Browsing by Author "Lau, Yan Kwan"

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    Health promotion via SMS improves hypertension knowledge for deaf South Africans
    (BioMed Central, 2017-08-18) Haricharan, Hanne Jensen; Heap, Marion; Hacking, Damian; Lau, Yan Kwan
    Background: Signing Deaf South Africans have limited access to health information. As a result, their knowledge about health is limited. Cell phone usage in South Africa is high. This study aimed to assess whether a short message service (SMS)-based health promotion campaign could improve Deaf people’s knowledge of hypertension and healthy living. Additionally, the study aimed to assess the acceptability of using SMSs for health promotion targeting Deaf people. Methods: A baseline questionnaire assessed participants’ knowledge about hypertension before an SMS-based information campaign was conducted. After the campaign, an exit questionnaire was conducted, containing the same questions as the baseline questionnaire with additional questions about general acceptability and communication preferences. Results were compared between baseline and exit, using McNemar’s test, paired t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Focus groups aimed to get further information on the impact and acceptability of SMSs. The focus groups were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: The campaign recruited 82 participants for the baseline survey, but due to significant loss-to-follow-up and exclusions only 41 participants were included in the analysis of the survey. The majority (60%) were men. Eighty percent were employed, while 98% had not finished high school. The campaign showed a statistically significant improvement in overall knowledge about hypertension and healthy living amongst participants. Six individual questions out of 19 also showed a statistically significant improvement. Despite this, participants in focus groups found the medical terminology difficult to understand. Several ways of improving SMS campaigns for the Deaf were identified. These included using using pictures, using ‘signed’ SMSs, combining SMSs with signed drama and linking SMS-campaigns to an interactive communication service that would enable the Deaf to pose questions for clarification. Focus groups suggested that participants who were hypertensive during the campaign adopted a healthier lifestyle. Conclusion: SMSs were effective in improving Deaf people’s knowledge of hypertension and healthy living. However, SMS-campaigns should be cognizant of Deaf people’s unique needs and communication preference and explore how to accommodate these. Trial registration: The research was registered with the Pan African Clinical Trial Registry on December 1, 2015. Identification number: PACTR201512001353476.
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    Investigating the relationship between social capital and self-rated health in South Africa
    (2014) Lau, Yan Kwan; Ataguba, John
    Much research has examined the relationship between social capital and self-rated health in developed countries. Few studies, however, have investigated this important relationship in developing countries. This study examined this research gap using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the first nationally representative panel study in South Africa. Information regarding social capital - norms of reciprocity, association activity, trust and group membership - was assessed in NIDS. Self-rated health was collected at Wave 1 in 2008, and Wave 2 in 2010 - 2011. The final sample consisted of 8866 respondents. Mixed effects models were fitted to predict self-rated health in Wave 2, using lagged covariates (from Wave 1). The results indicated that individual personalised trust, individual community service group membership and neighbourhood personalised trust were beneficial to self-rated health. Reciprocity, associational activity and other types of group memberships were not found to be significantly associated with self-rated health. Results indicate that both individual- and contextual-level social capital are associated with self-rated health. Policy makers in South Africa may want to consider social capital, in addition to other well-known social determinants of health, when implementing policies to improve the health of its population.
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    Open Access
    Investigating the relationship between social capital and self-rated health in South Africa
    (2014) Lau, Yan Kwan; Ataguba, John
    Much research has examined the relationship between social capital and self-rated health in developed countries. Few studies, however, have investigated this important relationship in developing countries. This study examined this research gap using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), the first nationally representative panel study in South Africa. Information regarding social capital - norms of reciprocity, association activity, trust and group membership - was assessed in NIDS. Self-rated health was collected at Wave 1 in 2008, and Wave 2 in 2010 - 2011. The final sample consisted of 8866 respondents. Mixed effects models were fitted to predict self-rated health in Wave 2, using lagged covariates (from Wave 1). The results indicated that individual personalised trust, individual community service group membership and neighbourhood personalised trust were beneficial to self-rated health. Reciprocity, associational activity and other types of group memberships were not found to be significantly associated with self-rated health. Results indicate that both individual- and contextual-level social capital are associated with self-rated health. Policy makers in South Africa may want to consider social capital, in addition to other well-known social determinants of health, when implementing policies to improve the health of its population.