A review of the quality of the covid-19 terminology that has been translated into isiXhosa
- Authors: Kamtein, Khanyisa
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: African languages -- Translating , Communication -- Language , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63080 , vital:73185
- Description: The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the whole world. Consequently, countries were forced to lock down and citizens had to be quarantined to control the spread of the virus. Accordingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) came up with safety measures to try and mitigate the spread of the virus. These measures included Covid-19 health communication, and this communication was transmitted mostly through the media. However, this crucial health communication was mostly conveyed in English. The cascading of the Covid-19 health communication in English proved to be problematic worldwide especially for linguistically diverse countries like South Africa. As a result, the South African government had to put measures in place to ensure that the health communication regarding Covid-19 could reach every citizen in the country by commissioning translation services to urgently translate terms relating to Covid-19 into all the South African indigenous languages including isiXhosa. Hence the South African government and City of Tshwane decided to enlist the services of the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SaDiLaR) and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) to translate the Covid-19 terminology into all the indigenous languages spoken in the country. This study therefore aims to examine the quality and the accuracy of the translated Covid-19 terms into isiXhosa especially since the translation of these terms had to be done urgently. The study will follow a qualitative method approach and use the skopos theory as the lens of the study. Skopos refers to purpose, intention, and aim. The theory is known as a purpose for action and the reader in this theory is important in determining the purpose of the translation at hand. In evaluating the terminology that has been translated the theory will be applied to determine whether the purpose and the aim of the terminology was adequately carried out to the intended audience. The English terms and isiXhosa terms collected in this research which will be analysed are sourced from the material that was developed and compiled by SaDiLaR and PanSALB and subsequently cascaded to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study will analyse only the (75) translated isiXhosa terms. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Language, Media and Communication, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
- Authors: Kamtein, Khanyisa
- Date: 2024-04
- Subjects: African languages -- Translating , Communication -- Language , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/63080 , vital:73185
- Description: The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic affected the whole world. Consequently, countries were forced to lock down and citizens had to be quarantined to control the spread of the virus. Accordingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) came up with safety measures to try and mitigate the spread of the virus. These measures included Covid-19 health communication, and this communication was transmitted mostly through the media. However, this crucial health communication was mostly conveyed in English. The cascading of the Covid-19 health communication in English proved to be problematic worldwide especially for linguistically diverse countries like South Africa. As a result, the South African government had to put measures in place to ensure that the health communication regarding Covid-19 could reach every citizen in the country by commissioning translation services to urgently translate terms relating to Covid-19 into all the South African indigenous languages including isiXhosa. Hence the South African government and City of Tshwane decided to enlist the services of the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SaDiLaR) and the Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) to translate the Covid-19 terminology into all the indigenous languages spoken in the country. This study therefore aims to examine the quality and the accuracy of the translated Covid-19 terms into isiXhosa especially since the translation of these terms had to be done urgently. The study will follow a qualitative method approach and use the skopos theory as the lens of the study. Skopos refers to purpose, intention, and aim. The theory is known as a purpose for action and the reader in this theory is important in determining the purpose of the translation at hand. In evaluating the terminology that has been translated the theory will be applied to determine whether the purpose and the aim of the terminology was adequately carried out to the intended audience. The English terms and isiXhosa terms collected in this research which will be analysed are sourced from the material that was developed and compiled by SaDiLaR and PanSALB and subsequently cascaded to the public during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study will analyse only the (75) translated isiXhosa terms. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, School of Language, Media and Communication, 2024
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2024-04
Socio-cultural factors influencing the interpretation of public health communication of HIV/AIDS messages in selected villages in Lesotho
- Authors: Moqasa, Nketsi Abel
- Date: 2021-01
- Subjects: Mass media in health education , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21235 , vital:47431
- Description: HIV/AIDS remain a major public health concern in Lesotho. The spread of the virus has increased exponentially in recent years despite concerted efforts by government to combat the pandemic through public health communication. Both the literature in health and cultural communication attributes the failure of public health messages on HIV/AIDS to resonate with the target audience to several socio-cultural factors including norms, religion and poverty. Using a qualitative research approach within the theoretical framework of the Culturally Sensitive Model of Communicating Health messages, this study investigated the socio-cultural factors influencing the interpretation of public health communication of HIV/AIDS messages in selected villages in Lesotho. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions involving participants from four villages namely, Ha-Makebe, Ha-Fusi, Ha-Foso and Maqhaka. Findings of the study revealed that various cultural factors including multiple sex partners, inconsistent use of condoms and lack of education contribute to the pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. The influence of these socio-cultural factors on the understanding of public health communication varies among individuals. The results suggest that some certain socio-cultural factors prevalent in several Lesotho communities encourage people to practise unhealthy lifestyle that increases the chances of contracting HIV/AIDS. Although participants admitted that they were aware of HIV/AIDS messages, they were unanimous that they did not receive the messages as they were intended or expected suggesting that their understanding or interpretation of the messages was moderated by cultural factors. The comments provided by participants attest to the importance of culture in the acceptance and understanding of PHC messages by the target audience. The findings indicate that language and culture exert both positive and negative effects on the reception and acceptance of HIV/AIDS messages. It was also noted by chiefs that the factors aforementioned are not strongly emphasised in the public health communication campaigns aimed at eradication of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho hence, communities are severely impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Health workers on the other hand, confirmed that messages conveyed to communities are culturally sensitive because they consider the culture of the target audience which is Basotho.This study, therefore, recommends that public health communicators should also encourage other stakeholders who are working hard to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS to consider the implementation of socio-cultural factors when designing HIV/AIDS prevention strategies as this will allow the target audience to accept and interpret HIV/AIDS messages positively. Based on the data analysed, it was identified that there are no policies that link HIV/AIDS message design to the local culture which results in a lack of acceptance of PHC messages related to this pandemic. As noted by some participants, most HIV/AIDS messages reflect perspectives of western culture where unlike Lesotho society, some issues like language, age, poverty are not considered. Therefore, HIV/AIDS messages that reflect the culture of the target audience must be taken into consideration during the design and implementation of cultural policies and interventions. It further recommends that clear policies that deal with HIV/AIDS campaigns and culture in Lesotho be formulated. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-01
- Authors: Moqasa, Nketsi Abel
- Date: 2021-01
- Subjects: Mass media in health education , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/21235 , vital:47431
- Description: HIV/AIDS remain a major public health concern in Lesotho. The spread of the virus has increased exponentially in recent years despite concerted efforts by government to combat the pandemic through public health communication. Both the literature in health and cultural communication attributes the failure of public health messages on HIV/AIDS to resonate with the target audience to several socio-cultural factors including norms, religion and poverty. Using a qualitative research approach within the theoretical framework of the Culturally Sensitive Model of Communicating Health messages, this study investigated the socio-cultural factors influencing the interpretation of public health communication of HIV/AIDS messages in selected villages in Lesotho. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions involving participants from four villages namely, Ha-Makebe, Ha-Fusi, Ha-Foso and Maqhaka. Findings of the study revealed that various cultural factors including multiple sex partners, inconsistent use of condoms and lack of education contribute to the pervasiveness of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. The influence of these socio-cultural factors on the understanding of public health communication varies among individuals. The results suggest that some certain socio-cultural factors prevalent in several Lesotho communities encourage people to practise unhealthy lifestyle that increases the chances of contracting HIV/AIDS. Although participants admitted that they were aware of HIV/AIDS messages, they were unanimous that they did not receive the messages as they were intended or expected suggesting that their understanding or interpretation of the messages was moderated by cultural factors. The comments provided by participants attest to the importance of culture in the acceptance and understanding of PHC messages by the target audience. The findings indicate that language and culture exert both positive and negative effects on the reception and acceptance of HIV/AIDS messages. It was also noted by chiefs that the factors aforementioned are not strongly emphasised in the public health communication campaigns aimed at eradication of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho hence, communities are severely impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Health workers on the other hand, confirmed that messages conveyed to communities are culturally sensitive because they consider the culture of the target audience which is Basotho.This study, therefore, recommends that public health communicators should also encourage other stakeholders who are working hard to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS to consider the implementation of socio-cultural factors when designing HIV/AIDS prevention strategies as this will allow the target audience to accept and interpret HIV/AIDS messages positively. Based on the data analysed, it was identified that there are no policies that link HIV/AIDS message design to the local culture which results in a lack of acceptance of PHC messages related to this pandemic. As noted by some participants, most HIV/AIDS messages reflect perspectives of western culture where unlike Lesotho society, some issues like language, age, poverty are not considered. Therefore, HIV/AIDS messages that reflect the culture of the target audience must be taken into consideration during the design and implementation of cultural policies and interventions. It further recommends that clear policies that deal with HIV/AIDS campaigns and culture in Lesotho be formulated. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-01
Experiences of health care professionals at Mdantsane sub-district primary health care clinics regarding the unavailability of medicines
- Authors: Mpengesi, Luvokazi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Physician and patient -- South Africa -- East London Primary care (Medicine) -- South Africa -- East London , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19619 , vital:28907
- Description: Medicine unavailability, also known as stock-outs is a global problem. South Africa is not exempt from this problem which impacts negatively on the way in which healthcare services are rendered, more especially in the public sector. Communities are complaining about the unavailability of medicines at public health facilities particularly in primary health care clinics. In an effort to address this problem, the Minister of Health has declared medicine availability as one of the six priorities of the Department of Health. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals practicing at primary healthcare clinics in a peri-urban area of the Eastern Cape regarding the unavailability of medicines. Understanding the experiences and perceptions was expected to assist in addressing the problem at hand and help management in developing ways to address the problem and support the employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at primary health care clinics in and around Mdantsane Township in the Eastern Cape. The main findings of the study can be divided into the following topics: perceived causes of medicine stock-outs, the implications of stock shortages, actions taken in the case of stock-outs and the role to play by in mitigating the impact of stock shortages. The limitations of the study include the research sample which was not truly representative of all healthcare professionals working at Mdantsane sub-district primary healthcare clinics. The study recommends various strategies that management should follow to assist in addressing medicine shortages. The researcher recommends further research to describe the experiences of healthcare professional regarding medicine unavailability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
- Authors: Mpengesi, Luvokazi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Physician and patient -- South Africa -- East London Primary care (Medicine) -- South Africa -- East London , Communication in medicine
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/19619 , vital:28907
- Description: Medicine unavailability, also known as stock-outs is a global problem. South Africa is not exempt from this problem which impacts negatively on the way in which healthcare services are rendered, more especially in the public sector. Communities are complaining about the unavailability of medicines at public health facilities particularly in primary health care clinics. In an effort to address this problem, the Minister of Health has declared medicine availability as one of the six priorities of the Department of Health. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the experiences and perceptions of healthcare professionals practicing at primary healthcare clinics in a peri-urban area of the Eastern Cape regarding the unavailability of medicines. Understanding the experiences and perceptions was expected to assist in addressing the problem at hand and help management in developing ways to address the problem and support the employees. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals working at primary health care clinics in and around Mdantsane Township in the Eastern Cape. The main findings of the study can be divided into the following topics: perceived causes of medicine stock-outs, the implications of stock shortages, actions taken in the case of stock-outs and the role to play by in mitigating the impact of stock shortages. The limitations of the study include the research sample which was not truly representative of all healthcare professionals working at Mdantsane sub-district primary healthcare clinics. The study recommends various strategies that management should follow to assist in addressing medicine shortages. The researcher recommends further research to describe the experiences of healthcare professional regarding medicine unavailability.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
The design and evaluation of targeted patient-centred health information to improve knowledge and behavioural outcomes in tuberculosis patients with limited literacy
- Authors: Patel, Sonal
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Tuberculosis Patients , Health literacy , Patient education , Communication in medicine , Picture-writing
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/194071 , vital:45420 , DOI 10.21504/10962/194071
- Description: South Africa carries a significant TB burden as evidenced in the 2013 statistics which report 450 000 new active TB cases and 890 000 TB-related mortalities. For successful treatment outcomes, 90% adherence is necessary, but many patients prematurely discontinue treatment due to poor knowledge and understanding of their complex TB medicines. Patient education is pivotal in improving knowledge, health literacy and behavioural outcomes such as health information seeking, self-efficacy and adherence. In the under-resourced South African healthcare system, time and capacity to adequately counsel patients are limited. The value of written medicine information (WMI) to supplement the verbal information provided by healthcare professionals (HCPs) has been widely investigated but minimal South African research is available. Current WMI distributed in South Africa is mainly generated by pharmaceutical manufacturers and is complex, incomprehensible and undesirable to patients. TB-related WMI focuses mainly on the disease, with little information relating to TB medicines and their use. The overall aim of this project was to improve patient knowledge about their TB medicines through the use of a simple illustrated patient information leaflet (PIL). Objectives to achieve this aim included: investigation of the medicine information seeking behaviour (MISB) of long term patients attending public health sector facilities; the development and validation of a medicine literacy test (MLT) to identify patients with limited health literacy requiring additional support and counselling; the development and evaluation of a patient-centred illustrated PIL for first-line TB treatment; the assessment of self-efficacy and adherence using modified versions of the HIV Treatment Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (HIV-ASES) and Morisky 8-item Medicine Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), respectively, and the investigation of the impact of the PIL on patient knowledge and these health-related behaviours. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in 34 isiXhosa-speaking patients with limited formal education taking long-term treatment explored themes related to information needs, information-seeking practices and awareness of and ability to utilize information sources. Codes were analysed and potential themes and subthemes were identified and refined. The findings of this study reflected a passive, disempowered patient due to both patient-related and systemic healthcare factors. Poor awareness of information sources, lack of health-related knowledge, stigma and lack of awareness of the importance of appropriate medicine-related knowledge contributed to a lack of information-seeking practice. Patients neither asked questions nor were encouraged to do so. All expressed an unmet need for information and a desire for receiving relevant, appropriate, written medicine-related information. Feedback from this phase of the study was used to inform the development of the targeted patientcentred PIL. A double-sided A4 PIL containing information about TB medicines was designed giving careful consideration to content, format and layout features. Twenty five pictograms were designed through a rigorous, iterative design process and were included in the PIL that was evaluated in a randomised control trial (RCT) conducted amongst 120 TB patients attending a high burden TB clinic in South Africa. Interviews were conducted in either isiXhosa or Afrikaans via a trained interpreter. Patients were randomly allocated to either a control (standard care) or an experimental group (standard care plus brief counselling using the PIL). Two interviews were conducted using a prepared questionnaire; one at baseline followed by a 4-week follow-up. Baseline data included demographics, medicine literacy test, health information sources, knowledge of TB medicines, self-reported adherence and self-efficacy. Data collected at the 4-week follow-up interview included TB knowledge, self-reported adherence, self-efficacy, opinion of TB medicine information and interpretation of pictograms. Data were analysed using t-test, correlations, chi-square and ANOVA tests at a 0.05 level of significance. The PIL was successful in improving patient knowledge of the disease, TB medicine-taking, side effects, drug-resistant TB and HIV and TB co-infection. At baseline, there was no significant difference in the overall mean percentage knowledge score between the control and experimental groups (p=0.074). At follow-up, the percentage knowledge score for the experimental group increased significantly from 59.0% to 84.6% (p<0.001) and showed a significantly higher score than the control group (p<0.001), displaying evidence of the impact of the PIL as a counselling tool on patient knowledge. The PIL generated a highly positive response in the experimental group who indicated that they had referred to the leaflet over the last month and that it had played an important role in improving their TB medicine-related knowledge. This was reflected in the experimental group knowledge score of greater than 80% for almost three quarters of the patients whereas only 14% in the control group achieved this score. Patients appreciated the inclusion of pictograms and strongly felt that they helped them to recall and understand the textual PIL content. The study found that patients want side effect information and, interestingly, did not perceive the presentation of side effects in pictorial form to constitute a risk factor for nonadherence. Use of the illustrated PIL (experimental group) resulted in a significant improvement in patient self-efficacy (p=0.002), but showed no effect on self-reported adherence (p=0.563). Neither self-efficacy nor adherence was influenced by gender, age or education. An education effect on knowledge was only observed in the control group at baseline. The newly developed MLT was shown to be a valid and reliable tool and a moderate, positive and significant correlation was noted between the MLT score and baseline TB medicine-related knowledge in both the control and experimental groups. As there is a paucity of studies investigating the influence of take-home written leaflets on TB medicine knowledge and on patient behaviour, this study represents a significant knowledge contribution. It is the first study to report the development and evaluation of a patient-centred PIL to address the dearth of available TB medicine information. The use of targeted user-friendly, illustrated information leaflets can be a valuable counselling aid to improve patient knowledge and self-efficacy, particularly among patients with limited literacy. However, careful consideration of the design and content, with input from the endusers at all stages of the process, will optimise its effectiveness. The proposed framework for the development and implementation of patient-centred health and medicines information in a developing country context presented in this thesis could be used as a theoretical basis for informing the development of effective information materials targeting other disease states. Local patients taking TB medicines identified nurses, WMI and media as their current sources of information but they expressed a strong desire to know more about their treatment. Targeted public health interventions that focus on medicine-taking information and behaviours and encourage patients to adopt a more active, questioning role in health consultations could improve health literacy and empower patients in their medicine-taking practices. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Patel, Sonal
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Tuberculosis Patients , Health literacy , Patient education , Communication in medicine , Picture-writing
- Language: English
- Type: Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/194071 , vital:45420 , DOI 10.21504/10962/194071
- Description: South Africa carries a significant TB burden as evidenced in the 2013 statistics which report 450 000 new active TB cases and 890 000 TB-related mortalities. For successful treatment outcomes, 90% adherence is necessary, but many patients prematurely discontinue treatment due to poor knowledge and understanding of their complex TB medicines. Patient education is pivotal in improving knowledge, health literacy and behavioural outcomes such as health information seeking, self-efficacy and adherence. In the under-resourced South African healthcare system, time and capacity to adequately counsel patients are limited. The value of written medicine information (WMI) to supplement the verbal information provided by healthcare professionals (HCPs) has been widely investigated but minimal South African research is available. Current WMI distributed in South Africa is mainly generated by pharmaceutical manufacturers and is complex, incomprehensible and undesirable to patients. TB-related WMI focuses mainly on the disease, with little information relating to TB medicines and their use. The overall aim of this project was to improve patient knowledge about their TB medicines through the use of a simple illustrated patient information leaflet (PIL). Objectives to achieve this aim included: investigation of the medicine information seeking behaviour (MISB) of long term patients attending public health sector facilities; the development and validation of a medicine literacy test (MLT) to identify patients with limited health literacy requiring additional support and counselling; the development and evaluation of a patient-centred illustrated PIL for first-line TB treatment; the assessment of self-efficacy and adherence using modified versions of the HIV Treatment Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (HIV-ASES) and Morisky 8-item Medicine Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), respectively, and the investigation of the impact of the PIL on patient knowledge and these health-related behaviours. Six focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted in 34 isiXhosa-speaking patients with limited formal education taking long-term treatment explored themes related to information needs, information-seeking practices and awareness of and ability to utilize information sources. Codes were analysed and potential themes and subthemes were identified and refined. The findings of this study reflected a passive, disempowered patient due to both patient-related and systemic healthcare factors. Poor awareness of information sources, lack of health-related knowledge, stigma and lack of awareness of the importance of appropriate medicine-related knowledge contributed to a lack of information-seeking practice. Patients neither asked questions nor were encouraged to do so. All expressed an unmet need for information and a desire for receiving relevant, appropriate, written medicine-related information. Feedback from this phase of the study was used to inform the development of the targeted patientcentred PIL. A double-sided A4 PIL containing information about TB medicines was designed giving careful consideration to content, format and layout features. Twenty five pictograms were designed through a rigorous, iterative design process and were included in the PIL that was evaluated in a randomised control trial (RCT) conducted amongst 120 TB patients attending a high burden TB clinic in South Africa. Interviews were conducted in either isiXhosa or Afrikaans via a trained interpreter. Patients were randomly allocated to either a control (standard care) or an experimental group (standard care plus brief counselling using the PIL). Two interviews were conducted using a prepared questionnaire; one at baseline followed by a 4-week follow-up. Baseline data included demographics, medicine literacy test, health information sources, knowledge of TB medicines, self-reported adherence and self-efficacy. Data collected at the 4-week follow-up interview included TB knowledge, self-reported adherence, self-efficacy, opinion of TB medicine information and interpretation of pictograms. Data were analysed using t-test, correlations, chi-square and ANOVA tests at a 0.05 level of significance. The PIL was successful in improving patient knowledge of the disease, TB medicine-taking, side effects, drug-resistant TB and HIV and TB co-infection. At baseline, there was no significant difference in the overall mean percentage knowledge score between the control and experimental groups (p=0.074). At follow-up, the percentage knowledge score for the experimental group increased significantly from 59.0% to 84.6% (p<0.001) and showed a significantly higher score than the control group (p<0.001), displaying evidence of the impact of the PIL as a counselling tool on patient knowledge. The PIL generated a highly positive response in the experimental group who indicated that they had referred to the leaflet over the last month and that it had played an important role in improving their TB medicine-related knowledge. This was reflected in the experimental group knowledge score of greater than 80% for almost three quarters of the patients whereas only 14% in the control group achieved this score. Patients appreciated the inclusion of pictograms and strongly felt that they helped them to recall and understand the textual PIL content. The study found that patients want side effect information and, interestingly, did not perceive the presentation of side effects in pictorial form to constitute a risk factor for nonadherence. Use of the illustrated PIL (experimental group) resulted in a significant improvement in patient self-efficacy (p=0.002), but showed no effect on self-reported adherence (p=0.563). Neither self-efficacy nor adherence was influenced by gender, age or education. An education effect on knowledge was only observed in the control group at baseline. The newly developed MLT was shown to be a valid and reliable tool and a moderate, positive and significant correlation was noted between the MLT score and baseline TB medicine-related knowledge in both the control and experimental groups. As there is a paucity of studies investigating the influence of take-home written leaflets on TB medicine knowledge and on patient behaviour, this study represents a significant knowledge contribution. It is the first study to report the development and evaluation of a patient-centred PIL to address the dearth of available TB medicine information. The use of targeted user-friendly, illustrated information leaflets can be a valuable counselling aid to improve patient knowledge and self-efficacy, particularly among patients with limited literacy. However, careful consideration of the design and content, with input from the endusers at all stages of the process, will optimise its effectiveness. The proposed framework for the development and implementation of patient-centred health and medicines information in a developing country context presented in this thesis could be used as a theoretical basis for informing the development of effective information materials targeting other disease states. Local patients taking TB medicines identified nurses, WMI and media as their current sources of information but they expressed a strong desire to know more about their treatment. Targeted public health interventions that focus on medicine-taking information and behaviours and encourage patients to adopt a more active, questioning role in health consultations could improve health literacy and empower patients in their medicine-taking practices. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharmacy, 2015
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Web-based visualisation techniques for reporting zoonotic outbreaks
- Authors: Ncube, Sinini Paul
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Zoonoses -- Reporting , Communicable diseases -- Reporting , Communication in medicine , Medical telematics , Internet , Information visualization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006672 , Zoonoses -- Reporting , Communicable diseases -- Reporting , Communication in medicine , Medical telematics , Internet , Information visualization
- Description: Zoonotic diseases are diseases that are transmitted from animals or vectors to humans and vice versa. The public together with veterinarian authorities should readily access disease information as it is vital in rapidly controlling resultant zoonotic outbreak threats through improved awareness. Currently, the reporting of disease information in South Africa is predominantly limited to traditional methods of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) like faxes, monthly newspaper reports, radios, phones and televisions. Although these are effective ways of communication, their disadvantage is that the information that most of them offer can only be accessed at specific times during a crisis. New technologies like the internet have become the most efficient way of distributing information in near-real-time. Many developed countries have used web-based reporting platforms to deliver timely information through temporal and geographic visualisation techniques. There has been an attempt in the use of web-based reporting in South Africa but most of these sites are characterised by heavy text which makes them time consuming to use or maintain. As a result most sites have not been updated or have ceased to exist because of the work load involved. The success of web reporting mechanisms in developed countries offers evidence that web-based reporting systems when appropriately visualised can improve the easy understanding of information and efficiency in the analysis of that data. In this thesis, a web-based reporting prototype was proposed after gathering information from different sources: literature related to disease reporting and the visualisation of infectious diseases; the exploration of the currently deployed web systems; and the investigation of user requirements from relevant parties. The proposed prototype system was then developed using Adobe Flash tools, Java and MySQL languages. A focus group then reviewed the developed system to ascertain that the relevant requirements had been incorporated and to obtain additional ideas about the system. This led to the proposal of a new prototype system that can be used by the authorities concerned as a plan to develop a fully functional disease reporting system for South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
- Authors: Ncube, Sinini Paul
- Date: 2012
- Subjects: Zoonoses -- Reporting , Communicable diseases -- Reporting , Communication in medicine , Medical telematics , Internet , Information visualization
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4664 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006672 , Zoonoses -- Reporting , Communicable diseases -- Reporting , Communication in medicine , Medical telematics , Internet , Information visualization
- Description: Zoonotic diseases are diseases that are transmitted from animals or vectors to humans and vice versa. The public together with veterinarian authorities should readily access disease information as it is vital in rapidly controlling resultant zoonotic outbreak threats through improved awareness. Currently, the reporting of disease information in South Africa is predominantly limited to traditional methods of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) like faxes, monthly newspaper reports, radios, phones and televisions. Although these are effective ways of communication, their disadvantage is that the information that most of them offer can only be accessed at specific times during a crisis. New technologies like the internet have become the most efficient way of distributing information in near-real-time. Many developed countries have used web-based reporting platforms to deliver timely information through temporal and geographic visualisation techniques. There has been an attempt in the use of web-based reporting in South Africa but most of these sites are characterised by heavy text which makes them time consuming to use or maintain. As a result most sites have not been updated or have ceased to exist because of the work load involved. The success of web reporting mechanisms in developed countries offers evidence that web-based reporting systems when appropriately visualised can improve the easy understanding of information and efficiency in the analysis of that data. In this thesis, a web-based reporting prototype was proposed after gathering information from different sources: literature related to disease reporting and the visualisation of infectious diseases; the exploration of the currently deployed web systems; and the investigation of user requirements from relevant parties. The proposed prototype system was then developed using Adobe Flash tools, Java and MySQL languages. A focus group then reviewed the developed system to ascertain that the relevant requirements had been incorporated and to obtain additional ideas about the system. This led to the proposal of a new prototype system that can be used by the authorities concerned as a plan to develop a fully functional disease reporting system for South Africa.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2012
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