Faculty of Community & Health Sciences
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The Faculty of Community and Health Sciences (CHS) is committed to excellence in education and training, research and community service which promotes a progressive primary health care approach in an inter-professional manner.
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Rowe, Michael; Frantz, Jose M.; Bozalek, Vivienne (South African Society of Physiotherapy, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: The relevance of non-technical skills have long been acknowledged as important components of clinical learning, and there is evidence that integrating technology can facilitate their development by encouraging reflection, and by enhancing communication and reasoning. However, effectively integrating technology into learning practices must take the contextual needs of students into consideration. The aim of this study was to determine what online tools undergraduate physiotherapy students at one South African university are familiar with, and how they use them as part of their learning practices. The case study was conducted in a university physiotherapy department in the Western Cape during 2010. A cross-sectional, descriptive design used a survey to obtain quantitative and qualitative data from participants, and a plot study was conducted to test the reliability of the instrument. All ethical considerations were adhered to. Seventy six percent of participants had access to the internet at home, and 93% of them belonged to a social network, although fewer than half used it for their studying. Few students reported using the internet for more than information retrieval but reported wanting to use it for enhanced communication with lecturers. Almost all respondents believed that lectures were a useful way to learn. However, 61% added that integrating online learning activities with lectures could have value. Integrating technology into healthcare education has the potential to develop non-technical skills that are relevant for clinical practice. However, this group of students currently lack the experience and insight to use technology effectively as part of their learning practices. Educators must take cognisance of the educational and contextual needs of students if they wish to integrate technology into clinical teaching. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/309 Files in this item: 1
RowePhysiotherapyStudents2012.pdf (530.7Kb) -
Rowe, Michael; Frantz, Jose M.; Bozalek, Vivienne (Association for Medical Education in Europe, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Developing practice knowledge in healthcare is a complex process that is difficult to teach. Clinical education exposes students to authentic learning situations, but students also need epistemological access to tacit knowledge and clinical reasoning skills in order to interpret clinical problems. Blended learning offers opportunities for the complexity of learning by integrating face-to-face and online interaction. However, little is known about its use in clinical education. AIM: To determine the impact of blended learning in the clinical education of healthcare students. METHODS: Articles published between 2000 and 2010 were retrieved from online and print sources, and included multiple search methodologies. Search terms were derived following a preliminary review of relevant literature. RESULTS: A total of 71 articles were retrieved and 57 were removed after two rounds of analysis. Further methodological appraisals excluded another seven, leaving seven for the review. All studies reviewed evaluated the use of a blended learning intervention in a clinical context, although each intervention was different. Three studies included a control group, and two were qualitative in nature. Blended learning was shown to help bridge the gap between theory and practice and to improve a range of selected clinical competencies among students. CCONCLUSION: Few high-quality studies were found to evaluate the role of blended learning in clinical education, and those that were found provide only rudimentary evidence that integrating technology-enhanced teaching with traditional approaches have potential to improve clinical competencies among health students. Further well-designed research into the use of blended learning in clinical education is therefore needed before we rush to adopt it. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/308 Files in this item: 1
RoweBlendedLearning2012.pdf (1.048Mb) -
Puoane, Thandi; Sanders, David; Ashworth, Ann; Ngumbela, Modesta (Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa, 2006)[more][less]
Abstract: A qualitative study with a pre- and post-intervention component was undertaken among 66 professional nurses at 11 hospitals in the Eastern Cape to assess their perceptions and attitudes towards severely malnourished children and their mothers/caregivers. Nurses’ attitudes were compared before and after attending a 5-day training course to improve the management of malnutrition along with implementing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Severe malnutrition is a major cause of death among paediatric patients in many hospitals in South Africa. A qualitative study with a pre- and post-intervention component was undertaken among 66 professional nurses at 11 hospitals in the Eastern Cape to assess their perceptions and attitudes towards severely malnourished children and their mothers/caregivers. Nurses’ attitudes were compared before and after attending a 5-day training course to improve the management of malnutrition along with implementing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Focus group discussions were conducted in isiXhosa following a semi-structured discussion guide. Three themes emerged from these discussions, i.e. blame was placed on the mothers for not giving adequate care, malnourished children were valued less than those with other conditions, and resentment that nurses felt towards caregivers. underlying reasons for negative attitudes towards severely malnourished children and their caregivers were misunderstandings of the causes of severe malnutrition, misinterpretation of clinical signs,especially poor appetite and and high mortality during treatment.However, successful application of the treatment guidelines altered these perceptions and helped nurses to have a better understanding of the causes of the presenting clinical signs. These nurses have begun advocating for raised awareness and the need to include the WHO Ten Steps of treatment in the nursing curricula and in-service training. A cadre of volunteer nurse-trainers has been formed in Eastern Cape. Experience in this province has shown that in-service training changes attitudes to malnutrition and treatment practices, as well as saving lives. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/297 Files in this item: 1
PuoaneTrainingNurses2006.pdf (666.8Kb) -
de Swardt, Cobus; Puoane, Thandi; Chopra, Mickey; Du Toit, Andries (Sage Publications, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: This paper describes key findings of a household livelihood survey conducted in impoverished African settlements in Cape Town, one of Africa’s wealthiest cities. Poverty in these areas is strongly shaped by the history of the Eastern Cape’s adverse spatial incorporation into the South African economy. Migrants from the rural areas are highly dependent on and integrated into the increasingly monetized economy – but are simultaneously marginalized and adversely incorporated within it. Survey findings show the costs and implications of this failure of the formal economy to provide adequate livelihoods. While many eke out a living in a vital yet marginal informal economy, these strategies are thoroughly linked to and dependent on the income that can be secured through participation in the formal job market. Those who are unable to find a foothold in the urban economy are highly vulnerable and are at risk of being confined to long-term poverty traps. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/296 Files in this item: 1
PuoaneUrbanPoverty2005.pdf (798.9Kb) -
Puoane, Thandi; Katie, Cuming; Sanders, David; Ashworth, Ann (Oxford University Press, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: Staff at 11 rural hospitals in an under-resourced region of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, participated in an intervention to improve the quality of care of severely malnourished children through training and support aimed at implementing the WHO case-management guidelines. Despite similar intervention inputs, some hospitals reduced their case-fatality rates by at least half, whereas others did not. The aim of this study was to investigate reasons for this disparity. Two successful and two poorly performing hospitals were purposively selected based on their case-fatality rates, which were <10% in the successful hospitals and >30% in those performing poorly. Comparative data were collected during June to October 2004 through structured observations of ward procedures, compilation of hospital data on case-loads and resources, and staff interviews and discussions related to attitudes, teamwork, training, supervision, managerial support and leadership. The four study hospitals had broadly similar resources, infrastructure and child:nurse ratios, and all had made changes to their clinical and dietary management following training. Case-management was broadly in line with WHO guidelines but the study revealed clear differences in institutional culture which influenced quality of care. Staff in the successful hospitals were more attentive and assiduous than staff in the poorly performing hospitals, especially in relation to rehydration procedures, feeding and the recording of vital signs. There was a strong emphasis on in-service training and induction of incoming staff in the successful hospitals and better supervision of junior staff and carers. Nurses had more positive attitudes towards malnourished children and their carers, and were less judgmental. Underlying factors were differences in leadership, teamwork, and managerial supervision and support. We conclude that unless there are supportive structures at managerial level, the potential benefits of efficacious interventions and related training programmes to improve health worker performance can be thwarted. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/295 Files in this item: 1
PuoaneHospitals2008.pdf (102.3Kb)