2and the alarming prevalence of both obesity and physical inactivity in South Africans, 3 even from more disadvantaged communities, 4 there are limited data on successful physical activity interventions in preventing and reducing NCDs in these settings. Physical activity has been linked to the prevention and reduction of these diseases, 5 and the problem of inactivity has been demonstrated throughout the life-course in South Africans, with only 50% of South African secondary school learners reporting participation in weekly physical education. 6School-based physical activity interventions are one of the many strategies employed in both developed and developing settings to address the rise of NCDs,7,8 although there is limited literature from developing settings. Within school-based interventions, teachers play a pivotal role in the implementation of these interventions and are acknowledged as an important source of information regarding perceptions of barriers to and factors facilitating school-based physical activity interventions 9 and the promotion of physical activity in the school environment.10 orIgInal research arTIcle evaluation of a school-based physical activity intervention in alexandra Township abstract objectives. Non-communicable diseases and limited participation in school physical education have become increasing concerns in South Africa. In response to these concerns, a schoolbased physical activity intervention, Healthnutz, was implemented in three primary schools in Alexandra Township, Johannesburg. Evaluation of Healthnutz included assessing its feasibility and acceptability, and short-term changes in learners' physical fitness, knowledge and attitudes. Methods.To assess feasibility and acceptability, a situational analysis and focus groups with teachers and programme monitors were conducted. Pre-post fitness testing (3-month interval) was conducted with learners, and a questionnaire assessed changes in learners' knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceived barriers to physical activity, in control and intervention schools.results. At implementation, teachers identified the need for more physical activity in the school environment and were positive about Healthnutz. Follow-up focus group discussions suggested that it was positively impacting teachers, learners and the school in general. Scores for sit and reach (p<0.001), sit ups (p<0.02) and shuttle run (p<0.0001) improved significantly in in-
Qualitative evaluation of a physical activity-based chronic disease prevention program in a low-income, rural SouthAfrican setting
Background Despite being identified as a solution to the challenges related to healthcare service delivery, the incorporation of interprofessional practice (IPP) into clinical practice has been limited. To implement an interprofessional model of healthcare, successfully, health professionals need to have an understanding of IPP and its related content. Aim The aim of this study was to explore and describe the health professionals’ perceptions, attitudes and understanding of IPP at a selected community health centre. Setting This study was conducted at a primary healthcare facility in the Western Cape, South Africa. Methods Ethical clearance and permission to conduct the study was obtained from all relevant stakeholders. Four focus group discussions were conducted with health professionals at the facility. Themes, codes and categories were highlighted from the transcripts of the audiotape-recorded data. Findings The findings suggest that health professionals do not have an understanding of IPP, and are thus unable to apply it practically. The health professionals perceived certain healthcare processes in the facility as barriers to the integration of practices. In addition, the health professionals expressed the need for interprofessional relationships, creation of opportunities for IPP, and communication to transform the current practice. Conclusion To implement IPP into this facility, effectively, the authors of this study recommend that facility management implement campaigns for and training on, the transition to IPP, staff induction programmes and regular meetings.
| WHAT WA S TRIED?As part of our resilience training, we developed an activity called 'Emotional Speed-Dating.' At this point in the training, students had been working in groups of 10-15 peers over a period of 4 weeks. We asked the students to build two rows of chairs facing each other. After all students had found a seat, we passed out sheets of paper containing six questions. Students in one row were assigned the role of interviewer and were asked to put the questions to the peer in the row opposite them. After 3 minutes, the interviewers and interviewees switched roles. After another 3 minutes, all students moved one seat to the right, and the person in the outermost seat moved to the empty chair at the beginning of the opposite row. Then the interviewing process began again and roles continued to switch every 3 minutes. After four rounds, the process was ended and the chairs moved into a circle to allow for reflection on the experience as a whole group.This approach allows us to offer guidance to the students in the form of questions without intruding as facilitators. The questions we developed are ordered in ascending emotional difficulty, and students are repeatedly instructed not to change the order of the questions. Various educational options can be developed from this exercise, such as how to deal with emotions and understanding the relationship between patients' and physicians' emotions.The questions provided to participants were:1. How many patients do you estimate you saw last week/month/ year? What experiences do you have with patients' emotions?3. Which emotions do you interpret as being the strongest in patients? 4. Of the patients' emotions, which are the easiest for you to deal with? 5. Of the patients' emotions, which are the most difficult for you to deal with? 6. Which emotions in patients have you been surprised to see? | WHAT LE SSON S WERE LE ARNED?To date, four cohorts have taken part in the Emotional Speed-Dating sessions. From these students, we have learned that dialogue fostered by the questions enables the group to learn from each other and to normalise shared difficulties in dealing with emotions. Further, we learned that medical students are more than willing to open up regarding their emotional experiences in the clinic, if guided properly. Students felt empowered to share their emotions and to learn how to handle more difficult emotions, like frustration and helplessness. Following these successful first cohorts, we plan to make the resilience training mandatory for all students and to further validate the training with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. O RCI D Jan Kiesewetterhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8165-402X R E FE R E N C E1. Howe A, Smajdor A, Stöckl A. Towards an understanding of resilience and its relevance to medical training. Med Educ.
adequate, the quiz was stimulating and team members felt that the newsletter brought a sense of comradery, despite social distancing.Constructive feedback was given for future newsletters regarding its format to make it easier to read on mobile devices and suggestions were made of including notification of team-members' birthdays and junior staff to be involved in the newsletter's production, thus resulting in an even more inclusive construction of the newsletter.In the current COVID-19 pandemic, many areas of the department have changed including teaching; however, departmental learning and sense of team involvement has not diminished but is rather thriving with the addition of the weekly paediatric emergency department newsletter.
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