Thivhulawi Malwela

Introduction: Pregnancy‐related anaemia is associated with high maternal, foetal, and infant morbidity and mortality in rural communities where access to resources for healthcare may be limited. Comprehending the perceptions of rural women concerning the contributing factors to anaemia is essential. The aim was to explore women’s perspectives regarding factors associated with anaemia during pregnancy in a rural village in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Methods: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive designs were used. The study targeted pregnant women aged 20–35 years who presented with anaemia in late pregnancy (34–38 weeks of gestation) at the selected clinic in rural villages. Twenty (20) participants were recruited from the clinic register and followed up at their homes using nonprobability purposive sampling. Permission to access the village was obtained from the Chief, and ethical clearance from the University Research Ethics Committee was obtained. Data were collected through unstructured in‐depth interviews and analysed using open‐coding analysis. Trustworthiness was ensured through dependability, confirmability, transferability and credibility. Results: The associated factors were found to be low socioeconomic status, late antenatal care booking, poor adherence to iron supplements, dietary myths, restricting a nutritious and balanced diet, and a preference for attending traditional healers rather than skilled attendants, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Conclusion: Creation of awareness on utilisation of preconception care services and encouragement to initiate ANC during the first trimester for the provision of comprehensive assessment, early detection, referral and management. Provide contextual health education, including the WHO’s four anaemia‐preventive strategies.

Background: Preconception care (PCC) includes biomedical, behavioral, and social health interventions provided before conception to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Despite its importance, the utilization of PCC remains limited in many settings, including parts of South Africa. Understanding women′s perceptions of PCC is essential for improving service uptake and implementation. This study explored and described the perceptions of women of reproductive age regarding the uptake and utilization of PCC services in selected districts of Limpopo province, South Africa. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive design was used. The study was conducted in primary healthcare clinics and community health centers in three districts of Limpopo province: Capricorn, Mopani, and Vhembe. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 51 women aged 19–35 years. Data were collected through eight focus group discussions (FGDs) consisting of six to eight participants per group. Discussions were conducted in Tshivenda, Xitsonga, and Sepedi, audio‐recorded with consent, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using Tesch′s eight‐step open coding method. Trustworthiness was ensured through member checking, peer debriefing, and the maintenance of an audit trail. Ethical guidelines were adhered to. Results: Two main themes emerged. First, participants perceived PCC as a valuable service that can promote healthy pregnancies and improve maternal health outcomes. Participants emphasized the need for early education and access to PCC services. Second, several barriers to PCC utilization were identified, including limited awareness of PCC, fear of HIV testing, cultural norms surrounding pregnancy disclosure, and lack of partner support. Conclusion: Although women recognized the benefits of PCC, several sociocultural and structural barriers limited its utilization. Increasing awareness, promoting partner involvement, strengthening health system integration, and improving culturally sensitive health education may enhance PCC uptake in Limpopo province.

Background: Early postnatal discharge is perceived as a factor that contributes to the possibilities of the maternal, neonatal complications and deaths. The implementation of the community-based postnatal care model is crucial to mitigate the morbidity and mortality of postnatal women and neonates during the first weeks of delivery. A community-based postnatal care model was developed for the management of neonates during the postnatal care period in the community. Objectives: The study aims to share the developed community-based postnatal care model that could assist postnatal women in the management of neonates. Method: Empirical findings from the main study formed the basis for model development. The model development in this study was informed by the work of Walker and Avant; Chinn and Kramer Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach; and Chinn and Jacobs. Results: The results indicated that there was no community-based postnatal care model developed to manage neonates. The model is described using the practice theory of Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach elements of agents, recipients, context, process, dynamics and outcomes within the community context of the postnatal care period. The model was further described by Chinn and Krammer following the assumptions of the model, concept definition, relation statement and nature of structure. Conclusion: The utilisation of the model is critical and facilitates the provision of an enabling and supportive community-based context by primary caregivers for the effective management of neonates. Contribution: This study provides a reference guide in the provision of community-based postnatal care by postnatal women after discharge from healthcare facilities.

Background: Early Antenatal Care (ANC) initiation is aimed at improving maternal and perinatal health outcomes through the identification of complications and determining the level of care needed. This study aimed to determine the voices of midwives on the provision of early initiation of ANC following positive gravindex. Materials and Methods: The phenomenology approach underpinned the study. The participants included midwives providing ANC at health facilities under Tshino–Mutsha local area in May–December 2020. Nonprobability, purposive sampling was used to select four clinics and to sample 20 midwives. Semistructured face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted using an interview guide. Data saturation was reached at Participant 15; however, the researcher continued until Participant 20. Trustworthiness was ensured and ethical principles were adhered to. Data analysis was done using Tesch's open coding approach. Results: Two themes and seven subthemes emerged, as challenges related to the provision of midwifery practice and to pregnant women. The seven subthemes were the shortage of resources, poor support of midwives, poor adherence to the available protocol for the provision of ANC, blaming of midwives by management and community, late ANC booking by pregnant women, denial of pregnancy by young women ignorance leading to a general resistance to ANC instructions, hence late booking Conclusions: It was concluded that shortage of human and material resources hindered the initiation of early ANC to detect, prevent, and manage the existing and potential causes of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity.

The article is okay, the introduction is fine, only few comments on the PRISMA abbreviation see uploaded file. take note not to describe the vaginal bleeding and abdominal pains on the same line they are not the same the causes are different.

Curationis provides a forum for cutting-edge theories and research models related to the exploration of issues experienced and the best practices of nurses and midwives so as to improve nursing education, nursing administration and community nursing within Africa.

From a public health standpoint, a stringent visitation policy was necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic, but it had unforeseen communicative and emotional health consequences for family members. This study explored family members’ experiences regarding implementing a restricted visitation policy when a patient was admitted with COVID-19 at public hospitals in the Vhembe district. Researchers used an exploratory, descriptive, and contextual qualitative technique. Twelve family members made up the population. Unstructured telephone interviews were used to obtain the data, and open coding was used to analyse data. Ethics were consistently followed. Before taking part, participants provided verbal informed consent, acknowledging that they could withdraw from the study if necessary. Three themes emerged: inadequate measures for temporary communication channels and techniques, the mental health effects of COVID-19 admission, and poor/lack of standardised visitation policy during the COVID 19-pandemic. There was a need to balance safety from contracting COVID-19 infection and promoting family-centred care. Virtual visits through telecommunication solutions could reduce fear and anxiety as the family could be updated on the progress of the hospitalised relative. Alternatively, hospital managers must allocate a dedicated person in the unit to update families when they call and enquire about the conditions.

Preconception care (PCC) is the provision of biomedical, behavioural, and social health interventions to women and couples before they fall pregnant. The World Health Organization (WHO) developed PCC recommendations in 2013, which were included in the South African maternity care guidelines in 2016. The purpose of PCC is to lessen behaviours and environmental factors leading to maternal ill-health, thus reducing maternal and perinatal mortality rates. Objective: To determine the implementation of PCC recommendations at health facilities in the selected districts of Limpopo Province and the associated factors. Methods: A qualitative exploratory design was used. Nonprobability, purposive sampling was used to sample 29 professional nurses (PNs), and 51 women of childbearing age (WCBA) (19–35 years) from clinics and community health centres (CHCs). Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the professional nurses and focus group discussions with the WCBA. Data analysis was performed through open coding. Measures of trustworthiness were adhered to. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from relevant stakeholders, participation was voluntary and participants signed a consent form prior to data collection. Results: The findings of the study revealed that there was partial implementation of the PCC recommendations in the selected districts of Limpopo Province, PCC provision was dependent on clients’ initiation, a knowledge gap regarding PCC recommendations was identified from the professional nurses, and a lack of awareness regarding PCC from the WCBA. Conclusion: The preconception period is an important determinant of the pregnancy outcome; therefore, focus should be redirected to the pre-pregnancy period and not only to when the woman is already pregnant. However, to achieve this, professional nurses and WCBA should be empowered regarding PCC and its benefits.

Background: TB is a significant public health problem around the world, with South Africa being one of the 30 high-burden TB countries, accounting for 87 percent of all estimated incident TB cases. In South Africa, which accounts for 3% of all instances worldwide, research on students’ experiences and understanding of underlying factors is lacking. These future leaders are still in a key time of physical and psychological development. This study aimed to test students’ understanding of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) and its causes at a rural institution of higher learning. Methodology: Quantitative method was used using a cross-sectional design. The study was conducted in the 2020 Vhembe District, Limpopo, South Africa. In the poll, 199 students living in overcrowded campus housing were interviewed. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data at the Thohoyandou campus. Data were analysed using version 26.0 of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), with a Spearman’s rank-order correlation run. Results: The findings of this study revealed that 25.6 percent of male students and 74.4 percent of female students, respectively, understood PTB, while students at the selected tertiary institution have insufficient awareness of the causes of PTB. The association between education and TB knowledge among the respondents was determined using Spearman’s rank-order correlation. There was a statistically significant positive association between education and TB knowledge (Spearman’s rho = 0.669, p = 0.035). Conclusions: The study found that students at a higher education institution lacked sufficient general Knowledge regarding PTB. PTB control measures should be adopted to implement better the NSP, NDP, Global STOP TB strategy and the SDGs.

Curationis provides a forum for cutting-edge theories and research models related to the exploration of issues experienced and the best practices of nurses and midwives so as to improve nursing education, nursing administration and community nursing within Africa.