HSRC’s 2022 South African Public Relationship with Science Survey.N/
Exploring the impact of working memory capacity on academic reading and achievement in South African online tertiary students
Get PDFThe relationships between working memory, academic reading proficiency and academic achievement are well-documented globally, but less so in South Africa. This study addresses this gap by exploring these associations among 136 South African undergraduates from an Online Distance e-Learning institution. Participants completed two open-source web-based working memory tasks to evaluate working memory capacity and the online version of the Test of Academic Literacy Levels to examine their academic reading proficiency, while academic achievement was evaluated using their end-of-year grades. Results showed positive correlations between working memory capacity and academic reading proficiency and with academic achievement . Thus, as working memory capacity increases so do academic reading proficiency and academic scores. With varying implications for higher education, this paper discusses pedagogical changes that lecturers can consider so as to take into account the diverse cognitive profiles of their students.
Knowledge and awareness of Pre‐Exposure Prophylaxis among men in Sub‐Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol
Get PDFAbout 39.9 million people were living with HIV as of 2023, and HIV is more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is highly effective in HIV prevention. Despite the efficacy of PrEP, many persons, including men, do not have adequate knowledge and awareness of PrEP, and reviews on knowledge and awareness among men are scarce. This review aims to assess and synthesize the knowledge and awareness of PrEP among persons assigned as males at birth in sub-Saharan Africa. The proposed scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. The following information sources will be searched to retrieve relevant studies for this review: CINAHL, MEDLINE (Ovid), PubMed, SCOPUS, and Web of Science. Google Scholar, The Union Catalogue of Theses and Dissertations (UCTD) and SA ePublications via SABINET Online, WorldCat Dissertations and Theses via OCLC, ResearchGate, and American Doctoral Dissertations via EBSCOhost. All study designs, except existing reviews, will be included. All screenings (abstract screening and full-text screening) and data extraction will be conducted independently by two reviewers. Quantitative findings will be presented with frequency and percentages, while qualitative thematic analysis will be used to analyze qualitative findings. This study will map out studies on knowledge and awareness of PrEP among men in sub-Saharan Africa. The results of this review will give insights into what men in sub-Saharan Africa know about PrEP, which can inform future interventions.
Human settlements
No full textWhen the Covid-19 epidemic occurred in South Africa in 2020, human settlements became a site for the prevention and control of the epidemic. The Covid-19 pandemic occurred in a context where housing typologies ranged from formal brick structures, through informal settlements and traditional dwellings, to no shelter at all for those who slept rough on the streets. In the continuum of the quality of living spaces, the street homeless were the most vulnerable, as they had no abode of their own and slept wherever they found space at the end of each day. Using the space syntax theory, this chapter examines the effect of Covid-19 on human settlements with a view to deconstructing the measures that inhabitants of the spaces took to deal with the effects of the pandemic. The chapter draws on thirty five key informant interviews conducted with stakeholders in human settlements between 2020 and 2022. The findings suggest that the government utilised public health interventions to prevent and control Covid-19. Civil society organisations (CSOs) and the private sector also intervened in the built environment and beyond to ensure that vulnerable groups, regardless of their living arrangements, also survived the Covid-19 pandemic. The contribution of this chapter lies in deconstructing the interventions to deal with Covid-19 in human settlements. The recommendations look beyond the pandemic to draw lessons for future health emergencies and disasters.