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Abstract Background Social network-based interventions can improve uptake of health interventions. However, limited evidence exists on their feasibility and acceptability in fishing community settings. We assessed the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a social network-based, peer-led HIV self-testing (HIVST) intervention among men in Uganda. Methods The PEer-led HIVST intervention for MEN (PEST4MEN) is a pilot intervention conducted among men in Kalangala and Buvuma districts. Baseline data were collected in July 2022 and follow-up data in September 2022. The intervention was implemented through 22 trained lay men (“peer-leaders”) who received training in HIVST use and distribution processes and requested to refer at least 20 male members from their social networks for study eligibility screening. To be eligible, men had to be aged 15 years or older with unknown or HIV-negative status. After the baseline interview, men were requested to pick two oral fluid-based HIVST kits from their peer-leaders. The intervention was deemed feasible if peer-leaders gave-out > 80% of the kits and acceptable if > 80% of the kits’ recipients used them to self-test for HIV. At the follow-up interview, newly diagnosed HIV-positive men were asked if they had linked to HIV care. Data were descriptively analyzed using STATA version 16.0. Results Of 475 screened men, 400 (84.2%) met the eligibility criteria and completed the baseline interview. Of these, 56.7% (n = 227) were engaged in fishing or fishing-related activities. At follow-up, 361 men (90.2%) were interviewed; 98.3% (n = 355) received at least one kit from their peer-leaders. Nearly all (99.1%, n = 352) kits’ recipients used them to self-test for HIV. Of the 352 HIV self-testers, 51 men (14.5%) had reactive (positive) HIV self-test results. Nearly one-third of the HIV self-tested men (31.4%, n = 16) were first-time HIV-positive testers. Of these, 87.5% (n = 14) went for confirmatory HIV testing, 50.0% (n = 7) were confirmed as HIV-positive and 71.4% (n = 5) were linked to HIV care. Conclusion Our peer-led HIVST intervention was feasible and acceptable and identified newly diagnosed HIV-positive men who were linked to HIV care. However, while these results are promising, we recommend additional research in a randomized controlled trial prior to the eventual roll-out of this intervention. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT05685498 (retrospectively registered on January 17, 2023).

Chronic schistosomiasis affects either the genitourinary or gastrointestinal tract. Rarely, schistosomes cause ectopic disease, such as in the case of a South African woman from a non-endemic province, who presented with suspected pericardial tamponade because of tuberculosis. However, histology and polymerase chain reaction from pericardial biopsy confirmed Schistosoma haematobium. A finding of mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma came to light when our patient’s clinical condition unexpectedly deteriorated. Contribution: This case highlights an unusual manifestation of schistosomiasis.

Background: Social network-based interventions can improve uptake of health interventions. However, limited evidence exists on their feasibility and acceptability in fishing community settings. We assessed the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effects of a social network-based, peer-led HIV self-testing (HIVST) intervention among men in Uganda. Methods: The PEer-led HIVST intervention for MEN (PEST4MEN) is a pilot intervention conducted among men in Kalangala and Buvuma districts. Baseline data were collected in July 2022 and follow-up data in September 2022. The intervention was implemented through 22 trained lay men ("peer-leaders") who received training in HIVST use and distribution processes and requested to refer at least 20 male members from their social networks for study eligibility screening. To be eligible, men had to be aged 15 years or older with unknown or HIV-negative status. After the baseline interview, men were requested to pick two oral fluid-based HIVST kits from their peer-leaders. The intervention was deemed feasible if peer-leaders gave-out > 80% of the kits and acceptable if > 80% of the kits' recipients used them to self-test for HIV. At the follow-up interview, newly diagnosed HIV-positive men were asked if they had linked to HIV care. Data were descriptively analyzed using STATA version 16.0. Results: Of 475 screened men, 400 (84.2%) met the eligibility criteria and completed the baseline interview. Of these, 56.7% (n = 227) were engaged in fishing or fishing-related activities. At follow-up, 361 men (90.2%) were interviewed; 98.3% (n = 355) received at least one kit from their peer-leaders. Nearly all (99.1%, n = 352) kits' recipients used them to self-test for HIV. Of the 352 HIV self-testers, 51 men (14.5%) had reactive (positive) HIV self-test results. Nearly one-third of the HIV self-tested men (31.4%, n = 16) were first-time HIV-positive testers. Of these, 87.5% (n = 14) went for confirmatory HIV testing, 50.0% (n = 7) were confirmed as HIV-positive and 71.4% (n = 5) were linked to HIV care. Conclusion: Our peer-led HIVST intervention was feasible and acceptable and identified newly diagnosed HIV-positive men who were linked to HIV care. However, while these results are promising, we recommend additional research in a randomized controlled trial prior to the eventual roll-out of this intervention. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.Gov: NCT05685498 (retrospectively registered on January 17, 2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi‐drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR‐TB) treatment presents significant challenges for diagnosed patients, primarily due to the harsh side effects associated with treatment coupled with time‐consuming diagnostic techniques used to assess emergencies that arise from drug toxicity. Monitoring the antibiotics used in these treatments is vital to better understand the dosage requirements for affected patients. This study focuses on the fabrication, characterisation and sensor application of carbon dot polythionine (CDPTh) nanocomposites for the electrochemical detection of clofazimine (CFZ), a drug used in MDR‐TB treatment. CDPTh nanocomposites were electrochemically fabricated on a screen‐printed carbon electrode (SPCE) and demonstrated optimal performance at pH 4.00, which provided the highest current response compared to other pH values. The sensor was further characterised using ultraviolet–visible light spectroscopy (UV–Vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), high‐resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR‐SEM) and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX). Electrochemical techniques, such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square‐wave voltammetry (SWV), were employed to optimise the sensor parameters. The surface concentration and diffusion coefficient of the CDPTh‐modified electrodes were determined to be 2.125 × 10−7 mol cm−2 and 2.063 × 10−8 cm2 s−1, respectively. Stability testing using CV indicated that the nanocomposite remained 60% stable for 12 h, with a noticeable decrease in current observed thereafter. CFZ was effectively detected after the sensor fabrication within the linear range of 100–1300 nM. Interference studies were performed with chlorine ions and oxygen that were present in the phosphate buffer solution (PBS), as oxygen is always available and chlorine ions are commonly found in the water used to prepare PBS. The CDPTh sensor successfully determined CFZ using SWV anodic scans, achieving a limit of detection (LOD) of 24.4 nM and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 81.4 nM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article questions the potential of Outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa to be rational and imaginative, that is, creative. Our contention is that the notions of outcomes seems to be trapped in a technicist orientation of deciding in advance what is good and worthwhile for learners to do in education. We argue that OBE is not a sufficient justification of what education means, thus impeding the very act of creative reconstructions of knowledge.

The health-service redesign that came with the preparation for the surge of COVID-19 had a potential of disrupting the Family Medicine internship programme like it did to many other health and academic programmes. A team of Cape-Town based Community Health Centre (CHC) doctors mitigated this challenge by designing an innovative tool that facilitated ongoing supervision of the interns in order to achieve the outcomes of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

Marxism-feminism is a vital field with diverse voices and different political agendas for social justice, from the defense of land and water to the reorganization of production. The anthology Marxist-Feminist Theories and Struggles Today aims to grasp the originality and relevance of that tradition. The book represents a variety of contributions, defined as Marxist feminist by their authors, who presented papers at the Marxist Feminist Congress in Vienna in 2016. This was the second International Marxist Feminist Conference, the first having been initiated by the feminist section of the Berlin Institute of Critical Theory. Drawing on different theoretical frameworks and practices of Marxist feminism, the edited anthology provides an invitation to converse about our understanding and practice of engaging gendered, racialized heterocapitalism for a better global future. This book symposium and its reviewers demonstrate the richness of the resulting conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the rights of women to be included in decisions about energy use and their experiences with energy use are ignored. Using an eco-feminist perspective this article explores how the rhetoric of 'renewable energy for the poor' which bypasses women's voices and experience in domestic uses of renewable energy result in reverse outcomes of pro-environmental policy for the poor, as well as, for society in general. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 20 women in Lwandle, in South Africa, the article identifies three themes reflecting on how the women experience the installation of solar water heaters. The first theme discusses the exclusion of women from consultations as an endurance of environmental racism and sexism. Secondly, the findings reflect on how domestic labour and costs increase in the face of dysfunctional SWHs. I also discuss how the decision to install these geysers in shared bathrooms overrides residents' expressed needs for privacy and dignity. The third theme discusses the continued use of fossil fuels such as paraffin and its implication for household safety, expenditure and the environment. The paper concludes with the enjoinder that women be included in consultations and planning of pro-environmental projects from the start. Keywords: energy poverty, environmental racism, sexism, South Africa, renewable energy, women in South Africa, ecofeminism, Introduction South Africa is the 14th biggest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, and has embarked on a process of reducing its impact on the environment by expanding the [...]

This study investigated the relationships among sleep problems, learning difficulties and substance use in adolescence. Previous research suggests that these variables share an association with executive functioning deficits, and are intertwined. The sample comprised 427 adolescents (M age = 16 years) attending remedial schools and 276 adolescents (M age = 15 years) attending a mainstream school in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants completed anonymous self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that adolescents without learning difficulties were more likely to use tobacco, methamphetamine and cannabis, whereas those with learning difficulties engaged in more inhalant use. Adolescents who had more sleep problems were more likely to use tobacco, alcohol, methamphetamine, cannabis, inhalants, cocaine, ecstasy and any other illegal drug. Adolescents with learning difficulties had more sleep problems than those without learning difficulties. However, sleep problems remained independently associated with tobacco, cannabis and inhalant use when learning difficulties were taken into account. (Contains 5 tables.)

The provision of accurate, in-depth data on substance abuse trends and service needs has become increasingly important in light of the growing wave of substance abuse in South Africa and particularly in the Western Cape Province. This article describes the design and implementation of an electronic substance abuse surveillance system (SASS) between 2007 and 2009. The function of this system is to gather data on substance use, associated problems, service needs and services received on all clients presenting for generic social welfare services at the 16 district social service offices in the Western Cape. This article describes key features of SASS, examines the strengths of this system, reviews the process of implementing SASS and describes major challenges to the effective implementation and use of the system. Major challenges include limited infrastructure, inadequacies in staff capacity and lack of organizational support for the system. Recommendations for addressing these challenges and improving the use of this surveillance system are provided. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

Although outcomes monitoring and the collection of other performance data holds benefits for service managers and policy makers, the extent to which these data are collected by South African substance abuse service providers is unknown. To describe (i) the extent to which substance abuse service providers in South Africa monitor and evaluate their programmes and (ii) the availability of structures to support monitoring and evaluation activities within these services. Cross-sectional surveys of substance abuse treatment services were conducted in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces (2006-2007) and the Central and Northern region of the country (2007-2008). A survey of prevention services was conducted in the Cape Town metropole (2008). Across all sites approximately half of the services reported never having evaluated their programmes. In addition, less than two thirds of treatment facilities routinely monitor client outcomes. Even where monitoring and evaluation did occur, less than a third of facilities used standardised questionnaires and less than two-thirds used urinalyses to collect outcomes data. Based on the above findings, a number of recommendations are made to expand monitoring and evaluation within South African substance abuse services.

To date, South African research has not examined mental health service provision in substance abuse treatment facilities, even though these services improve client retention and treatment outcomes. To describe the extent to which substance abuse treatment facilities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces provide clients with mental health services during the course of treatment and to compare mental health service provision in these settings by type of facility and staff composition. Cross-sectional audits of substance abuse treatment facilities were conducted in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Data were collected using the Treatment Services Audit Questionnaire. A response rate of 84% was obtained. Few treatment facilities provide clients with access to mental health services. Inpatient facilities are more likely than outpatient facilities to provide clients with access to mental health services. Facilities with for-profit ownership status are more likely than facilities with non-profit status to provide access to mental health care. Based on the above findings, a number of recommendations are made to increase the provision of mental health services during the course of substance abuse treatment.

Traditionally, cancer patients are prescribed a neutropenic diet to reduce the risk of infection. The diet is restrictive and leads to the patients being dissatisfied. There has been a trend to replace a neutropenic diet with safe food handling, which allows patients to have more food options and places emphasis on how food should be safely handled. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine oncology providers to understand their opinions on a neutropenic diet, prescription behavior, patient dietary education, and attitudes on the safe food handling approach. Results showed that seven of the nine providers agreed with the neutropenic diet, while two disagreed. Five providers prescribed the neutropenic diet on the basis of different criteria. Patients' dietary education varied in content and format among providers. Only two of nine providers were aware of a safe food handling approach. Six of nine providers supported the replacement of a neutropenic diet to a safe food handling approach after background information was provided, with one against the replacement, and two supported a combination. These results demonstrated the inconsistency of the neutropenic diet implementation and patient dietary education at the provider level, which could inform changes in how neutropenic diets are handled in a healthcare setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]