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Theses and dissertations (Health Sciences)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/12

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    Implementation of the basic antenatal care approach : a tailored practice framework for eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal
    (2016) Ngxongo, Thembelihle Sylvia Patience; Sibiya, Maureen Nokuthula; Gwele, Nomthandazo S.
    Globally antenatal care is advocated as the cornerstone for reducing children’s deaths and improving maternal health. The World Health Organization designed and tested a Focussed Antenatal Care model for the developing countries to improve their quality of antenatal care services. South Africa has not successfully implemented this approach, referred to by South Africa as the Basic Antenatal Care approach. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to assess how the Basic Antenatal Care approach was implemented in the eThekwini district. Data were collected from 12 Primary Health Care clinics using observations, retrospective record reviews and semi-structured interviews conducted with pregnant women. The quantitative data was analysed using version 21.0 of the Statistical Package of Social Services and qualitative data was analysed using Tech’s method of data analysis. The Basic Antenatal Care approach was not being successfully implemented in the Primary Health Care clinics. Several aspects of planning, people, processes and performance were not done according to the Basic Antenatal Care Principles of Good Care and Guidelines. Although good communication was observed between the clinic staff members and the referral institutions, communication problems existed between the Primary Health Care clinics and the Emergency Medical Rescue Services and also with the pregnant women. Antenatal care and delivery plans and the midwives’ counter checking of maternity charts were not recorded. Some pregnant women had positive perceptions about the antenatal care services but others had negative perceptions. Recommendations pertaining to institutional management and practice, nursing education and research were made. A tailored practice framework and an implementation guide were developed based on setting and client-specific factors to facilitate the implementation of the Basic Antenatal Care approach. The framework highlights the importance of cooperation between management and administration, in-service education and skills development departments/units and the operational level. Effective implementation of the Basic Antenatal Care approach could help to reduce South Africa’s high maternal and neonatal mortality rates. Thus the tailored practice framework and implementation guide, developed as part of this study, could help to improve maternal and neonatal health-related outcomes in South Africa.
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    Factors influencing successful implementation of basic ante natal care programme in primary health care clinics in eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal
    (2011) Ngxongo, Thembelihle Sylvia Patience; Sibiya, Maureen Nokuthula
    Background South Africa is burdened by consistently high maternal and perinatal mortality rates. In a move to alleviate this burden the South African National Department of Health (DoH) instructed the adoption of the Basic Antenatal Care (BANC) approach in all antenatal care (ANC) facilities. Whereas many facilities have begun the implementation of the BANC approach, in the eThekwini district, not all of the facilities have been successful in doing so. The study was conducted in those eThekwini Municipality Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities that have been successful in order to identify the factors influencing their success in implementing BANC. Methods The facilities that had been successful in implementing BANC were identified, followed by a review of the past records of the patients who had completed their ANC and had given birth. This was done in order to establish whether the facilities that were said to be implementing BANC, were in fact, following BANC guidelines. The factors that influenced successful implementation of BANC were identified based on information obtained from the midwives who were working in the ANC facilities that were successfully implementing BANC. The sample size was comprised of 18 PHC facilities that were successfully implementing BANC from which a total of 59 midwives were used as the study participants. Results Several positive factors that influenced successful implementation of BANC were identified. These factors included; availability and accessibility of BANC services: Policies, Guidelines and Protocol; various means of communication; a comprehensive iii package of services and the integration of services; training and in-service education; human and material resources and the support and supervision offered to the midwives by the PHC supervisors. Other factors included BANC programme supervisors’ understanding of the programme and the levels of experience of midwives involved in implementation of BANC. There were, however, certain challenges and negative factors that were identified and these included: shortage of staff; lack of cooperation from referral hospitals; lack of in-service training; problems in transporting specimens to the laboratory; lack of material resources; lack of management support and the unavailability of BANC guidelines.