Suchergebnisse

BACKGROUND: South Africa is currently undergoing a nutrition transition, and overweight and obesity is on the increase in South African children. Urbanization and other health determinants have led to reduced physical activity and unhealthy eating that have increased the risk of adverse chronic health conditions. This study aims to provide evidence of the effectiveness of a school-based intervention study that targets diet and physical activity for the prevention of child and adolescent overweight and/or obesity. METHODS: We will employ a mixed method study design which is divided into two phases. Phase 1, namely the qualitative elicitation research phase will inform the development of the quantitative intervention phase (phase 2), consisting of a cluster-randomized trial, based on input from key stakeholders. The study will be undertaken in 16 government-funded primary schools in the iLembe district of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study will target learners in Grades 4 and 7, their parents, Life Orientation educators, school principals and members of school governing bodies. Assessment for the primary objective (BMI Z scores), and the secondary objectives (change in knowledge, attitudes and behaviours regarding diet and physical activity) in both study arms will be conducted at baseline in March 2020 and at the end of the study in October 2020. DISCUSSION: The study will be a novel combined mixed methods/RCT design that focuses on diet, physical activity school and family-based interventions in the context of rapidly increasing overweight and obesity prevalence in KwaZulu-Natal. To encourage behaviour change and management of malnutrition, education including diet and physical activity, is an important strategy that must be considered. Nutrition education extends beyond the dissemination of food information; it includes addressing the needs of participants, empowers and encourages decision-making and choice of foods, change in nutrition attitudes, beliefs and influences based on resources available and within cultural boundaries. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan African Clinical Trial Registry PACTR201711002699153. Protocol registered on 16 November 2017.

Hopelessness is defined as having a pessimistic expectation of the future and the belief that goals are unachievable. It is reported to be high among the unemployed. During the Covid-19 pandemic, unemployment increased, especially among young graduates. Hence, in this study, we aimed to find the factors that contributed to developing feelings of hopelessness in unemployed South African graduates. This study made use of the survey data obtained from the larger Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) study. The primary outcome variable was the presence of hopelessness, which was based on Beck's Hopelessness Scale (BHS). The study participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on a data-free online platform within two months of commencement of employment in the PYEI internship programme. The survey data were analysed using Stata 15.0. (StataCorp Texas USA 2016). The prevalence of hopelessness was presented by the independent variables of interest. Bivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the association between the independent variables with the primary outcome of hopelessness. Our study reported that being "not African" was associated with hopelessness and that prolonged social media use protected against developing feelings of hopelessness. Identifying these risk factors is vital in caring for the mental health of South Africans.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes is a chronic disease of uncontrolled blood sugar levels. People with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing visual impairment and other diabetes-related visual complications. The study aims to determine the eyecare utilization pattern and its associated determinants among diabetics in the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 56.2 years and 66.6% were females. The prevalence of eyecare utilization among participants was 49.0% and this differed significantly by age groups (p = 0.024) and the number of years since diabetes diagnosis (p < 0.001). After statistical adjustments, older age (55–64 years OR = 4.18, p = 0.003 and ≥ 65 years OR = 4.78, p = 0.002), having health insurance (OR = 6.32, p = 0.002), and having had diabetes for 6–10 years (OR = 4.23, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with eye care utilization. About half of people diagnosed with diabetes in South Africa have had an eye examination since diabetes diagnosis, which is disturbingly low given the impact of diabetes complications on eye health. Government policies must be directed at ensuring access to affordable health insurance and eye health education on diabetes.

Background: COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc in different countries across the world, claiming thousands of lives, increasing morbidity and disrupting lifestyles. The global scientific community is in urgent need of relevant evidence, to understand the challenges and knowledge gaps, as well as the opportunities to contain the spread of the virus. Considering the unique socio-economic, demographic, political, ecological and climatic contexts in Africa, the responses which may prove to be successful in other regions may not be appropriate on the continent. This paper aims to provide insight for scientists, policy makers and international agencies to contain the virus and to mitigate its impact at all levels. Methods: The Affiliates of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), came together to synthesize the current evidence, identify the challenges and opportunities to enhance the understanding of the disease. We assess the potential impact of this pandemic and the unique challenges of the disease on African nations. We examine the state of Africa's preparedness and make recommendations for steps needed to win the war against this pandemic and combat potential resurgence. Results: We identified gaps and opportunities among cross-cutting issueswhich must be addressed or harnessed in this pandemic. Factors such as the nature of the virus and the opportunities for drug targeting, point of care diagnostics, health surveillance systems, food security, mental health, xenophobia and gender-based violence, shelter for the homeless, water and sanitation, telecommunications challenges, domestic regional coordination and financing. Conclusion: Based on our synthesis of the current evidence, while there are plans for preparedness in several African countries, there are significant limitations. A multi-sectoral efforts from the science, education, medical, technology, communication, business, and industry sectors, as well as local communities, must work collaboratively to assist countries in order to win this fight.

This work was supported through the Alliance for Accelerating Excellence in Science in Africa (AESA), a funding, agenda-setting, programme management initiative of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), the African- Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), founding and funding global partners and through a resolution of the summit of African Union Heads of Governments. ; The evolving nature of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has necessitated periodic revisions of COVID-19 patient treatment and discharge guidelines. Since the identification of the first COVID-19 cases in November 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) has played a crucial role in tackling the country-level pandemic preparedness and patient management protocols. Among others, the WHO provided a guideline on the clinical management of COVID-19 patients according to which patients can be released from isolation centers on the 10th day following clinical symptom manifestation, with a minimum of 72 additional hours following the resolution of symptoms. However, emerging direct evidence indicating the possibility of viral shedding 14 days after the onset of symptoms called for evaluation of the current WHO discharge recommendations. In this review article, we carried out comprehensive literature analysis of viral shedding with specific focus on the duration of viral shedding and infectivity in asymptomatic and symptomatic (mild, moderate, and severe forms) COVID-19 patients. Our literature search indicates that even though, there are specific instances where the current protocols may not be applicable ( such as in immune-compromised patients there is no strong evidence to contradict the current WHO discharge criteria. ; Publisher PDF ; Peer reviewed