Accidental poisoning among children in a regional hospital in northern KwaZulu-Natal before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. Poisoning has been reported as the fifth most common cause of injury-related deaths in children <5 years worldwide. Little is known about accidental poisoning among children in the regional setting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures may have increased home-based unintentional poisoning. Objectives. To determine the frequency, outcome and type of accidental poisoning in children admitted to a regional hospital and compare cases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. A review of admissions to Queen Nandi Regional Hospital in Empangeni was performed to document cases of accidental poisoning >2 years. Equal periods during 2019 and 2020 (April to December) were compared. Children <13 years were included. Age, sex, date of admission, death, survival and type of poisoning were collected. Results. Accidental poisoning made up a small proportion of the total admissions (n=252/5 071;4.97%) with a low case fatality rate (0.40%). Boys made up the majority (n=132/252, 52.38%). Most were <5 years (n=220/252, 87.30%,). Medicines (n=114/252, 45.24%), hydrocarbons (n=61/252, 24.21%) and pesticides (n=26/252, 10.32%) were the main types of poisoning. Domestic cleaner, sanitiser or disinfectant-related admissions were significantly increased during the pandemic (p=0.020). Conclusion. Accidental poisoning commonly occurs in younger children. Medicines, hydrocarbons and pesticides make up the majority of cases. Domestic cleaner, hand sanitiser and disinfectant ingestion increased during the COVID pandemic. Future research involving primary care facilities and risk factors related to poisoning should be investigated.

Speech–language therapy educator reflections on the planning and implementation of education and training during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Universities across the world experienced lockdown and closure of all learning institutions around March 2020 because of the advent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This lockdown and closure presented challenges to the traditional pedagogical approaches in the health sciences, which typically include both campus-based and clinical site-focused activities involving face-to-face interactions and work integrated learning. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a shift to emergency remote teaching (ERT) and learning. Objectives: This study aimed to explore speech–language pathology (SLP) educators’ experiences of the planning and implementation of ERT and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A qualitative, descriptive narrative design was adopted to meet the objectives of the study. Seven SLP educators from a single university in South Africa participated in this study by constructing narratives on their experiences. The narratives were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Five themes emerged from the data analysis, and these included (1) uncertainty, (2) educator feelings, (3) capacity development, (4) influence of circumstances on teaching, learning and assessment and (5) troubleshooting. Current findings provide insight into the challenges encountered and strategies utilised by educators in planning and implementing ERT and learning. Conclusion: Beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, most educators believe that a hybrid model would address some concerns identified, such as that of missing face-to-face contact, but that it would still allow for the full exploitation of online activities for teaching, learning and assessment required during clinical training. © 2022. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS.