To assess the appropriateness and understanding of the revised, draft South African Paediatric Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (SA-PFBDGs) amongst mothers/caregivers of children aged 0-12 months. Exposure to guidelines with similar messages, barriers and enablers to following of the guidelines were also assessed. Design: Qualitative data were collected from 14 focus-group discussions (FGDs), conducted in isiXhosa (n = 5), English (n = 4) and Afrikaans (n = 5), totalling 73 mother/caregiver participants. Setting: Worcester, Breede Valley sub-district, Western Cape province. Subjects: The study population included mothers/caregivers who were older than 18 years. Results: The majority of participants had previous exposure to variations of messages similar to the revised, draft SA-PFBDGs. Health platforms and practitioners (community health centres, antenatal classes, nurses, doctors) and social networks and platforms (family, magazines, radio) were mentioned as primary sources of information. Barriers to following the messages included: inconsistent messages (mainly communicated by healthcare workers), contrasting beliefs and cultural/family practices, limited physical and financial access to resources, poor social support structures and the psycho-social and physical demands of raising a child. Conclusion:The revised, draft SA-PFBDGs for the age range 0-12 months have been field-tested in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa. The messages in some of the revised, draft SA-PFBDGs were not understood by the participants, indicating that a degree of rewording should be considered to facilitate understanding of the guidelines by the public. The National Department of Health should consider the findings of this study, and use these standardised messages to optimise infant and young child feeding.

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Background: This paper provides an overview of a series of studies undertaken to assess the appropriateness and understanding of the revised, draft South African Paediatric Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (SA-PFBDGs) amongst mothers/ caregivers of children aged 0-5 years. Previous exposure to guidelines with similar messages, barriers and enablers to following the guidelines were also assessed. Design: Qualitative methods were used to collect data from 38 focus-group discussions (isiXhosa = 11, Afrikaans = 11, English = 10 and siSwati = 6) resulting in 268 participants. Setting: Breede Valley sub-district (Worcester), Stellenbosch Municipality (Stellenbosch, Pniel and Franschhoek) and Northern Metropole (Atlantis, Witsand, Du Noon and Blouberg), City of Cape Town, Western Cape province, as well as Ehlanzeni District (Kabokweni) in Mpumalanga province. Subjects: Mothers/caregivers older than 18 years who provided informed consent to participate. Results: The majority of participants had previous exposure to guidelines with similar messages to the SA-PFBDGs. Information sources included nurses, local clinics, family, friends and media. Possible barriers to following the guidelines included limited physical and financial access to resources; cultural/family practices, poor social support and time constraints. Outdated information, misconceptions, inconsistent messages and contrasting beliefs were evident. The vocabulary of some messages was not well understood. Education on infant and young child feeding and visual portrayal of the guidelines could aid understanding. Conclusion:A degree of rewording should be considered for improved understanding of the revised, draft SA-PFBDGs. Once adopted, the guidelines can be used to educate various stakeholders, including parents, caregivers, healthcare providers and educators, on the correct nutritional advice for children aged 0-5 years ensuring the healthy growth and development of young children in South Africa.

The education of health professionals needs to respond to new health challenges, health science developments and health needs of society to strengthen the health system. Frenk et al. [1] reported the findings of the Lancet's Global Independent Commission into the Education of Health Professionals for the 21st century, and stated that the education of health professionals has not kept pace with the major challenges of providing health security to all. Some of the problems mentioned by the Commission include: poor teamwork; narrow technical focus without broader contextual understanding; mismatch of competencies with regard to patient and population needs; episodic encounters rather than continuous care; and predominant hospital orientation at the expense of primary care. The Commission believes that academic institutions are liable for these problems, as curricula are fragmented, outdated and static. [1] The training of healthcare professionals is indeed a challenge and needs to ensure that entry-level professionals are equipped with the necessary skills and competencies to provide the highest standard of care for their clients. In South Africa (SA), the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) promotes the health of all South Africans 'by determining standards of professional education and training and setting and maintaining the highest standards of professional and ethical behaviour for its registered healthcare professionals' . [2] This is achieved by establishing and monitoring the standards of professional education and training of the different healthcare professionals and setting standards for professional and ethical conduct of qualified professionals registered with the HPCSA. The different professional bodies each have guidelines that determine the content of the different courses, but the core ethical values and standards for good practice are generic and apply to all healthcare professionals. The core ethical values and standards for good practice are respect for persons, beneficence, non-maleficence, human rights, autonomy, integrity, truthfulness, confidentiality, compassion, tolerance and justice. [3] Training for the healthcare professions has to include a comprehensive approach that addresses the needs of all South Africans, including skills to provide health promotion, health prevention, and curative and rehabilitation services. Healthcare professionals also need to be trained in social and technical skills to work together as a team. [4] Since 1993, the healthcare system in SA has been expanded, transformed and revitalised, and parallel to this there have been major growth and developments in health science, professional education and training. [5] Concurrently, an increased understanding of the value and need to include inter-professional education (IPE) in the training of healthcare students has developed. [1,6] IPE is defined as: 'When two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care' . [7] IPE can be utilised to prepare...