Factors influencing the transition from paediatric to adult HIV care in the Western Cape, South Africa: perspectives of health care providers.

Transitioning to adult care for HIV-infected adolescents is a critical process in determining long-term health outcomes. Poor transitioning to adult care can lead to several adverse HIV-related outcomes for adolescents living with HIV, including disruption of care, non-adherence to ART and virological failure. In this qualitative study, we explore the barriers to and facilitators of the transition to adult care among HIV-infected youth from the perspectives of health care workers and allied staff.

4 Steps To My Future (4STMF): protocol for a universal school-based pilot and feasibility study of a CBT-based psychoeducational intervention to support psychological well-being amongst young adolescents in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Background: Mental health problems often emerge during middle childhood and adolescence. In South Africa, and in the context of high rates of poverty, violence, and adversity, many children are at a considerable risk for developing mental health problems. Access to and costs of mental health services preclude treatment for most.

What should a Universal School-Based Psychoeducational Programme to Support Psychological Well-Being amongst Children and Young People in South Africa Focus on and how should it be Delivered? A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective.

Children and young people are vulnerable to developing mental health problems. In South Africa, this vulnerability is compounded by contextual risk factors such as community violence and poverty. However, mental health services are scarce and costly, which precludes access for many.

How young people experienced COVID-19 disease containment measures in the Western Cape, South Africa: A qualitative study including the perspectives of young people, their parents, teachers and school counsellors.

Background: Little is known about the potential impact of COVID-19 disease containment measures on children's mental health and well-being, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. We sought to explore this amongst young adolescents in South Africa and from the perspectives of multiple key stakeholders.

Methods: We conducted 25 individual semi-structured telephonic interviews with children (n = 7, aged 12-13 years), teachers (n = 8), parents/caregivers (n = 7) and school counsellors (n = 3) from two public primary schools in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Instructive roles and supportive relationships: client perspectives of their engagement with community health workers in a rural south African home visiting program.

Background: Community health worker (CHW) programs have been positioned as a way to meet the needs of those who experience marginalization and inequitable access to health care, and current global health narratives also emphasize their adaptable nature to meet growing health burdens in low-income settings. However, as CHW programs adopt more technical roles, the value of CHWs in building relationships with clients tends to be overlooked. More importantly, these programs are often reframed and redeployed without attending to the interests and needs of program clients themselves.

Universal school-based mental health programmes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and narrative synthesis.

Depression and anxiety pose a significant burden during adolescence, which may have consequences for adulthood and future generations. The mental health needs of children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries are not adequately addressed due to a lack of availability and access to services, and limited intervention research in these contexts. Universal school-based interventions provide a unique and potentially scalable opportunity to prevent and address mental health concerns amongst children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries.

How do pregnant women and new mothers navigate and respond to challenges in accessing health care? Perspectives from rural South Africa.

Women in low- and middle-income countries and in contexts characterized by inequality face various interpersonal and structural barriers when accessing formal maternal and child health (MCH) services. These barriers persist even in contexts where programs to increase access to services, such as community health worker (CHW) interventions, have been implemented. However, while barriers to accessing care have been extensively documented, less is known about the diverse ways that women respond to, and navigate, these situations.

Structural barriers to adhering to health behaviours in the context of the COVID-19 crisis: Considerations for low- and middle-income countries.

In seeking to limit the number of new infections of COVID-19, governments around the world have implemented national lockdowns and guidelines about safe behaviours. Lockdown requires people to stay home and only leave when essential such as to purchase groceries and medication. In low- and middle-income countries, many of which have large proportions of the population living in precarity, lockdown forces millions of people to spend prolonged periods of time together in close proximity to one another and with limited resources.

The home visit communication skills inventory: Piloting a tool to measure community health worker fidelity to training in rural South Africa.

Community-based home visiting programs using community health workers (CHWs) have become popular modes of delivering health care services, especially in settings where health workers are overburdened and resources are limited. Yet, little is known about the processes that shape effective implementation in low-resource settings, and whether these processes adhere to home visitors' training. This study used the newly-developed Home Visit Communication Skills Inventory (HCSI) to explore the delivery of a CHW program in rural South Africa.

Living with multiple sclerosis in South Africa: how is multiple sclerosis experienced in the workplace?

Purpose: The aim of this qualitative study was to explore how individuals living with multiple sclerosis experience their disorder in the South African working environment. In this paper we present the experiences of office-based workers living with multiple sclerosis, their challenges, and coping mechanisms.

Material And Methods: We purposively recruited seven participants who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the last five years.

Which HIV-infected youth are at risk of developing depression and what treatments help? A systematic review focusing on Southern Africa.

Background: Depression is common in people with HIV and is associated with lower quality of life, reduced medication adherence, worse disease progression and higher risk of transmission to others. While the majority of HIV-infected youth live in Southern Africa, research has largely focused on adults from Western countries, with limited generalisability across these populations. This review sought to identify and synthesise research on the risk factors for depression in HIV-infected youth in Southern Africa, and to summarise the available evidence on psychosocial interventions to reduce depression.

South African adolescents living with spina bifida: contributors and hindrances to well-being.

Background: Spina bifida myelomeningocele is a major cause of disability among adolescents. However, little research is available in low-income nations such as South Africa. Investigating the contributors and hindrances to well-being in adolescents with spina bifida myelomeningocele may yield novel insights.

Women's stories of living with breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence.

Rationale: Globally, breast cancer is by far the most frequently occurring cancer amongst women. Whilst the physical consequences of the disease and associated treatments are well documented, a comprehensive picture of how breast cancer is experienced at all stages of disease progression is lacking.

Objective: This systematic review aimed to synthesize qualitative studies documenting women's breast cancer narratives into an empirically based explanatory framework.

Correlates of Fatigue Among South African Adolescents Living with HIV and Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy.

Fatigue among adolescents living with HIV is poorly understood. In this study, we examined the relationships between fatigue and demographic and psychosocial variables to further the understanding of the symptom experience and associated factors. We recruited consecutive attenders at ART clinics in the Western Cape, South Africa (N = 134, age 11-18 years).

Living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): a South African narrative.

Background: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a highly prevalent and debilitating psychiatric disorder known to interfere with several life domains. Yet little is known about the subjective experiences of living with OCD amongst South Africans and more so, the ways in which it impacts daily functioning and quality of life (QOL).

Methods: The aim of this study was to explore daily functioning and QOL among South African adults living with OCD.