Vaccination status, personal and workplace experiences of early career health professionals in the WiSDOM cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Introduction: The knowledge gaps on the experiences of early career health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic informed this study, which examined their vaccination status, personal and workplace experiences in South Africa.

Methods: ts longitudinal tudy to etermine the peration of the labour arket among its health professional graduates (WiSDOM), a prospective longitudinal cohort study established in 2017, consists of eight health professional groups of clinical associates, dentists, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, oral hygienists, pharmacists and physiotherapists. As a part of annual follow-up surveys, we examined the personal and workplace experiences and the vaccination status of cohort members during the COVID-19 pandemic years: 2020 until 2022.

Contested and nervous spaces: exploring the environment of healthcare provision for international migrants in the Gauteng province of South Africa.

Background: Notwithstanding the global goal of inclusive universal health coverage, and the notion of migrant-sensitive health systems, limited healthcare access or the exclusion of migrants from national health systems persists. South Africa has a rights-based constitution, but there is an inability or a failure of the health system to recognise and address the health needs of migrants.

Objective: To explore the intersection of the environment of healthcare provision for migrants and the everyday practices and behaviours of health workers and patients in the Gauteng province of South Africa.

The impact of the nurse practice environment, workload, and professional support on job outcomes and standards of care at primary health care clinics in South Africa: A structural equation model approach.

Background: There is substantial evidence on the associations between a positive nurse practice environment and improved nurse and patient outcomes, as well as the factors that mediate these associations, in high-income countries and in hospital settings. The knowledge gaps in African and primary health care settings motivated this empirical study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the dimensions of the nurse practice environment, specifically human resource management, foundations for nursing care, and participation in clinic affairs, on job outcomes and standards of care.

Examining the extent, forms and factors influencing multiple job holding among medical doctors, professional nurses and rehabilitation therapists in two South African provinces: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Multiple job holding (MJH), or working in more than one paid job simultaneously, is a common characteristic of health labour markets. The study examined the extent (prevalence), forms and factors influencing MJH among public sector medical doctors, professional nurses and rehabilitation therapists in two South African provinces.

Design: A cross-sectional, analytical study.

Piercing the veil on the functioning and effectiveness of district health system governance structures: perspectives from a South African province.

Background: Leadership and governance are critical for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). In South Africa, aspirations for UHC are expressed through the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) system, which underscores the importance of primary health care, delivered through the district health system (DHS). Consequently, the aim of this study was to determine the existence of legislated District Health Councils (DHCs) in Gauteng Province (GP), and the perceptions of council members on the functioning and effectiveness of these structures.

Perspectives of the cohort of health professionals in the WiSDOM study on the learning environment, transformation, and social accountability at a South African University.

Background: The dearth of empirical research on transformative health professions education informed this study to examine the factors that influence the perspectives of the cohort of health professionals in the WiSDOM study on the learning environment, transformation, and social accountability at a South African university.

Methods: WiSDOM, a prospective longitudinal cohort study, consists of eight health professional groups: clinical associates, dentists, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, oral hygienists, pharmacists, and physiotherapists. At study inception in 2017, participants completed a self-administered questionnaire that included four domains of selection criteria (6 items); the learning environment (5 items); redress and transformation (8 items); and social accountability (5 items).

Methodological considerations in establishing and maintaining longitudinal health workforce studies: Lessons learned from the WiSDOM cohort in South Africa.

Background: Health workforce cohort studies are uncommon in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially those in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: Describe the methodology and lessons learned from establishing and maintaining the WiSDOM (ts longitudinal tudy to etermine the peration of the labour arket among its health professional graduates) health professional cohort study in South Africa.

Methods: WiSDOM is a prospective longitudinal cohort study that commenced in 2017.

Innovations, contestations and fragilities of the health system response to COVID-19 in the Gauteng Province of South Africa.

Background: Gauteng province, with 26.3% of South Africa's population, is the commercial and industrial powerhouse of the country. During the first epidemic wave in 2020, Gauteng accounted for 32.

Perceptions of the functioning and effectiveness of nursing regulators in Ghana and South Africa: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: Nursing regulators are important governance structures for nurses who are critical to the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC). This study examined the perspectives of the heads of nursing education institutions (NEIs) in Ghana and South Africa on the functioning and effectiveness of the respective nursing regulators.

Design: This was a cross-sectional survey.

Coproduction in the management of individuals with cleft lip and palate in South Africa: the Ekhaya Lethu model.

Objective: Cleft lip and palate (CLP), one of the most common congenital anomalies of the craniofacial complex, has a worldwide prevalence rate of 1 in 700 live births. In South Africa, a middle-income country, the CLP prevalence rate is 0.3 per 1000 live births in the public health sector.

Using social network analysis to examine inter-governmental relations in the implementation of the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance programme in two South African provinces.

Background: Within the context of universal health coverage (UHC), South Africa has embarked on a series of health sector reforms. The implementation of the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance (ICRM) programme is a major UHC reform. Cooperative governance is enshrined in South Africa's Constitution, with health a concurrent competency of national and provincial government.

Policy exclusion or confusion? Perspectives on universal health coverage for migrants and refugees in South Africa.

Notwithstanding the promise of the inclusivity of universal health coverage (UHC), the integration of migrants and refugees into host countries' health systems remains elusive and contested. In South Africa, there is insufficient scholarly attention on UHC, migrants and refugees, given the country's strategic importance in Africa and the envisaged implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. In this paper, a social exclusion conceptual framework is used to explore whether South African legislation, health policies and perspectives or actions of health policy actors facilitate UHC for migrants and refugees or exacerbate their exclusion.

Interprofessional collaboration among health professionals in cleft lip and palate treatment and care in the public health sector of South Africa.

Background: Collaboration among different categories of health professionals is essential for quality patient care, especially for individuals with cleft lip and palate (CLP). This study examined interprofessional collaboration (IPC) among health professionals in all CLP specialised centres in South Africa's public health sector.

Methods: During 2017, a survey was conducted among health professionals at all the specialised CLP centres in South Africa's public health sector.

Social exclusion and the perspectives of health care providers on migrants in Gauteng public health facilities, South Africa.

Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) for all people, regardless of citizenship, is a global priority. Health care providers are central to the achievement of UHC, and their attitudes and behaviour could either advance or impede UHC for migrants. Using a social exclusion conceptual framework, this study examined the perspectives of health care providers on delivering health services to migrants in public health facilities in Gauteng Province, South Africa.

Migrants' perceptions of health system responsiveness and satisfaction with health workers in a South African Province.

: There is global emphasis on quality universal health coverage (UHC) that is responsive to the needs of vulnerable communities, such as migrants. : Examine the perceptions of migrants on health system responsiveness (HSR) and their satisfaction with health workers in public health facilities of a South African Province. : We conducted a cross-sectional study in 13 public health facilities.

Policy context, coherence and disjuncture in the implementation of the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance programme in the Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa.

Background: Universal health coverage is a key target of the Sustainable Development Goals and quality of care is fundamental to its attainment. In South Africa, the National Health Insurance (NHI) system is a major health financing reform towards universal health coverage. The Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance (ICRM) programme aims to improve the quality of care at primary healthcare level in preparation for NHI system implementation.

Decision space and participation of primary healthcare facility managers in the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance programme in two South African provinces.

In South Africa, the introduction of a national health insurance (NHI) system is the most prominent health sector reform planned to achieve universal health coverage in the country. Primary health care (PHC) is the foundation of the proposed NHI system. This study draws on policy implementation theory and Bossert's notion of decision space to analyse PHC facility managers' decision space and their participation in the implementation of the Ideal Clinic Realisation and Maintenance (ICRM) programme.

Socio-economic characteristics and career intentions of the WiSDOM health professional cohort in South Africa.

Background: The human resources for health (HRH) crisis and dearth of research on the health labour market in South Africa informed the WiSDOM (Wits longitudinal Study to Determine the Operation of the labour Market among its health professional graduates) cohort study. The study aims to generate new knowledge on the career choices and job location decisions of health professionals in South Africa.

Methods: WiSDOM is a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

Epidemiology and clinical profile of individuals with cleft lip and palate utilising specialised academic treatment centres in South Africa.

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the epidemiology and clinical profile of individuals with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) utilizing specialized academic treatment centres in South Africa's public health sector.

Materials And Methods: The Human Research Ethics Committee of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg provided ethical approval for the study. We conducted a retrospective record review of all cases of CLP treated at the specialised academic centres for the two-year period from 1 January 2013 until 31 December 2014.

Resilience or detachment? Coping strategies among termination of pregnancy health care providers in two South African provinces.

There is global recognition that competent and willing health care providers remain the most important determinant of safe abortion or termination of pregnancy services. The psychosocial well-being of providers is critical to the provision of responsive termination of pregnancy services. In light of the dearth of scholarly attention on termination of pregnancy providers' coping strategies in low- and middle-income countries, this paper explores coping strategies among these providers in the urban Gauteng and the mixed rural-urban North West provinces of South Africa.

Strengthening Mentoring in Low- and Middle-Income Countries to Advance Global Health Research: An Overview.

Mentoring is a proven path to scientific progress, but it is not a common practice in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Existing mentoring approaches and guidelines are geared toward high-income country settings, without considering in detail the differences in resources, culture, and structure of research systems of LMICs. To address this gap, we conducted five Mentoring-the-Mentor workshops in Africa, South America, and Asia, which aimed at strengthening the capacity for evidence-based, LMIC-specific institutional mentoring programs globally.

Mentoring the Mentors: Implementation and Evaluation of Four Fogarty-Sponsored Mentoring Training Workshops in Low-and Middle-Income Countries.

A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of competent mentoring in academic research. We describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of four regional 2-day intensive workshops to train mid- and senior-level investigators conducting public health, clinical, and basic science research across multiple academic institutions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) on tools and techniques of effective mentoring. Sponsored by the Fogarty International Center, workshops included didactic presentations, interactive discussions, and small-group problem-based learning and were conducted in Lima, Peru; Mombasa, Kenya; Bangalore, India; and Johannesburg, South Africa, from 2013 to 2016.

Global Health Research Mentoring Competencies for Individuals and Institutions in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Mentoring is beneficial to mentors, mentees, and their institutions, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), that are faced with complex disease burdens, skills shortages, and resource constraints. Mentoring in global health research can be enhanced by defining key competencies, to enable the skill set required for effective mentoring, determine training needs for local research mentors, and facilitate institutional capacity building to support mentors. The latter includes advocating for resources, institutional development of mentoring guidelines, and financial and administrative support for mentoring.