BackgroundUnder-five mortality has been a major public health challenge from time immemorial. In response to this challenge, the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund developed the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) strategy and presented it to the whole world as a key approach to reduce child morbidity and mortality. Botswana started to implement the IMCI strategy in 1998. Reductions in the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) have been documented, although the reduction is not on par with the expected Millennium Development Goal 4 predictions.DesignA quantitative study was done to identify the problems IMCI implementers face when tending children under 5 years in the Gaborone Health District of Botswana. The study population was made up of all the IMCI-trained and registered nurses, and systematic sampling was used to randomly select study participants. Questionnaires were used to collect data.ResultsThe study findings indicated challenges related to low training coverage, health systems, and the unique features of the IMCI strategy.ConclusionsThe comprehensive implementation of the IMCI strategy has the potential to significantly influence the U5MR in Botswana.

To optimize and ensure safe and quality patient care, risk assessments should be done by a registered professional nurse, who will then coordinate the nursing care of the patient with the assistance of the lower category of nurses.

BackgroundThe aging academic cohort in the faculty of health sciences necessitates transfer of knowledge and skills as a crucial component of sustainability. Formal mentoring programmes at higher education institutions aim to create a platform where experienced faculty can mentor newly appointed faculty to adjust to the context and gain knowledge and exposure. The formal mentoring programmes' structure and outcomes can create challenges and prevent the perfect fit between the mentor and mentee.PurposeThe aim is to provide a description of the experiences of mentors and mentees of a formal mentoring programme in a higher education institution. This pilot study strives to provide recommendations to enhance mentorship experiences that facilitate adjustment and knowledge and skill transfer through the perfect fit.MethodsA qualitative, descriptive case study was conducted as a pilot study. The case used was the formal mentoring programme. The unit of analysis was three purposefully selected faculty and researchers who were intimately involved in the mentoring process. Guided narrative reports were used and analysed by Tesch's content analysis.ResultsThree themes emerged namely, knowledge and skills transfer, mentoring programme and mentoring process.ConclusionThe formal mentoring programme contributed positively to professional development, but posed challenges related to structural components. It is recommended that the structured mentoring programme be merged with informal mentoring to make it more authentic.

Improving academic quality requires feedback from students since they have specific insight in their lived educational experience. Most institutions assess educational experience by evaluating individual modules. Few institutions collectively review evaluation data from multiple modules or explore this data for evidence of curriculum transformation. The University of Pretoria developed four curriculum transformation drivers and the School of Health Systems and Public Health developed and implemented 19 transformation-related statements. We revised the standard endof-module evaluations to explore student experiences regarding the implementation of these drivers. 45 modules were reviewed. The quantitative data were analysed in Excel. Qualitative data were analysed using an inductive approach with open-coding. We generated categories and themes before comparing these to the curriculum transformation drivers. Four major themes emerged from the qualitative data: reflecting the "what", "why", "when", "where", "how" and "who" of the student experience. Categories and subcategories were explored and linked to the quantitative results. The results show that the students valued their educational experience and felt valued as students. The students' voices provided a rich source of data regarding curriculum transformation and included detailed suggestions for quality improvement. Our study presents substantive evidence of authentic educational and philosophical intentions that were realised in practice.

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