Browsing by Author "Mayers, P"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Building capacity for antiretroviral delivery in South Africa: A qualitative evaluation of the PALSA PLUS nurse training programme
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2008) Stein, J; Lewin, S; Fairall, L; Mayers, P; English, R; Bheekie, A; Bateman, E; Zwarenstein, M
    BACKGROUND: South Africa recently launched a national antiretroviral treatment programme. This has created an urgent need for nurse-training in antiretroviral treatment (ART) delivery. The PALSA PLUS programme provides guidelines and training for primary health care (PHC) nurses in the management of adult lung diseases and HIV/AIDS, including ART. A process evaluation was undertaken to document the training, explore perceptions regarding the value of the training, and compare the PALSA PLUS training approach (used at intervention sites) with the provincial training model. The evaluation was conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial measuring the effects of the PALSA PLUS nurse-training (Trial reference number ISRCTN24820584). METHODS: Qualitative methods were utilized, including participant observation of training sessions, focus group discussions and interviews. Data were analyzed thematically. RESULTS: Nurse uptake of PALSA PLUS training, with regard not only to ART specific components but also lung health, was high. The ongoing on-site training of all PHC nurses, as opposed to the once-off centralized training provided for ART nurses only at non-intervention clinics, enhanced nurses' experience of support for their work by allowing, not only for ongoing experiential learning, supervision and emotional support, but also for the ongoing managerial review of all those infrastructural and system-level changes required to facilitate health provider behaviour change and guideline implementation. The training of all PHC nurses in PALSA PLUS guideline use, as opposed to ART nurses only, was also perceived to better facilitate the integration of AIDS care within the clinic context. CONCLUSION: PALSA PLUS training successfully engaged all PHC nurses in a comprehensive approach to a range of illnesses affecting both HIV positive and negative patients. PHC nurse-training for integrated systems-based interventions should be prioritized on the ART funding agenda. Training for individual provider behaviour change is nonetheless only one aspect of the ongoing system-wide interventions required to effect lasting improvements in patient care in the context of an over-burdened and under-resourced PHC system.
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    An exploration into the learning of occupational therapy students at a role-emerging service learning site in the Cape Metropole
    (2006) Flieringa, Hanske; Duncan, M; Mayers, P
    There is a growing demand for primary health care services in South Africa following its adoption by the National Departmet of Health in 1995. To address this demand, the government has implemented compulsory community service (CCS) for all health professional graduates, many of whom are placed in unde-resourced areas of the country with limited infrastructure or professional supervision. Occupational therapy graduates therefore require appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes for primary health care practice.
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    Gender-related vulnerability to sexually transmitted HIV infection in women home care workers
    (2005) Macleod-Downes, Leslie; Albertyn, R M; Mayers, P
    The purpose of this study was firstly to analyse the factors determining the vulnerability of women for sexually transmitted HIV. Secondly, to investigate if the measurement of the empowerment level of the participants could lead to programme adaptations to improve the efficacy of a training intervention. The intervention was an HIV training programme making use of enhancements. Effectiveness was measured in terms of raising the empowerment status while lowering the HIV risk.
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    An investigation of learning style preferences of nurses in training at two nursing schools in public health facilities in Cape Town
    (2015) Fisher, Gohwa; Mayers, P
    Aim: To investigate the preferred learning styles of learner nurses i.e. enrolled/staff nurses and auxiliary nurses, in nursing schools within public health facilities in the Cape Town Metropolitan district of the Western Cape, South Africa. Objectives: To determine individual learning styles of learner nurses registered for a training programme in a school of nursing. To establish the differences between the categories of learner nurses with regards to the learning style preference. To determine a possible relationship between demographic and educational background of the individual and the preferred learning style.
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    A profile of skill deficits in grade 2 learners with dyslexia
    (2005) Cresswell, Amanda; Sorour, P; Mayers, P
    Includes bibliographical references.
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    The dissemination and implementation of national asthma guidelines in south africa: the use of outcome mapping
    (2007) Mash, R; Ainslie, G; Irusen, E; Mayers, P; Bheekie, A
    Asthma is an important chronic inflammatory disorder with significant morbidity and mortality in South Africa. The development of national asthma guidelines by the South African Thoracic Society and National Asthma Education Programme has been one approach to try and improve the quality of care. The impact of previous guidelines has been limited and therefore it is hoped that the newly revised 2007 guidelines will have a more effective approach to dissemination, implementation and evaluation. Outcome mapping (OM) is one approach to integrated planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects that intend to contribute to change in complex systems. It has a structured, systematic and logical approach that focuses on changes in behaviour, actions or relationships in the people or organizations that the project is working with. OM has three stages - intentional design, outcome/performance monitoring and evaluation - which are described in this article and illustrated with reference to the Asthma Guideline Implementation Project (AGIP). In the intentional design stage the AGIP created a vision and mission statement to guide the project and then identified seven boundary partners. For each boundary partner the AGIP defined the project's outcome challenge and a series of progress markers to monitor achievement of the outcome. Following this the AGIP conceptualized the strategies and organizational practices that will be engaged with to realize the outcomes. In the monitoring stage the AGIP will regularly document and reflect on the progress markers, strategies and organizational practices using pre-determined structured journals. In the evaluation stage there is the opportunity to plan the evaluation of key aspects of the project in more depth. In the AGIP project the team engaged with the development of a doctoral research project to evaluate the process of implementation in private and public primary care settings in the Cape Town metropole. This article describes the methodology of Outcome Mapping and illustrates this in relation to the Asthma Guidelines Implementation Project. The methodology has the potential to be applied in many other development projects and is also congruent with action research. It is hoped that the readers will find this approach useful in their own settings.