Faculty of Health Sciences
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Item Experiences and views of the pregnant women regarding the Basic Antenatal Care approach to health care services provision in eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal(Research and Reviews, 2016-12-23) Ngxongo, Thembelihle Sylvia Patience; Sibiya, Maureen Nokuthula; Gwele, Nomthandazo S.Purpose: The purpose of the study was to describe the experiences and views of the pregnant women regarding the antenatal care services received in the Primary Health Care clinics that were implementing the Basic Antenatal Care (BANC) approach. The BANC approach is listed as one of the priority interventions for reducing maternal and child mortality in South Africa and is used in the public health institutions to provide health care services to the pregnant women. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was used to conduct the study in the 12 primary health care clinics that were providing antenatal care services and implementing the BANC approach in eThekwini district, KwaZulu-Natal The study took place seven years following the introduction of the BANC approach. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews conducted with 54 pregnant women from October 2014 to March 2015. Data were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Findings: Although some participants highlighted how the BANC approach had brought about improvement in the quality of care, other participants were concerned regarding the waiting times, the intervals between antenatal care visits, integration of antenatal care with other primary health care services, limited space at the clinics and attitudes and performance of clinic staff. Conclusion: In the current study, the participants shared their experiences and views regarding the antenatal care services that were provided using the BANC approach. Most of the situations that the participants had encountered and their views regarding Antenatal care services highlighted specific areas of the BANC approach that needed attention. Guided by this, the researchers were able to provide the recommendations from the study that would assist to improve implementation of the BANC approach. These included special emphasis on compliance to service delivery guidelines and protocols by antenatal health care providers, availability of the clinic staff members who had been trained and oriented towards the implementation of the BANC approach, integration of services and reviewing human and material resources for adequacy when new programs are introduced.Item Experiences of Fast Queue health care users in primary health care facilities in eThekwini district, South Africa(AOSIS, 2013-07-05) Sokhela, Dudu Gloria; Makhanya, Jabulile Nonhlanhla; Sibiya, Maureen Nokuthula; Nokes, Kathleen M.Background: Comprehensive Primary Health Care (PHC), based on the principles of accessibility, availability, affordability, equity and acceptability, was introduced in South Africa to address inequalities in health service provision. Whilst the Fast Queue was instrumental in the promotion of access to health care, a major goal of the PHC approach, facilities were not prepared for the sudden influx of clients. Increased access resulted in long waiting times and queues contributing to dissatisfaction with the service which could lead to missed appointments and non-compliance with established treatment plans. Objectives: Firstly to describe the experiences of clients using the Fast Queue strategy to access routine healthcare services and secondly, to determine how the clients’ experiences led to satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the Fast Queue service. Method: A descriptive qualitative survey using content analysis explored the experiences of the Fast Queue users in a PHC setting. Setting was first identified based on greatest number using the Fast Queue and geographic diversity and then a convenience sample of health care users of the Fast Queue were sampled individually along with one focus group of users who accessed the Queue monthly for medication refills. The same interview guide questions were used for both individual interviews and the one focus group discussion. Five clinics with the highest number of attendees during a three month period and a total of 83 health care users of the Fast Queue were interviewed. The average participant was female, 31 years old, single and unemployed. Results: Two themes with sub-themes emerged: health care user flow and communication, which highlights both satisfaction and dissatisfaction with the fast queue and queue marshals, could assist in directing users to the respective queues, reduce waiting time and keep users satisfied with the use of sign posts where there is a lack of human resources. Conclusion: Effective health communication strategies contribute to positive experiences by health care users and these can be effected by: (1) involvement of health care providers in planning the construction of health facilities to give input about patient flow, infection prevention and control and provision of privacy, (2) effective complaints mechanisms for users to ensure that complaints are followed up and (3)encouraging users to arrive at the facility throughout the day, rather than the present practice where all users arrive at the clinic early in the morning.