An Evaluation of Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Personnel Knowledge About Crisis Resource Management and Perspectives of Educators About Inclusion of Crisis Resource Management in the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Curriculum.

Purpose: To evaluate the knowledge of pre-hospital emergency care personnel (PECP) in South Africa on the principles, practice of crisis resource management (CRM), and obtain emergency medical care (EMC) educators' views on the teaching and learning of CRM skills in the pre-hospital EMC curriculum.

Methods: This research was designed as an exploratory study that used a semi-structured questionnaire administered to 2000 PECP and focus group discussion (FGD) with 19 emergency care educators. Chi-squared test and Cramér's V were used to examine the existence and the strength of an association between cross-tabulated variables.

The epidemiological profile of meningitis among adults in a South African district hospital.

Introduction: understanding the epidemiological profile of a disease in a particular region allows for proper planning of public health resources for prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. In this present study, we describe the epidemiological profile of viral, fungal, tuberculous and bacterial meningitis among adults at National District Hospital (NDH), Free State province, over three years period (January 2017 to December 2019).

Methods: a retrospective, observational study of all adult meningitis cases, managed at the National District Hospital (NDH) Bloemfontein, Free State Province, South Africa between January 2017 and December 2019.

The Practicality of the Use of Liquid Biopsy in Early Diagnosis and Treatment Monitoring of Oral Cancer in Resource-Limited Settings.

An important driving force for precision and individualized medicine is the provision of tailor-made care for patients on an individual basis, in accordance with best evidence practice. Liquid biopsy(LB) has emerged as a critical tool for the early diagnosis of cancer and for treatment monitoring, but its clinical utility for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) requires more research and validation. Hence, in this review, we have discussed the current applications of LB and the practicality of its routine use in Africa; the potential advantages of LB over the conventional "gold-standard" of tissue biopsy; and finally, practical considerations were discussed in three parts: pre-analytic, analytic processing, and the statistical quality and postprocessing phases.

The COVID-19 pandemic: the benefits and challenges it presents for medical education in Africa.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has impacted many facets of everyday daily life, resulting in far-reaching consequences on social interaction, regional and global economies, and healthcare delivery systems. Numerous reports have commented on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education in various world regions. However, we know little about the influence of the pandemic on medical education in Africa.

Medical Educators' Perceptions of Research Culture in a Faculty of Health Sciences: A South African Study.

In South Africa, as with many other developing countries, a call has been made for institutions of higher learning to participate in more research and set the pace for societal transformation. At the Faculty of Health Sciences (FoHS), University of the Free State (UFS), numerous strategic efforts are focused on supporting and stimulating research. An essential prerequisite for the success of these vital efforts is to be aware of the research culture within the academic faculties.

Profile of geriatric presentations at the emergency department of a rural district hospital in South Africa.

Introduction: the geriatric population is increasing in South Africa and globally. According to Statistics South Africa (STATSSA), people aged 60 years or older constitute approximately 8.4%-9.

Factors influencing HIV risk-taking behaviours amongst textile factory workers living with HIV in Lesotho.

With its number of employees ranging from 45,310 to 46,000, the textile and apparel industry is the main private sector employer of labour in Lesotho. It has been reported that a third (an estimated 34%) of these workers are living with HIV. There is perception that textile factory workers living with HIV (TFWLWH) in Lesotho indulge in HIV risk-taking behaviours.

Assessing the knowledge of emergency medical care practitioners in the Free State, South Africa, on aspects of pre-hospital management of psychiatric emergencies.

Introduction: Studies have reported that emergency medical care practitioners (EMCPs) encounter challenges when attending to psychiatric emergencies. The EMC provider's ability to understand, assess and manage psychiatric emergencies has been reported to be poor due to limited knowledge and insufficient training. In South Africa (SA), little is known about the knowledge of EMCPs on pre-hospital management of psychiatric emergencies.

Contextualising the relevance of specialty-specific electives in dental education: Perspectives of dental and oral hygiene graduates.

Introduction: Electives have been shown to contribute to both the professional and personal development of students in specific areas of interest outside the standard curriculum. The School of Oral Health Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand introduced electives as a pedagogy in the Bachelor of Dental Sciences (BDS) and Bachelor of Oral Health Sciences (BOHSc) curricula in 2010 and 2014, respectively. However, since its introduction, the relevance of these electives in the BDS and BOHSc curricula has not been investigated.

Assessing the knowledge of emergency medical care personnel in the Free State, South Africa, on aspects of paediatric pre-hospital emergency care.

Introduction: In South Africa in 2016, injuries accounted for 4 483 deaths of children aged 0-4 years. Prior studies have reported that, in some parts of the country, poor pre-hospital clinical care is a key contributor to the morbidity and mortality of critically ill and injured children. A key component of a coordinated emergency health care system are emergency medical care (EMC) personnel.

The physician-scientists: rare species in Africa.

There is paucity of physician-scientists in Africa, resulting in overt dependence of clinical practice on research findings from advanced "first world" countries. Physician-scientists include individuals with a medical degree alone or combined with other advanced degrees (e.g.