Healthcare workers' views on type 2 diabetes mellitus management at selected clinics in Mthatha.

Background:  Diabetes is a non-communicable disease of global public health importance. Healthcare workers play a vital role in the management of this disease.

Aim:  This study aimed to explore healthcare workers' views on managing patients with type 2 diabetes at primary health care facilities.

Clinical outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 patients at Mthatha Regional Hospital, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A retrospective study.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health crisis that threatens the current health system. The sudden expansion in the need for inpatient and intensive care facilities raised concerns about optimal clinical management and resource allocation. Despite the pressing need for evidence to make context-specific decisions on COVID-19 management, evidence from South Africa remained limited.

Opportunity for change: Undergraduate training in family medicine.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the world as we knew it, and medical education is not an exception. Walter Sisulu University (WSU) has a distributed model of clinical training for the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) programme. To address the challenges occasioned by the pandemic, the Department of Family Medicine and Rural Health undertook a modification of its MBChB VI programme.

The effect of the Xpert MTB/RIF test on the time to MDR-TB treatment initiation in a rural setting: a cohort study in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province.

Background: There are significant delays in initiation of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR -TB) treatment. The Xpert MTB/RIF test has been shown to reduce the time to diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB predominantly in urban centres. This study describes the time to treatment of MDR-TB and the effect of Xpert MTB/RIF on time to treatment in a deprived rural area in South Africa.