An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre

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dc.contributor.advisorStassen, Willem
dc.contributor.advisorVan Rensburg, Louis
dc.contributor.authorMgidi, Sinethemba Alphius
dc.date.accessioned2026-01-09T11:49:11Z
dc.date.available2026-01-09T11:49:11Z
dc.date.issued2025
dc.date.updated2026-01-05T13:02:36Z
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Out-of-hospital cardiac Arrest (OHCA) represents a considerable public health challenge, characterised by its critical time sensitivity, high morbidity, and poor survival rates. Despite decades of low survival rates, OHCA survival has been a constant concern for healthcare systems globally. The first stage of managing OHCA is immediate recognition by bystanders and emergency control centre personnel, which rely on the descriptors that callers provide. Varying educational levels and languages make identifying such patients in the Western Cape (WC), South Africa (SA), challenging. This study aims to identify key isiXhosa speaking descriptors used telephonically in the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, EMS, when IsiXhosa speaking callers are requesting emergency medical care at the emergency control centre in the event of OHCA. Methodology: Data from the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) programme with a “medical” and "patient unresponsive" incident classification were collected for 12 months (January 2018, to December 2018). A collection of corresponding patient care data were collected to confirm OHCA. The original voice recordings between the caller and the emergency call taker during the emergency were transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions underwent inductive, Hseih and Shannon qualitative content analysis to the manifest level. Descriptors of OHCA in isiXhosa calls were coded, categorised, and quantified. Results: The study identified 729 confirmed OHCA cases, of which 24 (3.3%) were in isiXhosa and were eligible for analysis. Five distinctive categories were identified from the content analysis. Notable descriptors used by callers to describe OHCA were related to respiratory effort (29.4%), cardiac activity (23.5%), level of consciousness (23.5%), clinical features (11.8%) and ill health (11.8%). Conclusion: This study highlighted the descriptors used by isiXhosa-speaking callers when reporting out-of-hospital cardiac arrest telephonically in South Africa's Western Cape province. The findings underscore the importance of providing a list of phrases and words descriptors used in communication between the caller and call takers.
dc.identifier.apacitationMgidi, S. A. (2025). <i>An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Surgery. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationMgidi, Sinethemba Alphius. <i>"An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Surgery, 2025. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationMgidi, S.A. 2025. An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Surgery. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Mgidi, Sinethemba Alphius AB - Introduction: Out-of-hospital cardiac Arrest (OHCA) represents a considerable public health challenge, characterised by its critical time sensitivity, high morbidity, and poor survival rates. Despite decades of low survival rates, OHCA survival has been a constant concern for healthcare systems globally. The first stage of managing OHCA is immediate recognition by bystanders and emergency control centre personnel, which rely on the descriptors that callers provide. Varying educational levels and languages make identifying such patients in the Western Cape (WC), South Africa (SA), challenging. This study aims to identify key isiXhosa speaking descriptors used telephonically in the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, EMS, when IsiXhosa speaking callers are requesting emergency medical care at the emergency control centre in the event of OHCA. Methodology: Data from the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) programme with a “medical” and "patient unresponsive" incident classification were collected for 12 months (January 2018, to December 2018). A collection of corresponding patient care data were collected to confirm OHCA. The original voice recordings between the caller and the emergency call taker during the emergency were transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions underwent inductive, Hseih and Shannon qualitative content analysis to the manifest level. Descriptors of OHCA in isiXhosa calls were coded, categorised, and quantified. Results: The study identified 729 confirmed OHCA cases, of which 24 (3.3%) were in isiXhosa and were eligible for analysis. Five distinctive categories were identified from the content analysis. Notable descriptors used by callers to describe OHCA were related to respiratory effort (29.4%), cardiac activity (23.5%), level of consciousness (23.5%), clinical features (11.8%) and ill health (11.8%). Conclusion: This study highlighted the descriptors used by isiXhosa-speaking callers when reporting out-of-hospital cardiac arrest telephonically in South Africa's Western Cape province. The findings underscore the importance of providing a list of phrases and words descriptors used in communication between the caller and call takers. DA - 2025 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest KW - Emergency Control Centre KW - Call Taker KW - Emergency Dispatcher KW - IsiXhosa LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2025 T1 - An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre TI - An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationMgidi SA. An analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Health Sciences ,Department of Surgery, 2025 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42520en_ZA
dc.language.isoen
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Surgery
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciences
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subjectOut-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest
dc.subjectEmergency Control Centre
dc.subjectCall Taker
dc.subjectEmergency Dispatcher
dc.subjectIsiXhosa
dc.titleAn analysis of the isiXhosa telephonic descriptors of cardiac arrest (ca) in a Western Cape emergency control centre
dc.typeThesis / Dissertation
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
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