1,721,027 research outputs found
Understanding the significance of the social determinants of health on the outcome of complicated surgical neonates at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.The United Nations Millennium Declaration conference held in September of 2000, set key Millennium Development Goals. Millennium Development Goal 4 requires a reduction in the mortality rate of children under the age of five years by two-thirds by the year 2015, from a baseline in 1990. In South Africa, it has been recognised that without a substantial reduction in neonatal deaths, MDG-4 will not be met. This study will focus on the social determinants of health which play a key role in neonatal outcome in South Africa. It will evaluate the effects of these social determinants of health (Primary caregiver's education level, Primary caregiver's age, and Living Standards Measure) on the outcome of neonates admitted to, and operated on, in the general surgery unit of Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital (RCWMCH), within the Western Cape, South Africa. This study is based on the hypothesis that there is an association between Neonatal outcome, and a selection of social variables, namely: primary caregiver's level of education, primary caregiver' age, and LSM. The protocol (Part A) describes the sampling methodology that was used during the intervention. This will be followed by a literature review (Part B), Article (Part C), and Appendix (Part D)
An evaluation of the clinical audit of diabetes management at community health centres in the metro district of the Western Cape Province
No full textThis study aimed to evaluate the long-term trend in quality improvement and determine whether there had been an increase in the performance of diabetic clinical processes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Systematic review of the association and dose-response and relationship between silica exposure or silicosis, and risk of TB disease and TB mortality
No full textIncludes abstract.
Includes bibliographical references
An analysis of needle-stick and splash exposures among health care workers and students at Groote Schuur Hospital, 2001-2005
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-71).Blood-borne diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C viruses have made health care institutions hazardous places of work. Health care workers (HCWs) and students are at risk of acquiring these infections and associated diseases in the workplace through needle-stick and splash exposures. Globally over the years, preventative measures such as universal precautions, safetey devices, Hepatitis B vaccination and post-exposure prophylaxis for HIV have been introduced so as to reduce the transmission of infection from patients to HCWs and students to prevent the associated diseases. Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH), a tertiary and teaching hospital, has these preventative measures in place. It also has a well-established staff health clinic which records all the reported needle-stick and splash exposures sustained by HCWs working there and by the students training there. The overall aim of this study was to analyse the data of the reported needle-stick and splash exposures among HCWs and students at GSH between 2001 and 2005
Recognition of malaria, treatment seeking behaviour and perception of the causes and effects of malaria among women attending antenatal clinic in Mudzi district in Zimbabwe
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Malaria is an important public health problem with a high morbidity and mortality in more than 90 malaria endemic countries in the world. The burden of malaria is quite high especially among pregnant women and children under five years of age. There has been little focus on the factors that influence women's responses to malaria control strategies, It is important to establish whether the control measures, health education and the treatment options are available to and utilised by women. They are the caretakers of young children who are particularly vulnerable to severe malaria, and in need of prompt response to the illness, while women themselves are at great risk of severe anaemia and other complications during pregnancy. The purpose of the study is to better understand the role of women in the control and management of malaria at the household level, particularly with respect to women's awareness of transmission, prophylaxis, symptoms, complications, treatment and control of the disease and to provide recommendations to make malaria control programs more gender sensitive and therefore more effective
The prevalence of asthma symptoms in preschool and primary school children in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town
No full textBibliography: p. 112-125.Childhood asthma is believed to be a serious problem both locally and internationally. This study aimed to measure the prevalence of asthma symptoms in preschool and primary school children in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. The seculat trend in symptom prevalences over time (1993-1997) was assessed in a sub-group of 7 to 9 years old children
Alcohol and problem drinking as risk factors for tuberculosis
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.[Background] Tuberculosis is a major public health concern for South Africa which has one of the highest recorded incidence rates in the world. Previous research [1998 South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS)] reported a crude association between alcohol use and tuberculosis. This study aimed to examine evidence for a relationship, and the size thereof, between alcohol consumption and previous tuberculosis in the 2003 SADHS as a means of informing tuberculosis prevention. [ Methods ] This study was a secondary analysis of cross sectional data collected as part of the 2003 SADHS. Tuberculosis lifetime risk was derived from respondent reports of past tuberculosis episodes based on being informed by a healthcare worker. Alcohol consumption, problem drinking as well as selected explanatory variables were generated from similar questions from the adult questionnaire of the SADHS. The CAGE questionnaire was used to measure symptoms of alcohol problems. Logistic regression was used to model the relationship between past tuberculosis and both alcohol consumption and CAGE. [ Results ] Current and previous alcohol consumption were found to be associated with an increase in odds of tuberculosis in both men and women, with odds ratios ranging iii from 1.1 (95% CI 0.9 - 2.5) to 2.8 (95% CI 1.4 - 5.7) after adjusting for potential confounding effects of socioeconomic factors, smoking, nutritional status and age. Having a CAGE score of either 1 to 2 or 3 to 4 was associated with a doubling [OR 2.2 (95% CI 1.0 - 4.8) and quadrupling [OR 4.4 (95% CI 1.4 - 13.4)] in the odds of tuberculosis respectively. [ Discussion ] and conclusion Behavioural and biological mechanisms of effect of alcohol on tuberculosis may explain the findings. Impairment of the immune system, both acute and long term, has been suggested as the mechanism of increased susceptibility to tuberculosis. On the other hand, high risk living conditions and behaviour associated with problem drinking provide potential for increased exposure and susceptibility to tuberculosis infection. The study was able to control for several potentially confounding socioeconomic predictor variables although not HIV infection. The results complement a body of research that has documented the adverse effects of alcohol consumption on health in general and tuberculosis specifically. The findings thus provide more evidence for public health practitioners to tackle the problem of tuberculosis via specific efforts to control alcohol use and abuse, in addition to other methods of tuberculosis control
Analysing the socioeconomic determinants of hypertension in South Africa: A structural equation modelling approach
No full textIncludes bibliographical references.Epidemiological research has long since observed that the prevalence of hypertension varies across populations' socioeconomic strata. Higher socioeconomic status (SES) has been consistently associated with lower levels of blood pressure in most studies from Europe and North America, while research in low- and middle-income countries at an earlier stage of the epidemiological transition revealed mixed patterns. The causal mechanisms underlying these varying relationships are largely unknown. Only in recent years the pathways through which SES impacts the cardiovascular system have been explored in large-scale studies, with results suggesting that body mass index, heart rate, and to a lesser extent physical exercise, alcohol use and smoking, may play a role in mediating these associations. However, these results refer to high-income countries, while similar research in low- and middle-income countries, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, is lacking. In 2008, the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) collected a broad range of information on a representative sample of the population of South Africa, a medium-income country undergoing rapid epidemiological transition. Among other topics, information was gathered on blood pressure, biologic and behavioural risk factors, education, income and other indicators of socioeconomic position
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