Browsing by Subject "Western Cape"
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- ItemOpen AccessA situational analysis of child and adolescent mental health services and systems in the Western Cape Province of South Africa(BioMed Central, 2022-01-25) Mokitimi, Stella; Schneider, Marguerite; de Vries, Petrus JBackground Even though child and adolescent mental health is a global health priority, services are very limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), and therefore need comprehensive strengthening. This requires knowledge of the hardware elements of the system (human resources, financing, medicines, technology, organisational structure, service infrastructure, and information systems). This study sought to examine these elements of child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) services and systems in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Methods The World Health Organization Assessment Instrument of Mental Health Systems (WHO-AIMS) version 2.2 of 2005 was adapted to identify key variables of interest in CAMH. Data were collected for the calendar year 2016 and focused on the public health sector. We outlined findings based on best available data across the six domains of the WHO-AIMS. Results In domain 1, we found no provincial CAMH policy or implementation plans to support the national CAMH policy and were unable to identify a CAMH-specific budget. In domain 2, there was no dedicated provincial leadership structure for CAMH, and no dedicated or ‘child- and adolescent-friendly’ mental health services at primary or secondary care levels. At tertiary level, there were only three specialist CAMH teams. The majority of CAMH resources were based in the City of Cape Town, with limited resources in the rural districts. Essential medicines were available in all facilities, and the majority of children and adolescents had access to free services. In domain 3, data were limited about the extent of training offered to primary healthcare staff, and little or no psychosocial interventions were available in primary care. Domain 4 identified a small and variable CAMH workforce across all levels of care. In domain 5, few public health campaigns focused on CAMH, and little evidence of formal intersectoral collaboration on CAMH was identified. Domain 6 identified significant limitations in health information systems for CAMH, including lack of child- and adolescent-specific and disaggregated data to establish baselines for policy development, monitoring, evaluation and CAMH research. Conclusions This study identified significant structural weaknesses in CAMH and presents a clear call for action to strengthen services and systems in the province and in South Africa. it would be important to expand research also to include provider and user perspectives for service strengthening.
- ItemOpen AccessAn audit of the prevalence of abnormal fasting blood glucose levels in patients presenting for elective surgery at a selection of Western Cape government hospitals(2019) Biesman-Simons, Tessa; Nejthardt, Marcin; Biccard, Bruce; Roodt, FrancoisBackground. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common condition. The high burden of undiagnosed DM and lack of large population studies make accurate prevalence estimations difficult, especially in the surgical environment. Furthermore, poorly controlled DM is associated with an increased risk of perioperative complications and mortality. Objectives. The primary objective was to establish the prevalence of DM in elective adult non-cardiac, non-obstetric surgical patients in Western Cape hospitals. The secondary objectives were to assess the glycaemic control and compliance with treatment of known diabetics. Methods. This was a five-day, multicentre, prospective observational study performed at six government-funded hospitals in the Western Cape. Screening for DM was done using fingerprick capillary blood glucose (CBG) testing. Patients found to have a CBG of ≥ 6.5 mmol/L had an HbA1c level done. DM was diagnosed based on the Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes of South Africa (SEMDSA) diagnostic criteria. Patients known with DM had an HbA1c performed and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4) questionnaires completed, to assess glycaemic control and compliance with treatment. Results. Of the 379 participants, 61 were known diabetics (16.15%; 95% CI 12.4-19.8%). After exclusion of eight patients with incomplete results, a new diagnosis of DM was made in five out of 310 patients (1.6%; 95% CI 0.2-3.0%). Overall prevalence of DM was 17.8% (66/371; 95% CI 13.9-21.7%). HbA1c results were available in 57 (93.4%) of the 61 known diabetics. Of these 27 (47.4%; 95% CI 34.4-60.3%) had an HbA1c level≥8.5% and 14 (24.6%; 95% CI 13.4 - 35.8%) had an HbA1c ≤7%. Based on positive responses to two or more questions on their MMAS-4 questionnaires, 12 out of 60 participants (20%) were deemed non-compliant. Conclusion. There is a low rate of undiagnosed DM in our elective surgical population; however there is a large proportion of poorly controlled DM. Since poorly controlled DM is known to increase postoperative complications, this likely increases the burden of perioperative care. Resources should be focused on improvement of long-term glycaemic control in patients presenting for elective surgery.
- ItemOpen AccessAvian malaria prevalence and mosquito abundance in the Western Cape, South Africa(BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Okanga, Sharon; Cumming, Graeme; Hockey, PhillipBACKGROUND:The close relationship between vector-borne diseases and their environment is well documented, especially for diseases with water-dependent vectors such as avian malaria. Mosquitoes are the primary vectors of avian malaria and also the definitive hosts in the disease life cycle. Factors pertinent to mosquito ecology are likely to be influential to observed infection patterns; such factors include rainfall, season, temperature, and water quality. METHODS: The influence of mosquito abundance and occurrence on the prevalence of Plasmodium spp. in the Ploceidae family (weavers) was examined, taking into account factors with an indirect influence upon mosquito ecology. Mosquitoes and weaver blood samples were simultaneously collected in the Western Cape, South Africa over a two-year period, and patterns of vector abundance and infection prevalence were compared. Dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and salinity measurements were taken at 20 permanent waterbodies. Rainfall during this period was also quantified using remotely sensed data from up to 6months prior to sampling months. RESULTS: Sixteen wetlands had weavers infected with avian malaria. More than half of the mosquitoes caught were trapped at one site; when this site was excluded, the number of mosquitoes trapped did not vary significantly between sites. The majority of mosquitoes collected belonged to the predominant vector species group for avian malaria (Culex culex species complex). Seasonal variation occurred in infection and mosquito prevalence, water pH and water temperature, with greater variability observed in summer than in winter. There was a significant correlation of infection prevalence with rainfall two months prior to sampling months. Mosquito prevalence patterns across the landscape also showed a close relationship to patterns of rainfall. Contrary to predictions, a pattern of asynchronous co-variation occurred between mosquito prevalence and infection prevalence. CONCLUSION: Overall, salinity, rainfall, and mosquito prevalence and season were the most influential vector-related factors on infection prevalence. After comparison with related studies, the tentative conclusion drawn was that patterns of asynchronous variation between malaria prevalence and mosquito abundance were concurrent with those reported in lag response patterns.
- ItemOpen AccessChanging the game: public education and the discourses and practices of privatisation in educational technology policy and intervention(2020) Staschen, Orrie; Kell, CatherinePrivatisation in education is a contentious issue, inseparable from the shift in focus from community-based education initiatives to individualistic and economically driven ones (Ball and Youdell, 2007). This raises ethical issues with initiatives like the Western Cape Government's Game Changer initiatives, given the range of access issues that learners experience in the pervasive social inequity of South Africa. There is a lack of existing research on privatisation practices in public education in the Western Cape, specifically what linguistic strategies are utilized in the official texts promoting it. The Game Changer initiatives and their associated ‘Roadmaps' promote non-state collaboration in extra- curricular eLearning classes and broader technology rollout in under resourced public schools. Analysis of the Roadmap policy reveals discourses of fast capitalism, skills talk, datafication and digital nativism. These discourses were mirrored in the practices, text and talk generated in an after-school mathematics intervention run by an EdTech company, which I have called ZipEd, in a Cape Flats school between 2017-2018. The company prioritized their funder's mandate and to prove their software's efficacy, spun data to reflect largely positive results. In the rush to provide this data, ZipEd entered several schools without fulfilling ethical clearance requirements. Obtaining access to Game Changer pilot sites ensured ZipEd's product rollout, continued growth, and financial success, revealing the neoliberal approaches which dominate ZipEd's practices. The Game Changer policy texts and the intervention observed, treated languages as silo-ed entities, ignoring family or community approaches to literacy initiatives, curricular reform, trans-languaging strategies and inclusive language learning. While EdTech is a useful teaching tool, this promotion of “exogenous” (Ball and Youdell, 2007) privatisation in the Western Cape, blurs the lines between state and non-state involvement, ultimately resulting in the commodification of public schooling.
- ItemOpen AccessChild and adolescent mental health services in the Western Cape Province of South Africa: the perspectives of service providers(2022-07-14) Mokitimi, Stella; Jonas, Kim; Schneider, Marguerite; de Vries, Petrus JBackground Current work in the field point to the need to strengthen child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) globally, and especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Policy development, planning and service provision must be relevant to the needs of stakeholders at grassroots level, and should include their perspectives. This study set out to explore the perspectives and lived experiences of service providers, including their recommendations to strengthen CAMHS in South Africa. Methods Using focus group discussions (FGDs) and semi-structured individual interviews (SSIIs), qualitative data were collected from 46 purposefully selected multidisciplinary health service providers across the Western Cape, one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Audio-recorded data were entered into NVivo 11 (QSR), and thematic analysis was performed by two independent raters. Results Results highlighted a significant lack of CAMH resources, poor intersectoral collaboration, limited access to training, absence of consistency and uniformity in service delivery, weak support for staff, and high rates of negative attitudes of staff. External factors contributing to poor CAMHS identified by service providers included poor socioeconomic circumstances, high rates of HIV/AIDS, substance use and stigma. The eight recommendations to strengthen CAMHS included a need to (1) increase CAMH staffing, (2) provide dedicated CAMHS at secondary care and child-friendly infrastructure at primary care, (3) review current service focus on number of patients seen versus quality of care provided to children, (4) formalise intersectoral collaborations, (5) increase learning opportunities for trainees, (6) employ a lead professional for CAMHS in the province, (7) increase support for staff, and (8) acknowledge staff initiatives. Conclusions Findings underlined the need for quality improvement, standardisation and scale-up of mental health services for children and adolescents in South Africa. Whilst we used the Western Cape as a ‘case study’, we propose that our findings may also be relevant to other LMICs. We recommend that the perspectives of service users, including children and adolescents, be sought to inform service transformation.
- ItemOpen AccessExploring the influence of funding sources on business incubation in the Western Cape(2020) Milne, James; Dhlamini, XolisaThe topic of business incubation has been the subject of considerable academic research, and a focal point in entrepreneurship support ecosystems. Business incubators provide entrepreneurs and start-up businesses with a shared space (either physical or virtual). The incubator offers a systematic shared support structure that enhances businesses' chances of succeeding and growing into entities that eventually graduate to a location beyond the ‘safety net' of the incubator. Academic research in the field of incubation has predominantly focused on (i) understanding business incubation models that are most effective within particular operating environments; and (ii) understanding support services that are most useful to incubatees of the incubator. This research instead explores the influence that funding sources have on business incubators, with a focus on understanding how incubators in turn assist their incubatees in accessing finance. Research focusing on funder influence on incubators, and support provided to incubatees to assist with access to finance, is at a nascent stage within the South African business incubation landscape. The research was undertaken utilising a multiple case study approach, with individual business incubators constituting a case. Incubators were classified into three case typologies, depending on their predominant funding source: mixed; private; or public funded. From the population of business incubators in South Africa, a sample of 8 incubators within the Western Cape Province were selected. Semi-structured interviews with participants were undertaken over a three month period and involved undertaking interviews with 8 incubator managers, and 10 current or former incubatees. Qualitative data from participant interviews were analysed using a combination of NVivo12 and MS Excel, in order to determine responses relevant to the research question and subquestions. The information collected was categorised into themes of relevance using initial and pattern coding methodologies. The research suggests that funders influence the work of incubators through driving their own objectives, utilising the incubator as a tool. Public sector funders set objectives for incubators that were linked to achieving socioeconomic goals (poverty alleviation and economic redress). Public sector funders were found to be strongly focused on achieving their own performance indicator goals, even if these did not align to the work of the incubators. Private sector funders set objectives for incubators that were linked to achieving the goals of their organisation or fund mandate. Private sector funders were found to lack long-term commitment to funding incubators. Communication between public and private sector funders was found to be, in general, poorly co-ordinated. Lack of co-ordination between funders negatively affected the impact of incubators. The cross-case multiple case study methodology revealed that in the Western Cape, similarities exist in the channels of support provided by incubators to assist their incubatees in accessing funding, regardless of the funding structure of the business incubator. However, heterogeneous priorities exist in funding support services provided to incubatees. Bias was identified in the process of sourcing of funding for incubatees. Incubators pursued a blend of proactive and reactive approaches to accessing funding for their incubatees, depending on their relationship with funder(s). The researcher recommends a strengthening of efforts to co-ordinate objectives across the two broad spheres of incubator funding sources (public and private) in order to build effective and sustainable business incubators in South Africa. Financiers of incubators should review stakeholders and other financiers involved in the incubator to clarify policy, commitments and performance metrics. Emphasis must be placed on ensuring alignment (i) between incubator financiers; (ii) between the objectives of the financier(s) and the incubator. The current study is well suited to being expanded in future, both in terms of: (i) widening the interview participant base to include incubator financiers; (ii) a geographic expansion to focus on South Africa as a whole.
- ItemOpen AccessImpact of air connectivity on tourism, FDI and trade: insight from the Western Cape(2020) Nonyati, Sibusiso; Alhassan, Abdul LatifThis study investigated the impact of air connectivity on macroeconomic factors, specifically tourism, FDI and trade in the Western Cape, based on quarterly data from 2010 to 2018. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds approach for cointegration was used to assess whether long-run relationships existed between air connectivity and tourism, FDI and trade. The ARDL bounds test found a cointegrated relationship between air connectivity and tourism, FDI and trade respectively. Air connectivity was found to have a positive and significant long-run relationship with tourism This also supports the literature findings that air connectivity improves countries' accessibility and increases tourist arrivals from various markets. This confirms that air connectivity leads to an increase in the number of international tourists visiting the Western Cape, which contributes significantly to the tourism industry and the Western Cape economy. In addition, air connectivity was observed to have a positive but statistically insignificant long-run relationship with FDI and trade respectively. Therefore, this study concludes that air connectivity plays a key role in the economy, specifically regarding tourism through the facilitation of more tourists into the Western Cape. Furthermore, although the study showed positive and insignificant relationships between air connectivity and FDI and trade respectively, air connectivity is related to FDI and trade and these relationships require further investigation. Therefore, it is recommended that policymakers and decisionmakers on the African continent need to have initiatives that support the improvement of air connectivity, especially given that Africa has only a 2.2% market share of global air passengers and less than 10% of the continent's population uses air transport. Other African countries and regions should use a similar approach to what the Western Cape has done to improve the air connectivity between Cape Town and the rest of the world. In addition, investment in airports and airport-related infrastructure is critical and necessary, as poor airport infrastructure has been cited to be one of the obstacles in improving air connectivity in the continent. Furthermore, the development of an air connectivity index for the continent is required. This index will have to take into account the availability of data and the African context. Where data does not exist, a robust plan for the collection of data will also have to be developed. Lastly, the regulation of the aviation market needs urgent attention, starting with an Open Skies policy. The deregulation of air access could play a significant role in improving the African Continent's air connectivity.
- ItemOpen Access'It’s not just the learner, it's the system!' Teachers’ perspectives on written language difficulties: Implications for speech-language therapy(OASIS Publishing, 2011) Navsaria, Indira; Pascoe, Michelle; Kathard, HarshaThe failure to achieve academic outcomes in linguistically diverse classrooms in poor areas of the Western Cape, South Africa, is well documented. A major contributing factor is the written language communication difficulties experienced in these classrooms. This paper describes the views of intermediate-phase teachers on why written language difficulties are experienced by learners and ways in which these difficulties might be overcome. A series of interviews were conducted with two class teachers in one urban school from which there had been a high number of referrals for speech-language therapy. The teachers were individually interviewed using an in-depth, semi-structured format. Teachers reported that 50 - 70% of learners in their classes were not meeting grade level academic outcomes. They were asked to explain the difficulties experienced with regard to written language, and the challenges and solutions linked to these. The findings suggest that there are barriers and opportunities at the school system, individual learner and home/social community levels. Major challenges identified at the school system level included limited training and lack of support for teachers, poor foundation skills in learners and difficulties with language. The current opportunities for the development of written language were insufficient and teachers identified further opportunities to promote the learners’ written language development. These included training and support for teachers, clear and consistent assessment guidelines, remedial assistance for learners and safe, nurturing home environments. There is a need to look beyond the learner as the site of the problem; a systemic approach is essential. In the light of these findings, suggestions are made for the role of the speech-language therapist.
- ItemOpen AccessLocal government policy in South Africa 1980-1989 (with specific reference to the Western Cape) : devolution, delegation, deconcentration or centralisation?(1991) Cameron, Robert; Welsh, David; Bekker, SimonThis thesis is an examination of the National Party's policy of decentralisation of powers to local authorities in the 1980s. The thesis concentrates primarily on urban local government and its objectives are: 1. To trace the evolution of the south African state's policy of devolution of powers to local authorities in the 1980s; 2. To examine critically the main features of new local government legislation in this period, with particular reference to the devolution of powers policy; 3. To apply a normative framework for analysis, which can help serve as a heuristic device, in determining the extent of decentralisation that has occurred, to selected local authorities in the western Cape. The primary sources of research material that were consulted were Hansard, Acts of parliament, government commissions and gazettes, year books, provincial debates, ordinances, gazettes, circulars and local authorities' minutes and publications. Approximately 50 qualitative interviews were also conducted. The framework of analysis utilised certain indices, namely personnel, access, functions, party politics, finance and hierarchical relations, to measure the extent of decentralisation that has occurred in three local authorities in the Western Cape. This framework helped determine that limited devolution of powers had occurred. There were four major reasons for the reluctance of the National Party to devolve extensive powers to local authorities. First and foremost, reform policy was made in an elitist, top-down manner by a small group of reformers in order to ensure that the government could share power without losing control. The corollary of this centralised policy-making was the tendency of centr.al and provincial authorities not to devolve extensive powers to local authorities. Secondly, there was the viewpoint of the central government that the local government development process had to be controlled from the top because of the lack of sufficient skills, experience and finance at local level. Thirdly, the need for macro-economic financial control was· also a brake on the devolution process. Fourthly, the government believed that, in a unitary state, central government should always have a relative degree of control over local authorities' activities.
- ItemOpen AccessMedicine and the Arts Week 2 - Me and TB: children's accounts of tuberculosis and the clinic(2015-01-21) Abney, KateIn this video, medical anthropologist Kate Abney shares some of the stories told by young patients in the tuberculosis (TB) wards of hospitals across South Africa’s Western Cape where she worked. She describes how she has helped to facilitate storytelling among young TB patients through art. This is the third video in Week 2 of the Medicine and the Arts Massive Open Online Course.
- ItemOpen AccessPotential impacts of climate change and land-use change on hydrological drought in the Western Cape (South Africa)(2022) Naik, Myra; Abiodun, BabatundeThe Western Cape (South Africa) recently witnessed the most severe drought on record. The meteorological drought, which was characterised by below-normal rainfall for three consecutive years (2015 – 2017), cascaded to agricultural and then hydrological drought, resulting in devastating socio-economic consequences. While some studies indicate that climate change may increase the severity and frequency of droughts in the Western Cape in the future, there is a lack of information on how to mitigate the effects of future climate change on hydrological drought. This dissertation therefore investigated the extent to which land-use changes could be applied to reduce climate change impacts on future hydrological drought in this region. For the study, the revised Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT+) was calibrated and evaluated over four river basins in the Western Cape, and the climate simulation dataset from the COordinated Regional Downscaling EXperiment (CORDEX) was bias-corrected. Using the bias-corrected climate data as a forcing, the SWAT+ was used to project the impacts of future climate change on water yield and hydrological drought in the four basins and to quantify the sensitivity of the projection to four feasible land-use change scenarios in these basins. The relevant land-use scenarios are the expansion of mixed forests (FrLand), the restoration of grassland (GrLand), the restoration of shrubland (SrLand), and the expansion of cropland (CrLand). The model evaluation shows good agreement between the simulated and observed monthly streamflow at hydrological stations, and the bias correction of the CORDEX datasets improved the quality of the SWAT+ hydrological simulations in the four basins. The climate change projection depicts an increase in temperature and potential evapotranspiration but a decrease in precipitation and all the hydrological variables. Drying is projected across the Western Cape, and the magnitude of such drying increases with higher global warming levels (GWLs). The land-use changes alter the impacts of climate change by influencing the hydrological balance. While FrLand mitigates the impacts of climate change on the frequency of hydrological drought by increasing streamflow, soil water and percolation, CrLand mitigates the impacts by increasing surface runoff. However, the magnitudes of these land-use change impacts are very small compared to the climate change impacts. Hence, the results suggest that land-use changes may not be an efficient strategy for mitigating the climate change impacts on hydrological drought over the region. The findings obtained from this 2 research provide relevant information towards mitigating the severity of future droughts and improving water security in Western Cape River Basins.
- ItemOpen AccessQuality of asthma care: Western Cape Province, South Africa(2009)Asthma is the eighth leading contributor to the burden of disease in South Africa, but has received less attention than other chronic diseases. The Asthma Guidelines Implementation Project (AGIP) was established to improve the impact of the South African guidelines for chronic asthma in adults and adolescents in the Western Cape. One strategy was an audit tool to assist with assessing and improving the quality of care. Methods. The audit of asthma care targeted all primary care facilities that managed adult patients with chronic asthma within all six districts of the Western Cape province. The usual steps in the quality improvement cycle were followed. Results. Data were obtained from 957 patients from 46 primary care facilities. Only 80% of patients had a consistent diagnosis of asthma, 11.5% of visits assessed control and 23.2% recorded a peak expiratory flow (PEF), 14% of patients had their inhaler technique assessed and 11.2% were given a self-management plan; 81% of medication was in stock, and the controller/reliever dispensing ratio was 0.6. Only 31.5% of patients were well controlled, 16.3% of all visits were for exacerbations, and 17.6% of all patients had been hospitalised in the previous year. Conclusion. The availability of medication and prescription of inhaled steroids is reasonable, yet control is poor. Health workers do not adequately distinguish asthma from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, do not assess control by questions or PEF, do not adequately demonstrate or assess the inhaler technique, and have no systematic approach to or resources for patient education. Ten recommendations are made to improve asthma care.
- ItemRestrictedA spatial model of African penguin Spheniscus demersus populations in the Western Cape(2007) Plagányi, Éva EA number of questions have recently been raised regarding the status and management of the African penguin Spheniscus demersus. The PWG penguin task team agreed that it would be useful to develop a dynamic model to assist in understanding the population dynamics as well as in an attempt to reconcile the various data sources. This document describes the development of such a model. Although still preliminary only, the model is of a form that can readily be linked to the pelagic OMP (Operational Management Procedure) to take account of the relationship between the breeding success of African penguins and the abundance of both anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and/or sardine Sardinops sagax (e.g. Crawford et al. 2006). The aims of the current model are as follows: 1) To provide a dynamic representation of penguin dynamics; 2) To fit to available data to provide estimates of important demographic parameters such as survival rates, which can then be compared to other available estimates; 3) To attempt to reconcile some apparent contradictory trends in the different data series; 4) By gradually increasing the complexity of the model to represent different plausible hypotheses, the model should assist in identifying the most parsimonious hypothesis to explain the observed trends in the population; 5) To quantify and provide additional substantiation for the relationship between penguin breeding success and pelagic fish abundance; 6) To dynamically project the penguin population assuming various future scenarios to assist in providing advice regarding the management of the penguin population (and possibly pelagic fish populations as well).
- ItemOpen AccessSpirit(ed) away: preventing foetal alcohol syndrome with motivational interviewing and cognitve behavioural therapy(South African Academy of Family Physicians, 2013) Jansen Van Vuuren, A; Learmonth, DFoetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a growing concern in South Africa. In the Western Cape, prevalence rates for FAS are the highest in the world. Not surprisingly, the Western Cape also has some of the highest levels of alcohol consumption per capita. Although FAS is primarily caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy, the high rate of FAS in South Africa originates from a multitude of complex factors. These factors include heritage, poverty, high levels of unemployment and low-paid menial jobs, depression, low self-esteem, low self-efficacy, increased accessibility to alcohol, lack of recreation, poor education, familial pressure, denial, cultural misconceptions and the smaller physiques of some of the women in the Western Cape. Holistic and comprehensive macro- and micro-level approaches are necessary in order to change the alcohol consumption trend that has developed over the last 300 years. No single strategy will reduce or eliminate the burden of alcohol misuse in this society. However, as the presented discussion suggests, combining the spirit of motivational interviewing (MI) with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practice, borrowed from health psychological interventions for lifestyle-related chronic health conditions, holds promise for reducing the prevalence of FAS within Western Cape communities. These individual-based approaches have yet to be employed in South Africa despite the wealth of evidence that demonstrates their potential in targeting high-risk groups and reducing per capita alcohol consumption.
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- ItemOpen AccessTalking about rape – and why it matters adjudicating rape in the Western Cape High Court(Academy of Science of South Africa, 2014) Moreland, StacyThis article asks the question: how do judges know what rape is and what it is not? The statutory definition contained in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act1 (SORMA) guides courts in adjudicating rape cases, and as such the definition is theirs to interpret and implement. This article analyses a small selection of recent judgements of the Western Cape High Court2 (WCHC) for answers. The article begins by establishing why judgements are an important source for understanding what rape means in society at large; it then discusses the relationship between power, language, and the law. This is followed by specific analyses of cases that show how patriarchy still defines how judges express themselves about rape. It concludes by looking at the institutional factors that discourage judges from adopting new ways of talking about rape, and their constitutional mandate to do so.
- ItemOpen AccessThe contraceptive knowledge, attitudes and practice among women seeking induced abortion in Mitchell's Plain District Hospital, women's health clinic, Western Cape, South Africa(2020) Sobamowo, Samuel Oluwafemi; Ras, TasleemBackground: There is an increased awareness among women of child bearing age on the forms of contraceptives in South Africa. Despite this, there has been a steady rise in the number of induced abortions conducted in the country. The aim and objectives of this study was to understand the contraceptive choices of the women requesting termination of pregnancy as well as their knowledge, attitude and practice toward contraceptives in one of the District Hospitals in Western Cape, South Africa. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study which was conducted in Mitchell's Plain District Hospital, among women seeking induced abortion. Women aged 18 years and older seeking elective Termination of Pregnancy were included in the study. Convenience sampling method was used to select the participants women attending the clinic and who were willing to participate. Researcher-administered questionnaires were used as a data collection tool, and the data analyzed using SPSS version 25. Correlation between socio-demographic factors and contraceptive uptake was made using chi-square and Fisher's tests. Results: Most of the participants were between the ages of 26-39 years, single, unemployed and did not have matric education. There was an acceptable knowledge on contraceptives in terms of types, sources and side effects. However, there was low uptake of contraceptives (17%) prior to falling pregnant. The most common barriers to contraceptives use were side effects, no time to visit the clinic and low level of education. Conclusion: Findings from this study showed that awareness and knowledge of contraceptives does not necessarily translate to practice. In the future, it would be worthwhile to conduct a qualitative in-depth study on decision-making and behavior of all women around contraceptives.