| 1. |
- Atkins, Kaitlyn, et al.
(författare)
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"The sky is the limit; I am going there" : experiences of hope among young women receiving a conditional cash transfer in rural South Africa
- 2022
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Ingår i: Culture, Health and Sexuality. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1369-1058 .- 1464-5351. ; 24:8, s. 1077-1091
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Young women in South Africa face elevated risk of HIV infection compared to male peers. Cash transfers may mitigate their risk for HIV; however, there is limited understanding of mechanisms of impact. We explored hope as one potential mechanism. Longitudinal qualitative analysis was used to explore how cash transfer recipients in the HPTN 068 study conceptualised hope and how the intervention influenced their hope over time. We found the intervention increased confidence, alleviated financial stressors and instilled in young women the belief that a better life, defined as being educated, independent and supportive to family, was attainable. Findings support hope as a critical outcome of cash transfer and other economic strengthening interventions.
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| 2. |
- Brooks, Chloe, et al.
(författare)
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Introducing visual participatory methods to develop local knowledge on HIV in rural South Africa
- 2017
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Ingår i: BMJ Global Health. - : BMJ Publishing Group Ltd. - 2059-7908. ; 2:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: South Africa is a country faced with complex health and social inequalities, in which HIV/AIDS has had devastating impacts. The study aimed to gain insights into the perspectives of rural communities on HIV-related mortality.METHODS: A participatory action research (PAR) process, inclusive of a visual participatory method (Photovoice), was initiated to elicit and organise local knowledge and to identify priorities for action in a rural subdistrict underpinned by the Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS). We convened three village-based discussion groups, presented HDSS data on HIV-related mortality, elicited subjective perspectives on HIV/AIDS, systematised these into collective accounts and identified priorities for action. Framework analysis was performed on narrative and visual data, and practice theory was used to interpret the findings.FINDINGS: A range of social and health systems factors were identified as causes and contributors of HIV mortality. These included alcohol use/abuse, gender inequalities, stigma around disclosure of HIV status, problems with informal care, poor sanitation, harmful traditional practices, delays in treatment, problems with medications and problematic staff-patient relationships. To address these issues, developing youth facilities in communities, improving employment opportunities, timely treatment and extending community outreach for health education and health promotion were identified.DISCUSSION: Addressing social practices of blame, stigma and mistrust around HIV-related mortality may be a useful focus for policy and planning. Research that engages communities and authorities to coproduce evidence can capture these practices, improve communication and build trust.CONCLUSION: Actions to reduce HIV should go beyond individual agency and structural forces to focus on how social practices embody these elements. Initiating PAR inclusive of visual methods can build shared understandings of disease burdens in social and health systems contexts. This can develop shared accountability and improve staff-patient relationships, which, over time, may address the issues identified, here related to stigma and blame.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Cook, Caylee J., et al.
(författare)
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Associations of physical activity and gross motor skills with executive function in preschool children from low-income South African settings
- 2019
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Ingår i: Developmental Science. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1363-755X .- 1467-7687. ; 22:5, s. 1-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Executive function is foundational for cognitive development. Previous research has shown both gross motor skills and physical activity to be related to executive function. However, evidence for these relationships in the preschool years, as well as in low- and middle-income countries is lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationships between components of executive function (inhibition, shifting and working memory) and gross motor skills (locomotor skills and object control skills) in a sample of preschool children from urban and rural low-income settings in South Africa. Results revealed that inhibition and working memory, but not shifting, were associated with gross motor skills. More specifically: inhibition was associated with both locomotor [beta = 0.20, p = 0.047] and object control skills [beta = 0.24, p = 0.024], whereas working memory was only associated with locomotor skills [beta = 0.21, p = 0.039]. Physical activity was not associated with inhibition and shifting but was negatively associated with working memory. These results elaborate a growing evidence base linking executive function and gross motor skills in the early years, and it is the first to look at specific associations of locomotor and object control skills with executive function in the South African context (a low- and middle-income country).
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| 5. |
- Cowan, Eilidh, et al.
(författare)
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Understanding non-communicable diseases : combining health surveillance with local knowledge to improve rural primary health care in South Africa
- 2021
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 14:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: NCDs are non-infectious, long-term conditions that account for 40 million deaths per annum. 87% of premature NCD mortality occurs in low- and middle-income countries.Objective: The aims were:develop methods to provide integrated biosocial accounts of NCD mortality; and explore the practical utility of extended mortality data for the primary health care system.Methods: We drew on data from research programmes in the study area. Data were analysed in three steps: [a]analysis of levels, causes and circumstances of NCD mortality [n = 4,166] from routine census updates including Verbal Autopsy and of qualitative data on lived experiences of NCDs in rural villages from participatory research; [b] identifying areas of convergence and divergence between the analyses; and [c]exploration of the practical relevance of the data drawing on engagements with health systems stakeholders.Results: NCDs constituted a significant proportion of mortality in this setting [36%]. VA data revealed multiple barriers to access in end-of-life care. Many deaths were attributed to problems with resources and health systems [21%;19% respectively]. The qualitative research provided rich complementary detail on the processes through which risk originates, accumulates and is expressed in access to end-of-life care, related to chronic poverty and perceptions of poor quality care in clinics. The exploration of practical relevance revealed chronic under-funding for NCD services, and an acute need for robust, timely data on the NCD burden.Conclusions: VA data allowed a significant burden of NCD mortality to be quantified and revealed barriers to access at and around the time of death. Qualitative research contextualised these barriers, providing explanations of how and why they exist and persist. Health systems analysis revealed shortages of resources allocated to NCDs and a need for robust research to provide locally relevant evidence to organise and deliver care. Pragmatic interdisciplinary and mixed method analysis provides relevant renditions of complex problems to inform more effective responses.
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| 6. |
- D'Ambruoso, Lucia, et al.
(författare)
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Rethinking collaboration : developing a learning platform to address under-five mortality in Mpumalanga province, South Africa
- 2019
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Ingår i: Health Policy and Planning. - : Oxford University Press. - 0268-1080 .- 1460-2237. ; 34:6, s. 418-429
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Following 50 years of apartheid, South Africa introduced visionary health policy committing to the right to health as part of a primary health care (PHC) approach. Implementation is seriously challenged, however, in an often-dysfunctional health system with scarce resources and a complex burden of avoidable mortality persists. Our aim was to develop a process generating evidence of practical relevance on implementation processes among people excluded from access to health systems. Informed by health policy and systems research, we developed a collaborative learning platform in which we worked as co-researchers with health authorities in a rural province. This article reports on the process and insights brought by health systems stakeholders. Evidence gaps on under-five mortality were identified with a provincial Directorate after which we collected quantitative and qualitative data. We applied verbal autopsy to quantify levels, causes and circumstances of deaths and participatory action research to gain community perspectives on the problem and priorities for action. We then re-convened health systems stakeholders to analyse and interpret these data through which several systems issues were identified as contributory to under-five deaths: staff availability and performance; service organization and infrastructure; multiple parallel initiatives; and capacity to address social determinants. Recommendations were developed ranging from immediate low- and no-cost re-organization of services to those where responses from higher levels of the system or outside were required. The process was viewed as acceptable and relevant for an overburdened system operating 'in the dark' in the absence of local data. Institutional infrastructure for evidence-based decision-making does not exist in many health systems. We developed a process connecting research evidence on rural health priorities with the means for action and enabled new partnerships between communities, authorities and researchers. Further development is planned to understand potential in deliberative processes for rural PHC.
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| 7. |
- D'Ambruoso, Lucia, et al.
(författare)
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‘Voice needs teeth to have bite’! Expanding community-led multisectoral action-learning to address alcohol and drug abuse in rural South Africa
- 2022
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Ingår i: PLOS Global Public Health. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 2767-3375. ; 2:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is limited operational understanding of multisectoral action in health inclusive of communities as active change agents. The objectives were to: (a) develop community-led action-learning, advancing multisectoral responses for local public health problems; and (b) derive transferrable learning. Participants representing communities, government departments and non-governmental organisations in a rural district in South Africa co-designed the process. Participants identified and problematised local health concerns, coproduced and collectively analysed data, developed and implemented local action, and reflected on and refined the process. Project data were analysed to understand how to expand community-led action across sectors. Community actors identified alcohol and other drug (AOD) abuse as a major problem locally, and generated evidence depicting a self-sustaining problem, destructive of communities and disproportionately affecting children and young people. Community and government actors then developed action plans to rebuild community control over AOD harms. Implementation underscored community commitment, but also revealed organisational challenges and highlighted the importance of coordination with government reforms. While the action plan was only partially achieved, new relationships and collective capabilities were built, and the process was recommended for integration into district health planning and review. We created spaces engaging otherwise disconnected stakeholders to build dialogue, evidence, and action. Engagement needed time, space, and a sensitive, inclusive approach. Regular engagement helped develop collaborative mindsets. Credible, actionable information supported engagement. Collectively reflecting on and adapting the process supported aligning to local systems priorities and enabled uptake. The process made gains raising community ‘voice’ and initiating dialogue with the authorities, giving the voice ‘teeth’. Achieving ‘bite’, however, requires longer-term engagement, formal and sustained connections to the system. Sustaining in highly fluid contexts and connecting to higher levels are likely to be challenging. Regular learning spaces can support development of collaborative
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| 8. |
- Draper, Catherine E., et al.
(författare)
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Cross-sectional associations of physical activity and gross motor proficiency with adiposity in South African children of pre-school age
- 2019
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Ingår i: Public Health Nutrition. - : Cambridge University Press. - 1368-9800 .- 1475-2727. ; 22:4, s. 614-623
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity, gross motor skills and adiposity in South African children of pm-school age.Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: High-income urban, and low-income urban and rural settings in South Africa.Participants: Children (3-6 years old, n 268) were recruited from urban high-income (n 46), urban low-income (n 91) and rural low-income (n 122) settings. Height and weight were measured to calculate the main outcome variables: BMI and BMI-for-age Z-score (BAZ). Height-for-age and weight-for-age Z-scores were also calculated. Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometers were used to objectively measure physical activity; the Test of Gross Motor Development (Version 2) was used to assess gross motor skills.Results: More children were overweight/obese and had a higher BAZ from urban low-income settings compared with urban high-income settings and rural low-income settings. Being less physically active was associated with thinness, but not overweight/obesity. Time spent in physical activity at moderate and vigorous intensities was positively associated with BMI and BAZ. Gross motor proficiency was not associated with adiposity in this sample.Conclusions: The findings of this research highlight the need for obesity prevention particularly in urban low-income settings, as well as the need to take into consideration the complexity of the relationship between adiposity, physical activity and gross motor skills in South African pre-school children.
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| 9. |
- Draper, Catherine E., et al.
(författare)
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Developing Intervention Strategies to Optimise Body Composition in Early Childhood in South Africa
- 2017
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Ingår i: BioMed Research International. - : HINDAWI LTD. - 2314-6133 .- 2314-6141.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose. The purpose of this research was to collect data to inform intervention strategies to optimise body composition in South African preschool children. Methods. Data were collected in urban and rural settings. Weight status, physical activity, and gross motor skill assessmentswere conducted with 341 3-6-year-old children, and 55 teachers and parents/caregivers participated in focus groups. Results. Overweight and obesity were a concern in low-income urban settings (14%), but levels of physical activity and gross motor skills were adequate across all settings. Focus group findings from urban and rural settings indicated that teachers would welcome input on leading activities to promote physical activity and gross motor skill development. Teachers and parents/caregivers were also positive about young children being physically active. Recommendations for potential intervention strategies include a teacher-training component, parent/child activitymornings, and a home-based component for parents/caregivers. Conclusion. The findings suggest that an intervention focussed on increasing physical activity and improving gross motor skills per se is largely not required but that contextually relevant physical activity and gross motor skills may still be useful for promoting healthy weight and a vehicle for engaging with teachers and parents/caregivers for promoting other child outcomes, such as cognitive development.
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| 10. |
- Gottert, Ann, et al.
(författare)
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Gender Norms, Gender Role Conflict/Stress and HIV Risk Behaviors Among Men in Mpumalanga, South Africa
- 2018
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Ingår i: Aids and Behavior. - : Springer. - 1090-7165 .- 1573-3254. ; 22:6, s. 1858-1869
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Men's gender role conflict and stress (GRC/S), the psychological strain they experience around fulfilling expectations of themselves as men, has been largely unexplored in HIV prevention research. We examined associations between both men's gender norms and GRC/S and three HIV risk behaviors using data from a population-based survey of 579 18-35 year-old men in rural northeast South Africa. Prevalence of sexual partner concurrency and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration in the last 12 months were 38.0 and 13.4%, respectively; 19.9% abused alcohol. More inequitable gender norms and higher GRC/S were each significantly associated with an increased odds of concurrency (p = 0.01; p < 0.01, respectively), IPV perpetration (p = 0.03; p < 0.01), and alcohol abuse (p = 0.02; p < 0.001), controlling for demographic characteristics. Ancillary analyses demonstrated significant positive associations between: concurrency and the GRC/S sub-dimension subordination to women; IPV perpetration and restrictive emotionality; and alcohol abuse and success, power, competition. Programs to transform gender norms should be coupled with effective strategies to prevent and reduce men's GRC/S.
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