Browsing by Subject "screening"

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    Adaptation of aphasia tests for neurocognitive screening in South Africa
    (2010) Mosdell, Jill; Balchin, Ross Malcolm; Ameen, Ozayr Sale
    Two aphasia tests — the Cookie Theft Test and the Boston Naming Test — were adapted to help eliminate western cultural, language and education bias in neurocognitive screening in South Africa. These tests were among the commonly used tests initially chosen for inclusion in a larger neurocognitive screening battery currently being developed and translated for use in South Africa — the Groote Schuur Neurocognitive Battery. The adaptations were made employing quantitative and qualitative converging lines of evidence to evaluate their efficacy. This evidence included consultation with clinicians at Groote Schuur Hospital and translators knowledgeable in Afrikaans and isiXhosa language and culture, qualitative feedback from the research participants, and the results on the tests. The adapted tests were piloted by testing 30 neurocognitively intact controls consisting of equal numbers of Afrikaans, English and isiXhosa speakers, comparing their scores to their performances on the original tests. Three aphasic patients were also briefly tested. Results indicate that the adaptations made to the tests improved the performance of controls over the original versions, and tentatively suggest that the adapted tests should be able to screen for aphasia. This pilot study recommends further changes to the Groote Schuur Naming Test before its introduction into the battery ahead of its validation.
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    Engagement/involvement of staff from public medical Institutions with pregnant women experiencing intimate partner violence - a systematic review of African & South African literature
    (2025) Adams, Faseegah; Artz, Lillian; Holtzhausen, Leon
    This study explores how staff at public health care institutions respond to intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by pregnant women living in South Africa and Africa. This study aimed to investigate what protocols/pathways staff at public health care institutions (PHCI) use to identify, screen, report, record and refer instances of IPV. The motivation for this study was to bring awareness of IPV during pregnancy. Since learning the high statistics of IPV during pregnancy, the researcher was prompted to investigate what PHCI are doing to identify, screen, report, record and refer cases of IPV. In addition, the researcher hopes that this research can facilitate policy development for staff at PHCI on how best to respond to pregnant women experiencing IPV. The methodology used in this study was a systematic literature review, that reviewed 14 qualitative journal articles. PICo was used to identify the study participants, the Cochrane systematic review methodology was used and the PRISMA flow diagram. Using thematic analysis, the researcher used Dey and Tesch to analyse the data. The findings indicate that there are no pathways/protocols for identifying, screening, reporting recording and refereeing instances of IPV in South Africa or Africa. There were also no direct policies or frameworks established at PHCI to manage intimate violence during pregnancy. The research identifies some of the main barriers/challenges to IPV enquiry which are lack of privacy at public health care institutions, training and awareness of IPV during pregnancy, staff agency, staff safety and cultural beliefs. These results contribute to the research regarding how PHCI in South Africa and Africa respond to IPV. Thus shifting focus away from the criminal justice system and more toward PHCI as IPV during pregnancy has grave health implications. This study provides new insights on how to build and improve protocol/pathways at PHCI. This study highlights the daily challenges that staff at PHCI face when enquiring about IPV. It concludes by discussing how The National Council on Gender-Based Violence Femicide can use information on the challenges/barriers to enquiry to achieve the goals and aims set out in The National Strategy Plan addressing gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa and Africa.
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    The validation of a screening tool for the identification of feeding and swallowing difficulties in the paediatric population aged 0-2 years admitted to general medical wards
    (2019) Sibanda, Cynthia; Norman, Vivienne; Morrow, Brenda
    Background: Feeding and swallowing difficulties (FSD) have been found in typically developing children as well as in children with complex medical conditions and developmental disabilities. These difficulties cause negative health consequences such as aspiration pneumonia, chronic lung disease, failure to thrive, prolonged hospital stay and even death. The early identification and management of feeding and swallowing difficulties is important as it prevents the negative effects on health and quality of life. Hence, there is a need for a validated screening tool to use in the general hospitalized paediatric population. Research Aims: The aim of this study was to validate the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire as a screening tool, in the paediatric population aged 0 – 2 years admitted to general medical wards. The secondary aim was to describe the FSD presenting in the paediatric population aged 0 - 2 years who are hospitalized in the general medical wards. Methodology: A prospective, descriptive, clinimetric design was utilized. A sample of 107 participants admitted to the general medical wards at Steve Biko Academic Hospital were included in the study. Participants’ feeding and swallowing was screened by a research assistant using the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire. After the screening, a clinical feeding and swallowing assessment was conducted for comparison, the assessment was conducted by the student researcher using the Clinical Feeding and Swallowing Assessment Tool. Results: There was a 27% FSD prevalence, with the majority of cases (92%) occurring in children under one year of age. One hundred and three children (63% male; median (IQR) age 5.2 (2.1 – 12.8) months) underwent screening and clinical assessment for feeding and swallowing disorders. The criterion validity of the Feeding and swallowing Questionnaire was established with a sensitivity of 88% and a specificity of 32%. Internal consistency was achieved with an acceptable Cronbach’s alpha of 0.79, and good inter-rater reliability (80%). Participants presented with feeding difficulties in all the phases of swallowing, while some participants had behavioural feeding difficulties. Those who had FSD had the following medical conditions: cardiorespiratory, neurological and gastrointestinal disorders namely acute gastroenteritis and liver disease. Feeding and swallowing difficulties were associated with increased mealtime duration (p=0.005) and supplementary oxygen support (p=0.03). Conclusion: The results confirm that the Feeding and Swallowing Questionnaire shows promising findings as a reliable and valid tool for the identification of FSD in the general hospitalized paediatric population. However, further research in other setting with general paediatric medical wards is required to increase the robustness of the screening tool.