This article reports on a pilot study of the use of applied theatre in the dissemination of health research findings and validation of data. The study took place in South Africa, as part of the Southern Africa Stroke Prevention Initiative (SASPI) and was based at the University/Medical Research Council Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (also known as the Agincourt Unit). The aim of SASPI was to investigate the prevalence of stroke and understand the social context of stroke. It was decided to use an applied theatre approach for validating the data and disseminating findings from the anthropological component of the study. The pilot study found that applied theatre worked better in smaller community groups. It allowed data validation and it elicited ideas for future interventions resulting from the health research findings. Evaluation methods of the impact of applied theatre as a vehicle for the dissemination and communication of research findings require further development.

The results suggest that a multi-method approach to data collection is useful and appropriate in gaining access to those parents who are non-users of the Sure Start services and enabling their voices to be heard. These findings offer some explanations and insight into the apparent ambivalent attitudes of some families toward Sure Start services. Implications for future practice are discussed.

BackgroundBuilding an equitable health system is a cornerstone of the World Health Organization (WHO) health system building block framework. Public participation in any such reform process facilitates successful implementation. South Africa has embarked on a major reform in health policy that aims at redressing inequity and enabling all citizens to have equal access to efficient and quality health services.ObjectiveThis research is based on a survey using Mxit as a mobile phone–based social media network. It was intended to encourage comments on the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) and to raise awareness among South Africans about their rights to free and quality health care.MethodsData were gathered by means of a public e-consultation, and following a qualitative approach, were then examined and grouped in a theme analysis. The WHO building blocks were used as the conceptual framework in analysis and discussion of the identified themes.ResultsMajor themes are the improvement of service delivery and patient-centered health care, enhanced accessibility of health care providers, and better health service surveillance. Furthermore, health care users demand stronger outcome-based rather than rule-based indicators of the health system’s governance. Intersectoral solidarity and collaboration between private and public health care providers are suggested. Respondents also propose a code of ethical values for health care professionals to address corruption in the health care system. It is noteworthy that measures for dealing with corruption or implementing ethical values are neither described in the WHO building blocks nor in the NHI.ConclusionsThe policy makers of the new health system for South Africa should address the lack of trust in the health care system that this study has exposed. Furthermore, the study reveals discrepancies between the everyday lived reality of public health care consumers and the intended health policy reform.

BackgroundState parties to human rights conventions and declarations are often faced with the seemingly contradictory problem of having an obligation to protect people from harmful practices while also having an obligation to enable access to culturally appropriate effective healing. As people increasingly migrate across the globe, previous distinctions between ‘traditional’ and ‘complementary and alternative medicine’ practices are being transcended. There are connections across transnational healing pathways that link local, national, and global movements of people and knowledge.ObjectiveThis paper contributes to the development of the concept and practice of the right to health in all its forms, exploring the right to traditional, complementary, and alternative health (R2TCAH) across different contexts.DesignThe paper draws on four settings – England, South Africa, Kenya, and Jordan – and is based on key informant interviews and a literature review undertaken in 2010, and updated in 2013. The paper begins by reviewing the international legal context for the right to health. It then considers legal and professional regulations from the global north and south.ResultsAdditional research is needed to establish the legal basis, compare regulatory frameworks, and explore patient and provider perspectives of regulation. This leads to being able to make recommendations on how to balance protection from harm and the obligation to ensure culturally appropriate services. Such an exploration must also challenge Western theories of human rights. Key concepts, such as individual harm, consent, and respect of the autonomy of the individual already established and recognised in international health law, could be adopted in the development of a template for future comparative research.ConclusionsExploration of the normative content of the right to health in all its forms will contribute to supporting traditional, complementary, and alternative health service users and providers in terms of access to information, non-discrimination, clarification of state obligations, and accountability.

Children and their parents who become homeless constitute a group of families with a complex range of social care and health needs, including mental health difficulties. In response to this, a local authority housing department established a family support team (FST) that provides assessment and detection of a range of problems, support to parents and children, parenting interventions for child behavioural problems, liaison with other agencies, and referral to specialist services when appropriate. The aim of this study was to establish the perceptions of parents and staff on their experience of the service, and ways of improving it in the future. The study adopted a developmental evaluation approach and used multiple methods, including in‐depth interviews with families; diaries; reflective activities; participatory learning and action; and observation of the FST. The study mapped the innovative service and captured the range of skills in the team and the complexity of agencies the team interacted with. It also identified areas for further development in terms of the mental health needs of children and parents who have become homeless.