Acceptability of the menstrual cup among students in further education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Objective: The primary objective of this research was to evaluate long-term user acceptability of menstrual cups in a student population in South Africa.

Methods: A cohort of female students aged 18-24 years attending 10 further education institutions including 22 campus sites in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, were offered menstrual cups after receiving education and training in their use. The students were followed for up to 12 months to assess menstrual cup acceptability, user experiences and continuation.

Lessons from the evaluation of the South African National Female Condom Programme.

Background: Understanding of the facilitators and challenges to female condom (FC) uptake has been limited due to lack of evaluation of national FC programmes.

Setting: The FC has been an integral component of South Africa's (SA) HIV prevention programme for 20 years and is the largest government-funded FC programme worldwide.

Methods: The national FC evaluation used a mixed-methods approach and consisted of key informant interviews and a telephone survey in a national sample of public and non-public sites.

Disease profile of children under 5 years attending primary health care clinics in a high HIV prevalence setting in South Africa.

Objective: To describe the presenting complaints and disease profile of children attending primary health care (PHC) clinics in two provinces of South Africa.

Methods: Participants were sick children 2-59 months old presenting for care at PHC clinics in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Limpopo provinces from 2006-2007. Children were assessed by an expert Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) practitioner.

Paediatric HIV management at primary care level: an evaluation of the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) guidelines for HIV.

Background: Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is a WHO/UNICEF strategy to improve child survival in resource poor settings. South Africa adopted IMCI in 1997, and IMCI guidelines were adapted to include identification and management of HIV infected and exposed children. This study describes the validity of the IMCI/HIV algorithm when used by IMCI experts, the use of IMCI/HIV guidelines by IMCI trained health workers in routine clinical practice, and the burden of HIV among children under 5 years attending first level health facilities.

An evaluation of the quality of IMCI assessments among IMCI trained health workers in South Africa.

Background: Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) is a strategy to reduce mortality and morbidity in children under 5 years by improving case management of common and serious illnesses at primary health care level, and was adopted in South Africa in 1997. We report an evaluation of IMCI implementation in two provinces of South Africa.

Methodology/principal Findings: Seventy-seven IMCI trained health workers were randomly selected and observed in 74 health facilities; 1357 consultations were observed between May 2006 and January 2007.