What we may learn - and need - from pandemic fiction.

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Achievements and challenges in developing health leadership in South Africa: the experience of the Oliver Tambo Fellowship Programme 2008-2014.

The Oliver Tambo Fellowship Programme is convened by the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa. It is a health leadership training programme with a post-graduate Diploma at its core, supplemented by management seminars, mentorship and alumni networking. An external evaluation was conducted in 2015 for the period since 2008.

Does expanding fiscal space lead to improved funding of the health sector in developing countries?: lessons from Kenya, Lagos State (Nigeria) and South Africa.

Background: The global focus on promoting Universal Health Coverage has drawn attention to the need to increase public domestic funding for health care in low- and middle-income countries.

Objectives: This article examines whether increased tax revenue in the three territories of Kenya, Lagos State (Nigeria) and South Africa was accompanied by improved resource allocation to their public health sectors, and explores the reasons underlying the observed trends.

Methods: Three case studies were conducted by different research teams using a common mixed methods approach.

Strengthening expertise for health technology assessment and priority-setting in Africa.

Background: Achieving sustainable universal health coverage depends partly on fair priority-setting processes that ensure countries spend scarce resources wisely. While general health economics capacity-strengthening initiatives exist in Africa, less attention has been paid to developing the capacity of individuals, institutions and networks to apply economic evaluation in support of health technology assessment and effective priority-setting.

Objective: On the basis of international  lessons, to identify how research organisations and partnerships could contribute to capacity strengthening for health technology assessment and priority-setting in Africa.

Strengthening rural health placements for medical students: Lessons for South Africa from international experience.

Background: This article derives lessons from international experience of innovative rural health placements for medical students. It provides pointers for strengthening South African undergraduate rural health programmes in support of the government's rural health, primary healthcare and National Health Insurance strategies.

Methods: The article draws on a review of the literature on 39 training programmes around the world, and the experiential knowledge of 28 local and international experts consulted through a structured workshop.

Regulating the for-profit private health sector: lessons from East and Southern Africa.

International evidence shows that, if poorly regulated, the private health sector may lead to distortions in the type, quantity, distribution, quality and price of health services, as well as anti-competitive behaviour. This article provides an overview of legislation governing the for-profit private health sector in East and Southern Africa. It identifies major implementation problems and suggests strategies Ministries of Health could adopt to regulate the private sector more effectively and in line with key public health objectives.

Developing a new mid-level health worker: lessons from South Africa's experience with clinical associates.

Background: Mid-level medical workers play an important role in health systems and hold great potential for addressing the human resource shortage, especially in low- and middle-income countries. South Africa began the production of its first mid-level medical workers - known as clinical associates - in small numbers in 2008.

Objective: We describe the way in which scopes of practice and course design were negotiated and assess progress during the early years.

Will clinical associates be effective for South Africa?

South Africa has developed an innovative mid-level medical worker model that can contribute substantively to the development of quality district level health care. These clinical associates entered the South African job market in 2011 and have reportedly been received favourably. The first cohorts performed well on local and national examinations, with pass rates >95%.

Approaches to developing the capacity of health policy analysis institutes: a comparative case study.

Objectives: To review and assess (i) the factors that facilitate the development of sustainable health policy analysis institutes in low and middle income countries and (ii) the nature of external support for capacity development provided to such institutes.

Methods: Comparative case studies of six health policy analysis institutes (3 from Asia and 3 from Africa) were conducted. In each region an NGO institute, an institute linked to government and a university based institute were included.

Research in support of health systems transformation in South Africa: the experience of the Centre for Health Policy.

We describe the role and experience of the Centre for Health Policy (CHP), a university-based research unit established in 1987, in influencing and supporting health systems transformation in South Africa over two decades. During 2010, we analyzed relevant documents and conducted interviews with 25 key informants. CHP's research has contributed directly to health policy development and implementation while also changing the way government understood or approached policy issues.

Influencing policy change: the experience of health think tanks in low- and middle-income countries.

In recent years there has been a growth in the number of independent health policy analysis institutes in low- and middle-income countries which has occurred in response to the limitation of government analytical capacity and pressures associated with democratization. This study aimed to: (i) investigate the contribution made by health policy analysis institutes in low- and middle-income countries to health policy agenda setting, formulation, implementation and monitoring and evaluation; and (ii) assess which factors, including organizational form and structure, support the role of health policy analysis institutes in low- and middle-income countries in terms of positively contributing to health policy. Six case studies of health policy analysis institutes in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, South Africa, Uganda and Vietnam were conducted including two NGOs, two university and two government-owned policy analysis institutes.

Cost-effectiveness analysis for priority-setting in South Africa--what are the possibilities?

Priority-setting in the health system is necessary because resources are constrained. The role of cost-effectiveness analysis in supporting decision-making around health care priorities in South Africa is explored by referring to South African studies that have provided clinical and policy guidance at the levels of the patient, the service and the population. Cost-effectiveness evidence is positioned in relation to other concerns such as equity and the overall performance of the health system.

Pediatric laryngoscopes and intubation aids old and new.

This review summarizes the evolution of the pediatric laryngoscope using some of the established landmarks in the history of anesthesia. Children were rarely intubated before 1940 though the subsequent 30 years saw a proliferation of pediatric laryngoscopes in part driven by the developments in pediatric anesthesia and surgery, manufacturing techniques and materials and a change in airway management philosophy exemplified by Jackson Rees's argument against the notion that intubation was to be avoided in children. A perspective on the present day describes the modifications to popular straight and curved blade laryngoscopes and the development of new devices that enhance direct visualization of the larynx.

Developing health systems research capacities through north-south partnership: an evaluation of collaboration with South Africa and Thailand.

Background: Over the past ten years, calls to strengthen health systems research capacities in low and middle income countries have increased. One mechanism for capacity development is the partnering of northern and southern institutions. However, detailed case-studies of north-south partnerships, at least in the domain of health systems research, remain limited.

A new GP with special interest headache service: observational study.

Background: There is poor access to neurology services for patients in the community.

Aim: To describe the training of GPs with special interest (GPwSI) in headache and the setting up of a GPwSI clinic in general practice, and report on a comparison with the existing neurology service in terms of case severity, patient satisfaction, and cost.

Design Of Study: New service provision and evaluation by a questionnaire survey.

A tale of two visions: the changing fortunes of Social Health Insurance in South Africa.

Over the last two decades there has been growing interest in the potential of Social Health Insurance (SHI) as a health care financing mechanism in low- and middle-income countries. SHI schemes exist in many countries of Latin America and have also been introduced across Asia in recent years. However, few countries in Africa have implemented SHI.

The SAZA study: implementing health financing reform in South Africa and Zambia.

This paper explores the policy-making process in the 1990s in two countries, South Africa and Zambia, in relation to health care financing reforms. While much of the analysis of health reform programmes has looked at design issues, assuming that a technically sound design is the primary requirement of effective policy change, this paper explores the political and bureaucratic realities shaping the pattern of policy change and its impacts. Through a case study approach, it provides a picture of the policy environment and processes in the two countries, specifically considering the extent to which technical analysts and technical knowledge were able to shape policy change.

Circadian rhythm of cytokine secretion following thermal injury in mice: implications for burn and trauma research.

Although there are many reports of circadian variation in hormone secretion, there are only a few reports on the relationship between circadian rhythm and cytokine production. The aim of the present studies was to investigate whether there is a circadian effect on cytokine production of splenic lymphocytes and adherent splenocytes in mice after burn or sham injury. We selected day 7 after injury for our determinations because we have previously shown day 7 is the time of maximal suppression of T cell IL-2 and IFNgamma production and maximal increase in adherent cell proinflammatory cytokine secretion in this model.