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The role of Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) practices in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at a Gauteng Hospital
Full text linkAbstract: Background: The hospital environment is an important reservoir for microorganisms which are responsible for in-patient contamination and healthcare associated infections (HCAIs); with newborn babies admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) being highly susceptible to acquiring HCAIs due to the immaturity of their immune systems. Evidence that healthcare workers’ (HCWs) hand hygiene practices contribute significantly to the transmission and spread of HCAIs has been available for almost two centuries, yet HCWs compliance to hand hygiene continues to be poor and efforts to improve it have mostly been ineffective. The provision of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities in healthcare environments classified as urban areas of third world countries and the role that WASH facilities play in the transmission of HCAIs is not well documented. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine and assess WASH factors that contribute to poor handwashing outcomes and the provision of hand hygiene devices, nd to measure the extent of change in the status of WASH facilities. The objectives of this mixed methods study therefore were to determine and assess WASH factors that contribute to poor handwashing outcomes and the provision of hand hygiene devices and to measure the extent of change in the status of WASH facilities. Methodology: Data was collected using inspection checklists to observe WASH facilities and hand hygiene practices of HCWs since the exposure risk of acquiring HCAIs is directly linked to the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practices of HCWs and the cleanliness of the hospital environment. A total of n=456 surface, hand and water samples were collected and analyzed through microscopy for the presence of microorganisms, including those classified as World Health Organization’s (WHO) Priority Organisms and Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter spp., (ESKAPE) microorganisms and retrospective data (laboratory blood results) of neonates n=14 were used to compare whether the microorganisms detected on neonates were similar to those found on HCWs hands and on the environmental swabs. Results: The subjective WASH data results showed handwash basins to have compliance rates of n=81.0%, availability of handwash soap n=94.0%, provision of hand paper towel n=65.0% and the provision of hand sanitizer at n=82.0%. The hygiene status of the NICU was concerningly poor with non-compliance rates of...M.Tech. (Environmental Health
Teacher perceptions of the competence of the school management team to utilise an ethical foundation and its influence on job satisfaction
Full text linkAbstract: Various South African legislations such as the White Paper on the Transformation of the Public Service, Section 32 of the Constitution of South Africa, the Administrative Justice Act of 2000, and the Public Service Regulations of 2001 aim to revitalise provision of public services by focusing on the interests of people (Batho Pele). However, with regard to educational leadership, it has been easier to legalise the functions of the School Management Team for school efficiency than to implement such functions. In fact, SMTs face enormous challenges when it comes to the actual implementation of these tasks. In a hierarchical bureaucratic system where different task levels have different authority and control, SMTs face challenges in how to collaborate. In this research, leadership is a fundamental function of the SMT and one of its important functions involves teacher motivation...M.Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management
Use of Foundational Knowledge as a Basis to Facilitate Critical Thinking: Nurse Educators’ Perceptions
Full text linkAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstrac
The effect of Glycyrrhiza glabra homeopathic mother tincture on Pseudomonas aeruginosa in-vitro
Full text linkAbstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative, aerobic rod-shaped bacteria commonly found in soil and water. It can cause disease in both plants and humans. As an opportunistic pathogen, it is responsible for deaths in humans due to its ability to acquire resistance to a multitude of antibiotics. Resistance is the ability of an organism to evolve in order to protect itself from antimicrobials such as antibiotics. This results in the bacteria becoming stronger than the antibiotic designed to destroy it, thus leading to drug resistant bacteria. As a consequence, the resistant pathogen is difficult to treat. Glycyrrhiza glabra, more commonly known as liquorice, is a medicinal plant with a wide range of pharmacological effects shown to display anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antitumor, and antibacterial activity. However, homeopathically prepared Glycyrrhiza glabra mother tincture (Ø) has not been tested for its antibacterial activity. This has created a novel research area for new potential treatments for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Glycyrrhiza glabra homeopathic Ø on Pseudomonas aeruginosa in-vitro. This quantitative in-vitro study was conducted at the University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein campus Water and Health Research Centre (WHRC) under the supervision of a qualified laboratory technician with permission granted. The experiments were done by means of Mueller-Hinton agar culture and Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), using the 24 well-plate method and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC). Isolates of 26 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa characterized in previous studies were obtained from the WHRC’s culture collection. Various concentrations of ethanol and antibiotic Piperacillin/Tazobactam (TZP) were used as controls in the experiments. Iodonitrotetrazolium chloride (INT), a tetrazolium dye, was used to observe any presence of bacterial growth in the 24 well-plates. All experiments were repeated in triplicate to verify the validity and repeatability of the observed results and to eliminate laboratory error. The results obtained showed that Glycyrrhiza glabra homeopathic Ø had a bacteriostatic effect on Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains. When comparing G. glabra Ø to the controls;...M.Tech. (Homoeopathy
The attitudes and behaviour of soft contact lens wearers towards compliance concerning their care regimen in Gauteng (South Africa)
Full text linkAbstract: Evidence from studies globally confirm that contact lens wearers are non-compliant with care regimens; despite receiving instruction from optometrists, many do not adhere to recommendations and continue with lens wear in the presence of discomfort (Morgan et al., 2011; Yee et al., 2021). No statistics on contact lens compliance in Gauteng could be accessed, and the aim of this study was to investigate attitudes and behaviour of soft contact lens wearers toward care regimens in Gauteng. Method: A cross-sectional design was used to pose questionnaires that were voluntarily completed by (n=171) contact lens wearers and (n=125) optometrists. A quantitative, cross-sectional approach was taken. Questionnaires were used to collect data from participants (contact lenses wearers and optometrists). The questionnaire for contact lens participants probed on demographics, knowledge, care regimens and compliance; whilst that of optometrists probed on demographics, complications noted and optometrists’ perception of patient compliance. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22 and descriptive statistics were utilised for the analysis of results. Results: Of (n=171) contact lens wearers, a total of 63% (n=107) were female and 37% (n=64) male. Most commonly used lenses were monthly disposables 66%, and 77% of participants had received instruction from an optometrist on contact lens use. Sleeping with contact lenses inserted was generally low with 12% of participants sleeping in lenses almost or every time. Slightly more than half (53%) changed contact lens cases with a new bottle of multipurpose solution opened, and two thirds (66%) discarded case solution daily. Compliance with tracking of replacement schedules was shown by 59% of participants, whilst discomfort was noted as the main reason to replace contact lenses by 18% of participants. Slightly more than half (52%) of participants washed hands almost every time prior to insertion and removal of contact lenses. Contraction of infection due to contact lens wear was significant with 55% of (n=171) participants having experienced eye infection, and of these, 29% reported infection being related to contact lens wear almost every time. Data collected from optometrists (n=125), revealed that less than half (45%) of optometrists rated their patients as having average compliance. According to optometrists, factors related to poor compliance were; patients not being aware of complications due to improper lens use, costs, and wearing...M.Phil. (Optometry
Who fits into the digital workplace? mapping digital self-efficacy and agility onto psychological traits
Full text linkAbstract: Today’s rapidly changing and volatile markets demand a novel set of skills from organizations and employees that allows them to agilely adapt to and surmount the ever-evolving challenges posed by the ongoing development of digital technologies and changes in market conditions. Previous research conducted on structured workplaces using traditional industrialist paradigms had established an ideal composition of employee traits. However, today’s contrasting fast-paced environments may have made those profiles obsolete, prompting the need to identify a profile of personalities and interests that enables organizations to assemble a workforce high in digital self-efficacy, which fundamentally drives organizations’ agility. We proposed and evaluated such a model by conducting two studies at international (Study 1, N = 309) and French (Study 2, N = 1,025) publicly traded organizations. The results indicate the personality dimensions openness to experience and emotional stability and investigative and realistic vocational interests are predispositions for the development of digital self-efficacy. Furthermore, we found corroborative evidence for digital self-efficacy to facilitate workforce agility. These findings offer novel insights into those individual psychological traits that foster an agile workforce and make it well-equipped to face the challenges of rapidly changing digital business environments today and in the future
Drivers of Social Media Networking site continuance intention in Jordan and South Africa : do national cultural differences matter
Full text linkAbstract: The present study integrates perceived service quality and national cultural dimensions into the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) to ascertain the antecedents of user satisfaction and continuance use of SNSs and tested the moderating role of culture on the strengths of relationships in the adapted ECM. Data for empirical testing of the research model, using a partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling technique with multi-group analysis, were obtained from 987 SNS users in Jordan and South Africa. The findings suggest that, although there are differences in the path estimates of users in these contexts, these differences are not statistically significant, implying that cultural factors are not salient considerations for promoting SNS user satisfaction and continuance use intention. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed
Investigating the impact of built environment skilss set levels on construction project delivery in South Africa: As experienced in rural municipalities of the Free State
Full text linkM.Tech. (Construction Management)Abstract: Challenges of skills shortage in the Built Environment to a larger extent are blamed as the source of negative progress on projects under construction in South Africa. This challenge, therefore, creates a burden on the little available resources, which results in inadequate and unsustainable design, haphazard project planning, chaotic project management and taking a long time to complete projects. Extensive research has shown that project implementation in those circumstances will result in many variation orders which creates budget overruns, a long time to complete projects and poor quality of work. There are a lot of studies done in the area of Built Environment skills shortage but have only concentrated on developed areas (urban centres) of South Africa. The importance of this study is that it investigated the effects of low construction skills sets available in projects (service) delivery in the rural areas of the Free State, which in most cases are not favoured by Built Environment skills sets. Different organisations in the rural areas have challenges in filling vacant engineering and Built Environment professional posts, with an apparent impact on service delivery for their communities. The research was done as a Quantitative analysis. The research participants (the population) were identified to be the Built Environment personnel staying and working in the Free State province or those with knowledge of the rural areas of the Free State province. Municipality employees in the project management and engineering departments, consulting engineers, the Department of public works and human settlements who were working on projects in rural areas were identified as suitable populations to participate in this study. The theoretical population was estimated to be close to two hundred and forty (240) Built Environment personnel estimated from the fact that Free State province has twenty local municipalities with one municipality estimated to have twelve (12) Built Environment professionals. A total of about (sixty) 60 was considered sufficient for data analysis. A questionnaire was distributed to site agents, quantity surveyors, project managers, architects, planners, etc. was used to collect data. The results show that there is indeed a skills shortage in the Built Environment of rural areas of Free State province in South Africa which has a great negative impact on the success of projects. Among the top negative challenges are poor site management during construction, poor project documentation such as bill of quantities (BOQ) and design project specifications, the inability to provide sensible solutions on-site, and the inability to provide acceptable iv solutions on the ground (on-site). The municipalities themselves suffer from a delay in implementing key projects and failure to supervise and spend allocated funds on projects. According to research done by other authors, there are still challenges in urban areas, but the magnitude is far less than the rural areas. Simple things like delays in making key decisions on-site, more accurate bill of quantities, and fewer budget overruns are not common. To arrest this challenge, recommendations that allow government and any other employers to increase allowances and reasonable benefits which will assist in attracting the required construction skills to the remote municipalities of South Africa
The spectral topology in rings
Full text linkAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.M.Sc. (Mathematics
Magnetic and structural characterization of substituted chromite nano-particles
Full text linkAbstract: Please refer to full text to view abstract.M.Sc. (Physics
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