Conceptualisation of African primal health care within mental health care

Barriers to effective patient care as experienced by nurses in primary healthcare clinics in African countries: a systematic review of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND

The essence of adopting the Alma-Ata Declaration (1978) was to ensure that essential and acceptable healthcare services are accessible to individuals and families in the community. However, existing literature points that various factors pose as barriers towards effective caring for patients by nurses in primary healthcare clinics. Identifying factors that pose as barriers in effective caring for patients can assist in using strategies that can help in improving the provision of healthcare services.

METHODS

A qualitative systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute's approach, including the search and selection, critical appraisal, data extraction and synthesis. An extensive literature search was undertaken to identify relevant qualitative research studies research with substantive findings that reflected nurses' challenges in PHC clinics, conducted in African countries from 2010 to 2024, in the following databases: CINAHL and Medline (through EBSCOhost), BioMed Central, ScienceDirect and Scopus (Elsevier), followed by a manual search in Google Scholar, and a citation search.

RESULTS

Following the data extraction and analysis of nine articles, three themes were identified: (1) Shortage of nurses; (2) High workloads for nurses; and (3) Shortage of medicines. A majority of articles were from South Africa (n = 7).

CONCLUSIONS

The identified barriers may be addressed at different healthcare system levels in various African countries to improve the provision of healthcare services.

Traditional health practitioners' training needs on biomedical knowledge and skills in a South African township

BACKGROUND

Traditional health practitioners (THPs) play an important role in communities by providing necessary health services for a variety of health problems. Possessing complementary biomedical knowledge and skills is vital in saving lives of patients. However, less is known about biomedical knowledge and skills among THPs.

AIM

This study aimed to explore and describe the training needs of THPs on biomedical knowledge and skills in urban townships in South Africa.

SETTING

The study was conducted in a township in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality of Gauteng province, South Africa.

METHODS

A qualitative, explorative, descriptive design with 18 THPs was employed through snowballing sampling. Data were collected through a lekgotla group discussion and thematic content analysis undertaken.

RESULTS

Themes that emanated include knowledge of the basic physiological functioning of the human body; biomedical knowledge and skills required for the assessment of patients; managing emergency health conditions and understanding diagnostic concepts used in traditional health practice versus biomedical systems.

CONCLUSION

Traditional health practitioners have demonstrated interest in being trained on certain skills used within the biomedical system to care for patients. Performing the necessary first-aid skills by THPs will assist patients in the communities while waiting for emergency services or referrals. Provision of training programmes for THPs on first aid interventions during emergencies is therefore recommended.Contribution: The study revealed that capacitating THPs with biomedical knowledge and skills can improve their ability to promote healthy living and prevent health problems in communities where access to resources is limited.

The importance of local language in healthcare: naming and defining dysmenorrhea

INTRODUCTION

Using local language improves the quality of healthcare and patient safety but little has been done to understand and use local language in naming and defining conditions such as dysmenorrhea. Many indigenous African women value their language especially when communicating about women's health.

METHOD

In this exploratory study, we wanted to understand the local language used to construct and conceptualize dysmenorrhea and highlight the importance of local language when healthcare practitioners engage with women experiencing dysmenorrhea guided by Africana Womanism Theory. Data were collected from 15 Black indigenous women using a Lekgotla discussion group and in-depth interviews. Data were thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

Participants described how local language is important in naming and seeking healthcare. Drawing from their descriptions three themes emerged: (1) Self-naming and self-defining dysmenorrhea using a local language; (2) Types of local words, phrases, and terms used to name and define dysmenorrhea; (3) The importance of self-naming and self-defining dysmenorrhea in a local language.

CONCLUSIONS

Communication between healthcare seekers and healthcare providers is at the heart of effective healthcare provision. Poor communication due to language barriers contributes to misunderstanding, misdiagnoses, poor or incomplete patient assessment, and delayed treatment. Therefore, communicating healthcare issues in a local language would promote culturally sensitive care.

Psychiatric education in Africa-a South African perspective

Psychiatry is an under-resourced discipline, specifically in terms of personnel, not least of all in developing world settings. The capacity for training specialists does not seem to meet the requirements of an increasing disease burden. Notwithstanding the status quo, countries in such settings continue to train and graduate specialists. The current paper provides an overview of specialist training in South Africa, specifically noting the exposure to Psychiatry at undergraduate level, within the context of Psychiatric education in an African setting. An important issue is raised-if a country is not able to meet the personnel requirements at specialist level, is it time to reconsider such training within the broader context of psychiatric education based on country-specific needs. Further, the need for an assertive specialist psychiatrist discipline as well as one that is knowledgeable and respectful of indigenous practice is highlighted.