Supporting undergraduate research capacity development: A process evaluation of an Undergraduate Research Office at a South African Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences

Background. University-based research capacity development (RCD) mechanisms tend to focus on staff and postgraduate students, with few structures targeted at undergraduate students. Support for undergraduate research must be tailored to the unique requirements of research at this level, while maintaining links with relevant structures in both the RCD and teaching and learning domains. Objective. To conduct a process evaluation of the Undergraduate Research Office (URO) in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, using RCD and characteristics of excellence in undergraduate research criteria as benchmarks. Methods. A process evaluation of URO's first 6 years was conducted using a logic model of URO's inputs, activities, and outputs. Through a retrospective document review, a descriptive analysis of URO's inputs and activities (narrative) and URO's outputs (statistical) was conducted. Results. Following a description of inputs and activities, results present URO's outputs as a measure of the uptake of these activities. From 2015 to 2020, 259 undergraduate research projects were completed. Research consultations, workshops and undergraduate presentations at the faculty's Annual Academic Day have more than doubled since URO's inception. The Undergraduate Research Ethics Committee has reviewed 243 ethics applications since 2015, with a 1 - 2-week turnaround time. A total of 134 funding applications worth ZAR705 986 have been awarded for research project, conference presentation and publication costs. Conclusion. Results show the potential impact of a formal undergraduate research support entity on the undergraduate research outputs of a Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. This article highlights elements for success for formal undergraduate research support, and identifies gaps going forward.

The use of peer physical examination in undergraduate health professions education: Exploring the perceptions of students and educators in a multicultural, multiracial institution

Teaching clinical skills is core content of the medical and allied health curricula of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FoHS) at the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa. A major pedagogical tool used for this purpose across the faculty is peer physical examination (PPE). Objective. To investigate the lived experience and perceptions of students and educators on the use of PPE in undergraduate health professions education at a multicultural and multiracial institution. Suggestions on guidelines for a PPE policy for the FoHS at the UFS were also obtained from the participants.Methods. This research was designed as a qualitative study that used focus group interviews involving 26 participants (19 students and 7 educators) to obtain verbal statements that described their experience and perceptions of the use of PPE in undergraduate health professions education. Results. Participants reported that PPE was useful to create a safe learning environment and to prepare students for the clinical aspects of their training. Enhancing students' empathy, competency and clinical confidence were among the advantages attributed to using PPE; it also encouraged peer-assisted learning. Some of the disadvantages ascribed to PPE were that it made it difficult to maintain classroom discipline, and that it could promote memorisation over understanding. Finally, participants suggested that a guideline for PPE policy should address matters of consent, confidentiality, participation and gender, cultural, religious and racial considerations.Conclusions. The findings of this study reveal that PPE is an acceptable and useful learning strategy for the majority of students and educators. Issues relating to consent, confidentiality and cultural, religious and racial considerations are some of the potential problems associated with the use of PPE at the UFS. We believe that the suggestions given by the participants of this study will inform the establishment of a PPE policy for the FoHS of the UFS

Perceptions of undergraduate allied health students of the clinical learning environment and clinical educators' attributes at the University of Ghana

Background. Clinical education is a vital aspect of the education of health sciences students and consists of two components, i.e. the clinical learning environment and supervision.Objectives. To determine the undergraduate allied health sciences students' perceptions regarding clinical educators' attributes and the clinical learning environment.Methods. This cross-sectional study included 169 undergraduate students, randomly recruited from various allied health professions programmes of the University of Ghana. The McGill clinical teacher evaluation tool and the clinical learning environment inventory were used to determine students' perceptions of clinical educators' attributes and the clinical learning environment, respectively. The Kruskal-Wallis test and independent t-tests were used to test for relationships between students' level and programme of study and their perceptions. The level of significance was set at 95%.Results. Of the 169 participants, there were 99 (58.6%) male students, 79 (46.7%) third-year students and 82 (48.5%) medical laboratory science students. Only 16 (9.5%) participants indicated visits by lecturers during clinical rotations. The third-year students had a statistically significant perception of their clinical learning environment (p=0.000), while the differences between perceptions of clinical learning environment among the various programmes were also statistically significant (p=0.028), but not for clinical educators' attributes (p=0.261).Conclusion. Allied health sciences students have positive perceptions of their clinical learning environment and clinical educators' attributes. More frequent visits by lecturers to students during clinical rotations may ensure that student innovation is achieved in accordance with their classroom tuition

Men in the service of humanity: Sociocultural perceptions of the nursing profession in South Africa

Background. The classification of nursing as a female-gendered profession, along with patriarchally determined cultural gender roles, makes it difficult for men to select nursing as a career and to excel in their caring capacity as nurses.Objective. To gain in-depth insights into and an understanding of male nursing students' perceptions of the nursing profession. Methods. A generic qualitative approach, which was explorative, descriptive and contextual, was used to conduct the study. Sixteen male nursing students at two nursing education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, were purposively sampled to participate in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and unstructured observation. Thereafter, thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results. Three main themes were developed from the interview data. The participants perceived nursing as the extension of women's work, with low social status ‒ nursing is not considered to be a profession for men. During the provision of nursing care, feelings of discomfort and embarrassment were experienced. They feared misinterpretation of their care, especially when caring for the naked body when alone with a patient. They resorted to the use of cautious caring, where they do not provide physical care alone, but seek support, especially from female nurses.Conclusion. Male nursing students require role models to support them in their academic journey towards becoming competent practitioners. A male-friendly environment should be created to enable them to provide quality nursing care to all patients. The society needs to be empowered in understanding that men choose the nursing profession to provide care, and that they are capable of caring for the sick.

High-fidelity simulation: A practice model for nurse educators at a South African private higher education institution

Background. The clinical skills development of student nurses is one of many challenges facing nursing education owing to a lack of available clinical placements and learning opportunities. Simulation training as an optional teaching-learning method creates an environment where clinical skills are developed and students are prepared for the nursing profession. The successful implementation of high-fidelity simulation (HFS) strategies as part of the nursing curricula requires nurse educators to have knowledge and skills. At the South African private higher education institution (SAPHEI) where the research for this study was done, it became evident that nurse educators do not have the required knowledge, skills or support to implement HFS. The absence of evidence in the literature of a practice model for a SAPHEI to facilitate the implementation of HFS reveals a gap in the practice base of nursing education.Objective. To develop a practice model for nurse educators at a SAPHEI to facilitate the implementation of HFS.Methods. The researcher used a theory-generative research design. The study was conducted in two phases, with two steps in each phase, to address four objectives in all.Results. Phase 1 identified and described the main and related concepts. A resulting conceptual framework was used for the development of the practice model. Phase 2 addressed the relational meaning of the main and related concepts, as well as the construction of the practice model through theory synthesis.Conclusion. The main aim of this research study was to develop a practice model for nurse educators at a SAPHEI to facilitate the implementation of HFS as part of the clinical skills development of student nurses. The practice model offers a schematic outline that represents HFS as a teaching-learning method. The importance of the outline lies therein that it specifies the context and situations in which the model is useful

"When America Sneezes, the World Catches a Cold" What does overturning Roe v. Wade mean for women's reproductive health in Africa?

Communities and countries and ultimately the world are only as strong as the health of their women." - Michelle Obama, 2016 On 24 June 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided on Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Center, overturning the historic Roe v. Wade decision that has, since 1973, confirmed and enshrined the constitutional right of a woman to seek an abortion1 . Restrictions to legal, safe abortions are known to have serious repercussions for maternal and infant health. Evidence shows that restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of abortions; it only makes abortion less safe and more likely to lead to preventable complications, including maternal death. Conversely, expanding access to safe, legal abortion­a common medical procedure that carries very little risk when performed by a trained provider in an appropriate environment­is associated with improved maternal health outcomes. Further, illegal abortion results in negative societal outcomes, including chronic morbidity for the individual woman; economic burdens to women and their communities when they cannot work or finish school; and added stress to families, communities, and already over-stretched public health systems.

Roe vs. Wade conundrum: Africa must increase commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights

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The time to address diagnostic needs in universal health coverage is now: Leveraging the scale up of national testing capacity for HIV viral load and SARS-CoV-2

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linical Audit of Stillbirths at a Faith-Based Secondary Health Centre in Ibadan, Nigeria: A Six-Year Review

Objective:The determine the prevalence of stillbirth and identify associated factors among parturients in a faith-based secondary health centre.Method:This was a retrospective audit of two hundred and twenty-five stillbirth deliveries at the Our Lady of Apostle Catholic Hospital at Oluyoro, OkeOffainIbadan, Nigeria,betweenstst1January2010, and 31December, 2015. Data was extractedfromhospitalrecordsforsociodemographiccharacteristics, obstetricfactors,complications, and outcomes of pregnancy. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and the level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results:The stillbirth rate was 27.75 per 1000 births. More than half (129; 57.4%) were macerated. The ratio of still birth rate among the booked and unbooked parturients was 1:21. The commoncausesofstillbirthswerehypertensivedisordersinpregnancy (24.9%), anaemia in pregnancy (20.4%); while the least were congenital anomalies (1.0%) and gestational diabetes mellitus (1.0%Conclusion: This study confirmed that most of the stillbirths were due to unsupervised or poorly supervised pregnancies. There is need to ensure quality antenatal care services for the early detection and management of risk factors in order to reduce the burden of stillbirths.

Descriptive pattern of Benign Salivary Gland Tumours in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH); Jos: A ten-year retrospective study

Salivary gland tumours are common head and neck tumours which account for 2.8 to 10of all head and neck tumours in most African studies and 8.0 to 10.5in most western literature. Benign salivary gland tumours are the commonest form of salivary gland neoplasm; with the ratio of benign to malignant tumours ranging from 1.2:1 to 2:1. Objectives: This study is aimed at describing the histological pattern; age; sex and site distribution of benign salivary gland tumours in Jos University Teaching Hospital from January 1997 to December 2006. Methods: This was a descriptive study of all histotogically confirmed benign salivary gland tumours over a period of ten years. The slides were reported independently by four pathologists. Diagnosis was made and classification done according to the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of salivary gland tumours. Data such as age; sex and site of distribution of these tumours were obtained from the patient's case files. Results: Results show that benign salivary gland tumours had a higher distribution than malignant salivary gland tumours with a ratio of 1.7:1. Of these benign salivary gland tumours; male predominance over females was generally observed. Benign salivary gland tumours occurred more within the age range 4 to 49 years (table 1); with pleomorphic Adenoma accounting for the highest frequency (115) and basal cell adenoma for the lowest frequency (1) [table 2]. Parotid gland was also the commonest site of occurrence of most of these lesions except for basal cell adenoma which was found in the sublingual gland

Overview of Management of Central Nervous System Disease in HIV/AIDS Patients with Emphasis on HIV-Dementia (HIV-D)

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Prévention des infections au cours des activités de bloc opératoire dans les maternités de référence au sud du Benin

L'infection represente la troisieme cause de deces maternel au Benin. Elle est cependant evitable dans nos maternites. Qu'en est-il de sa prevention dans les maternites au sud du Benin. Cette etude est prospective; descriptive et transversale du 1er janvier au 31 mars 2004. Nous avons observe 183 prestataires : Le port de blouse de bloc operatoire; de calot et de bavette n'est effectif que dans 30;1des circonstances ou ils sont recommandes. Le niveau de pratique d'antisepsie est bon a 55;2.La proce- dure de decontamination est bonne a 97;8.La sterilisation est mal realisee par 65;1des prestataires. Le niveau de bonne pratique de prevention des infections dans les maternites est bas; 16;0des prestataires dans les maternites visitees. Il apparait necessaire de developper un programme national de prevention des infections et de creer dans chaque hopital un comite de lutte contre les infections nosocomiales

L'incompatiblite foeto-maternelle anti-plaquettaire: a propos de 238 gestantes a Cotonou

En Afrique l'incompatibilite foeto-maternelle est le plus souvent percue sous l'angle des incompatibili-tes erythrocytaires. Cette incompatibilite peut aussi se manifester par une destruction des plaquettes sensibilisees par les anticorps (Ac) d'une mere soit auto immunisee; soit allo-immunisee contre des antigenes (Ag) plaquettaires fotaux transmis par le pere mais absents chez la mere.Sur une periode de 8 mois; 238 gestantes de moins de 7 mois de grossesse ont ete suivies : 109 parmi elles sont phenotypees pour les Ag plaquettaires specifiques et toutes ont subi des tests de depistage et d'identification d'anticorps anti-plaquettaires par la technique du MAIPA. Durant cette periode; les enfants nes de meres immunisees ont ete examines a la recherche d'une thrombopenie et de signes cliniques de spoliation sanguine.Les genotypes les plus frequemment rencontres sont : HPA-1a/1a (81;65) ; HPA-5a/5a (62;39) ; HPA-3a/3b (52;3) ; HPA-3a/3a (41;28) et HPA-5a/5b (35;78)79;2des gestantes ont developpe des auto-Ac contre le complexe glycoproteique IIb IIIa. La fre-quence de l'auto-immunisation semble inversement proportionnelle a la gestite. Chez quatre gestan-tes (1;7) dont 3 primigestes; des allo-Ac sont detectes contre l'Ag HPA-5b.Des 4 enfants nes de meres immunisees dans la periode de suivi; aucun n'a pose de probleme clini-que. Par contre 2 ont ete thrombopeniques des la naissance (109 et 9 G/L) mais leurs nombres de plaquettes se sont spontanement normalises au 3eme jour de naissance