To develop and implement an educational outreach programme for the integrated case management of priority respiratory diseases (practical approach to lung health in South Africa; PALSA) evaluate its effects on care detection tuberculosis among adults attending primary clinics.Pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with clinics as unit randomisation.40 clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners, Free State province, Africa.1999 patients aged 15 or over cough difficult breathing (1000...

<b>Objective</b> To investigate whether PALSA PLUS, an on-site educational outreach programme of non-didactic, case based, iterative clinical education staff, led by a trainer, can increase access to and comprehensiveness care for patients with HIV/AIDS. <b>Design </b> Cluster randomised trial. <b>Setting</b> Public primary clinics offering HIV/AIDS care, antiretroviral treatment (ART), tuberculosis ambulatory in Free State province, South Africa. <b>Participants</b> Fifteen all implementing...

South Africa recently launched a national antiretroviral treatment programme. This has created an urgent need for nurse-training in (ART) delivery. The PALSA PLUS programme provides guidelines and training primary health care (PHC) nurses the management of adult lung diseases HIV/AIDS, including ART. A process evaluation was undertaken to document training, explore perceptions regarding value compare approach (used at intervention sites) with provincial model. conducted alongside randomized...

To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an educational outreach intervention to improve primary respiratory care by South African nurses.Cost-effectiveness analysis alongside a pragmatic cluster randomised controlled trial, with individual patient data. The intervention, Practical Approach Lung Health in Africa (PALSA), comprised based on syndromic clinical practice guidelines for tuberculosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia and other diseases. study included 1999...

Abstract Background To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of integrated Practical Approach to Lung Health in South Africa (PALSA) guideline identifying patients requiring bacteriological screening for tuberculosis (TB), and determine which clinical features best predict suspected bacteriologically-confirmed among with respiratory symptoms. Methods A prospective, cross-sectional study 1392 adult cough and/or difficult breathing, attending a primary care facility Cape Town, Africa, were...

South Africa's transition towards a district-based health system (DHS) aims to offer promotion and prevention services at community level, through re-engineered primary care (PHC) services. Along with pharmacy workforce shortages service delivery challenges, reform is clarion call strategically re-position the pharmacist's role in DHS strengthening. The involvement three streams, namely clinical specialist support teams, school municipal ward-based PHC outreach pertinent. This paper...

Aim: This paper describes the design, facilitation and preliminary assessment of a 1‐week cascade training programme for nurse trainers in preparation implementation Practical Approach to Lung Health South Africa (PALSA) intervention, tested within context pragmatic cluster randomized controlled trial Free State province. PALSA combines evidence‐based syndromic guidelines on management respiratory disease adults with group educational outreach practitioners. Background: Evidence‐based...

Background. Professional identity underpins an individual’s perspective in the way they evaluate, learn and make sense of their professional practice. In pharmacy education, development a has remained problematic, which may largely be attributed to dearth literature that properly defines, teaches assesses professionalism. Objectives. To identify describe first-year students’ determine whether it changed during first semester ‘Introduction pharmacy’ course. Methods. Students had write three...

Objective: To compare the use of patient-performed peak expiratory flow (PEFR) and symptom monitoring as asthma self-management tools initiated from community pharmacies. Design setting: 110 patients over 6 years age were recruited five private-sector Patients identified pharmacist recall having 'asthma'. Information on frequency their symptoms, medication use, level physical activity, school or work attendance lung function was obtained using a questionnaire to classify either mild,...

Childhood asthma is common in Cape Town, a province of South Africa, but underdiagnosed by general practitioners. Medications are often prescribed inappropriately, and care episodic. The objective this study to assess the impact educational outreach practitioners on symptoms children their practice. This cluster randomised trial with practices as unit intervention, randomisation, analysis. setting Mitchells Plain (population 300,000), dormitory town near Town. Solo practitioners, without...

Service-learning creates a space for contextualized learning whereby students connect classroom concepts to real-world practices relative their own frame of reference. These experiences occur within societal status quo rooted historical and social inequalities. Affective responses encounters with inequalities are not routinely addressed the outcomes formal curricula. Thus, pedagogy discomfort calls an awareness critical self-examination among educators how passive acceptance or...

Abstract Background Chronic patients are required to access their chronic medicines on a regular basis, often only refill repeat prescriptions. Adherence is challenging and has stimulated health care providers devise differentiated service delivery models of decentralise medicine distribution decrease the frequency collection at facilities. One such option includes last kilometre service. This study investigated patients’ preferences for model. Methods An exploratory non-randomised...

Background: Medication labels are often the only information available to patients after obtaining medication from a healthcare practitioner. Pictograms graphic symbols that have shown increase understanding of medicine use instructions. Aim: To compare accuracy interpretation instructions two different oral rehydration (OR) dry-mixture sachet – control 'routine textonly' label and an experimental with 'text-and-pictograms'. Setting: Participants were recruited waiting rooms in public...

Globally, health education reform is directing efforts to strengthen the system through collaboration between and services. However, collaborative vary developed developing countries as needs, economic constraints, resource availability differs. In countries, allocation weighed in favor of interventions that will benefit majority population. The question emerges is: How could education, service, research activities be (re-)aligned optimize return on investment for society at large? This...

High patient load and understaffing in public health care facilities preclude the provision of optimal pharmaceutical services South Africa. A Service Learning Pharmacy (SLIP) programme for University Western Cape’s final year pharmacy students was implemented to assist service provision. Students rotated between a pharmacotherapy (patient-oriented) formulation (product-oriented) activities develop skills prescription analysis, manufacturing packaging hospital pharmaceuticals. Structured...

Asthma is an important chronic inflammatory disorder with significant morbidity and mortality in South Africa. The development of national asthma guidelines by the African Thoracic Society National Education Programme has been one approach to try improve quality care. effectiveness previous limited lack effective dissemination, implementation evaluation. newly revised will be completed 2007 this paper outlines how Outcome Mapping used create a detailed comprehensive bridging gap between...

The pharmacy profession necessitates continual revision of undergraduate training to meet both changing and challenging health needs. Service-learning is a teaching methodology that assists professions academic institutions in facilitating curriculum changes improve the competence graduates. This method addresses core requirements as stipulated by South African Pharmacy Council for entry-level pharmacists. aim service-learning was introduce an educational intervention students would enable...

Lifelong learning among healthcare practitioners is crucial to keep abreast of advances in therapeutic and service delivery approaches. In South Africa, continuous professional development (CPD) was mandated (2019) for re-registration pharmacists illustrate their according the African Pharmacy Council’s (SAPC) competency standards. This paper uses a preceptor programme linked University Western Cape School Pharmacy’s map competencies employed by pharmacist preceptors primary care public...

Social justice underpins the sustainable development goal of health for all. In developing countries, social injustices are particularly severe and widespread, demanding critical immediate attention. This article describes a qualitative, descriptive study that investigated pharmacy students’ responses to incidents injustice following their service-learning experiences in public-sector primary healthcare facilities Cape Town, South Africa. Data were gathered from written reflection reports...