Mental health needs among pregnant and parenting adolescent girls and young women in South Africa: A scoping review.

Teenage pregnancy and parenting pose a greater risk of developing mental health problems among pregnant and parenting adolescent girls and young women. We report on a scoping review of peer-reviewed articles to identify mental health needs and challenges among pregnant and parenting adolescent girls and young women. We adopted only five steps of the Arksey and O'Malley framework to facilitate the scoping review of 125 articles published between July 2002 and August 2022 from these databases (MEDLINE, SABINET, EBSCOhost, Science Direct) using search syntax. Major themes emerged from the thematic content analysis; challenges experienced by pregnant and parenting adolescent girls and young women and the recommended interventions, factors associated with mental health in pregnant women and parenting adolescent girls and young women, and the implications of mental health problems. Mental health challenges, among others, include depression, stress and anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorders, and suicidal thoughts. Limited mental health interventions are provided to the group, including social support, parental coaching and counselling, and guidance, which translates to an imbalance between targeted mental health interventions and mental health challenges. We recommend involvement and education of the community on social support, development of digital health programs and integration of mental health services amongst schools, clinics, and community development to support pregnant and parenting adolescent girls and young women.

Overweight Prevalence among Rural Adolescents by Household Head Obesity and Socio-Economic Status in Limpopo, South Africa.

Background: Childhood obesity has become the most important and growing public health problem in the world. They add to public health challenges by increasing the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases. However, in spite of its importance, there is limited literature that evaluates the prevalence of obesity among rural adolescents in sub-Saharan Africa. We report the first study to present an insight into rural black overweight South African children and the physical characteristics and socio-economic status of the household head. A quantitative cross-sectional population study was conducted involving 51 selected primary villages within the DIMAMO surveillance area in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study involved 294 adolescents, 154 girls and 140 boys, who were under the age of 18. Of these participants, 127 (43%) were within the normal weight range, and 167 (57%) were overweight. Gender made a significant difference, with more girls being overweight than boys. Adolescents who did not receive child grants and whose heads of household were 45−54 years old, poor, and overweight had a higher prevalence of obesity (p-value < 0.05). This study suggests that public health interventionists need to target both the heads of household and their children in hopes of reducing the prevalence of overweight and obese South African children. We further propose a better understanding of the causes of childhood overweight and obesity to guide policy development and implementation in rural settings.

Health System- and Patient-Related Factors Associated with COVID-19 Mortality among Hospitalized Patients in Limpopo Province of South Africa's Public Hospitals.

South Africa has recorded the highest COVID-19 morbidity and mortality compared to other African regions. Several authors have linked the least amount of death in African countries with under-reporting due to poor health systems and patients' health-seeking behaviors, making the use of clinical audits more relevant for establishing the root causes of health problems, and improving quality patient care outcomes. Clinical audits, such as mortality audits, have a significant role in improving quality health care services, but very little is documented about the outcomes of the audits. Therefore, the study sought to determine the health care system and patient-related factors associated with COVID-19 mortality by reviewing the COVID-19 inpatient mortality audit narration reports. This was a retrospective qualitative research approach of all hospitalized COVID-19 patients, resulting in death between the first and second COVID-19 pandemic waves. Thematic analysis employed inductive coding to identify themes from mortality audits from all 41 public hospitals in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Four themes with seventeen sub-themes emerged: sub-standard emergency medical care provided, referral system inefficiencies contributed to delays in access to health care services, the advanced age of patients with known and unknown comorbidities, and poor management of medical supplies and equipment, as a health system and patient-related factors that contributed to the high mortality of COVID-19 patients. There is a need to routinely conduct clinical audits to identify clinical challenges and make recommendations for health promotion, risk communication, and community engagement. We recommend reviewing and expanding the scope of practice for health-care providers during epidemics and pandemics that include aspects such as task-shifting.

The effects of absenteeism on nurses remaining on duty at a tertiary hospital of Limpopo province.

BACKGROUND:  Absenteeism is a global problem in the working force and this is no exception in the nursing profession. Much attention has been drawn to factors that contribute to absenteeism; however, little attention has been placed on the effects of absenteeism on nurses remaining on duty by their colleagues. Nurses absent themselves leaving behind their colleagues to execute their part of work. OBJECTIVES:  To investigate the effects of absenteeism on nurses who remained on duty at a tertiary hospital in Limpopo province. METHOD:  A quantitative descriptive research approach was chosen to enable the researchers to achieve the research aim. Data collected using structured questionnaires were analysed by descriptive statistics. RESULTS:  The findings indicated that absenteeism has an effect on both the nurses' psychological and professional well-being, as well as the quality of patient care provided as a result of psychological stress, low morale of nurses and increased workload. The study further revealed the provision of substandard care to patients by those nurses who are remaining on duty, resulting in risk of medical errors that could jeopardise their professional credibility. Therefore, absenteeism creates an unhealthy working environment for nurses remaining on duty. CONCLUSION:  Nurse managers should provide platforms to address psychological and professional problems experienced by nurses remaining on duty. The study further recommends the introduction of policies that would address absenteeism in the workplace and how nurses who remain on duty could be assisted with the workload of colleagues who continuously absent themselves.

Record-keeping: Challenges experienced by nurses in selected public hospitals.

BACKGROUND:  Patients' records provide a trace of care processes that have occurred and are further used as communication amongst nurses for continued management of patients. Nurses have the responsibility to ensure that records are accurate and complete in order to effectively manage their patients. In hospitals, nurses have to record a wide range of information in the patient's records and this leads to increased workload on the part of nurses that compromises accurate record-keeping. OBJECTIVES:  The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the challenges experienced by nurses with regard to record-keeping at selected public hospitals in the Vhembe district, Limpopo Province, South Africa. METHOD:  A qualitative, explorative and descriptive research design was used. Nurses working in selected public hospitals were purposively selected and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation was reached. Data were analysed using the Tesch's open-coding method. RESULTS:  Nurses working in public hospitals experience record-keeping as a challenging activity owing to a variety of challenges which include lack of time to complete the records, increased patients' admission and shortage of recording material. CONCLUSION:  Record-keeping is not done properly which is problematic, and it is recommended that there should be continuous training, monitoring and evaluation of nurses on record-keeping issues, supply of adequate recording materials and proper time management amongst nurses to improve record-keeping challenges. The need for comprehensive record-keeping remains fundamental in public hospitals in order to improve patient care.