Retention of medical officers in the district health services of the Western Cape, South Africa: An exploratory descriptive qualitative study.

Background: An adequate health workforce is an essential building block of effective health systems. In South Africa, medical officers (MOs) are a key component of service delivery in district health services. The Stellenbosch University Family Physician Research Network in the Western Cape identified that retention of MOs was a key issue.

The contribution of family physicians to surgical capacity at district hospitals in South Africa.

The World Health Organization states that essential, cost-effective surgical care should be delivered at district hospitals. In South Africa significant skills gap exist at district hospitals, particularly in the area of surgery and anaesthesia. These small to moderate sized hospitals are too small to support a range of full time specialists even if they could be recruited and were cost-effective.

Evaluation of patient characteristics, management and outcomes for COVID-19 at district hospitals in the Western Cape, South Africa: descriptive observational study.

Objectives: To describe the characteristics, clinical management and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 at district hospitals.

Design: A descriptive observational cross-sectional study.

Setting: District hospitals (4 in metro and 4 in rural health services) in the Western Cape, South Africa.

SARS-COV-2 (Covid-19) and male fertility: Where are we?

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), a single-stranded RNA virus, was found to be the causal agent of the disease called coronavirus disease. During December 2019, China informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of an outbreak of cases of pneumonia of unknown etiology, which caused severe-acute respiratory distress. The disease was termed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

Magnitude, trends and prevention of road traffic accidents in the Republic of South Africa.

Road traffic injuries (RTIs) constitute one of the five major disease burdens in South Africa with high mortality and morbidity. Thus far, the scientific enquiry into this burden has not been accompanied by successful government efforts to meet the challenge. Currently, more than 1.

'Self-collected upper respiratory tract swabs for COVID-19 test': A feasible way to increase overall testing rate and conserve resources in South Africa.

Disparity in the testing rate of SARS-CoV-2 amongst different countries and regions is a very big challenge in understanding the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some developed countries have a very high testing rate and subsequently a high number of confirmed cases, less developed countries have a low testing rate and an illusive positivity rate. Collection of the upper respiratory specimen is not often comfortable.

Patients' perceptions of the triage system in a primary healthcare facility, Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: In public healthcare facilities, where the patient numbers and the available resources are often disproportionate, triage is used to prioritise when patients are seen. Patients may not understand the triage process and have strong views on how to improve their experience.

Aim: This study explored the views of patients who had undergone triage in the emergency centre of a primary care facility.