Leana R. Uys

A Survey of the quality of nursing care in several health districts in South Africa.

BackgroundSouth Africa is currently focusing strongly on human resource development. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the quality of nursing service and care in three health districts in the KwaZulu Natal Province. To identify deficiencies which could be addressed by education and training, it might be useful to measure the quality of care given by nurses.MethodsFrom March to August 2002 a survey was done in six hospitals and six clinics in three health districts of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Five different aspects of care was evaluated; hand-over from one nursing shift to another, implementation of universal precautions, patient satisfaction, nursing records, management of chronic illnesses. All these aspects were evaluated using checklists based on record reviews or direct observation, except for patient satisfaction, which was evaluated by questionnaires.ResultsThe average scores on the different aspects varied from 11% (for nursing records) to 73% (for management of chronic diseases). Specific problems became evident. In one district three out of four hand-overs between shifts of nurses scored less than 50%. In all three districts the use of protective gear scored low (43%). While the average score for management of chronic illnesses were high at 73%, the blood pressures of only 23% was within the target range, and the blood sugar of only 38% of patients were controlled. Patient satisfaction averaged 72% across the three districts.ConclusionThe quality of care measurements identified specific training needs, but other management strategies are probably also indicated.

Educating nurses for primary psychiatric care: A South African perspective

This article examines the meaning of Primary Health Care, and the implications for the provision of psychiatric care at this level. The authors describe how one nursing school in a developing country, South Africa, prepares nurses to function in a primary health care system, which fully includes psychiatric care. The results for the service, the community and the students are described.

An evaluation of the problem-solving ability of diplomates from a comprehensive nursing programme

The aim of this South African study was to obtain a measurement of the problem-solving ability of diplomates from a basic nursing programme with this skill included in its programme objectives. The problem-solving skills of diplomates from this programme were compared with those of first years to determine if there is an improvement in the problem-solving skills. A comparison was also made with a different basic programmes not claiming to teach problem-solving. The research design selected for this study was the ex post facto design. Data were collected using the Triple Jump Method which is an interview technique. The findings suggested that the level of the problem-solving skills of the comprehensive nursing programme diplomate is not satisfactory. There was, however, some improvement in the problem-solving ability from the first to the fourth year. The level of performance of the fourth years was slightly higher than that of the third years of the three-year nursing programme, who were used as the control group. Recommendations on selection teaching and evaluation of students, as well as further research, were made.

Nursing education in South Africa

Basic nursing education in South Africa has recently changed from a series of single registrations to a 4 year integrated programme. Diploma nursing education has also been moved into the mainstream of post-secondary education by the establishment of Nursing Colleges affiliated to Universities. These structural changes have put nursing education on a healthy footing, which should serve it well for the next decade.