Efficacy, acceptability and feasibility of mhealth technology in promoting adherence to anti-diabetic therapy and glycaemic control among diabetic patients in Eastern Cape, South Africa”
- Authors: Owolabi, Eyitayo Omolara
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Diabetes
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD (Nursing)
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/16792 , vital:40774
- Description: Background: Diabetes mellitus is a disease of a significant public health concern and a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. In Africa, South Africa ranks second among countries with the highest burden of diabetes, and with a poor level of glycaemic control. mHealth technology is an innovative and cost-effective measure of promoting health and the use of text messaging for fostering health is evolving. In South Africa, there is hardly any study involving the use of mobile health technology, including text messaging for promoting health among diabetic patients. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy, feasibility and acceptability of mHealth in promoting adherence and glycaemic control among diabetic patients in resource-poor settings of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Also, the study assessed the impact of text messaging on knowledge, selfmanagement behaviour, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life. Methodology: The study adopted a multi-centre, two-arm, parallel, randomised controlled trial design. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n=108) and control arm (n=108). Participants’ socio-demographic information was obtained using the widely validated WHO STEPwise questionnaire, and a selfdeveloped questionnaire, including previously validated measurement scales were used to obtain information on adherence, self-management behaviour, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life. Participants in the intervention arm received daily text messages related to diabetes management and care for six months. Data were collected at baseline and six months post-intervention. Blood glucose, blood pressure and anthropometric measurements followed standard procedure. Mixed-model analysis was used to assess the impact of the SMS on random blood glucose while xi | P a g e linear and bivariate logistic regression were used to assess for effect on other clinical outcomes. Results: The mean age of the participants was 60.64 (SD± 11.58) years. The majority of the study participants had secondary level of education (95.3%) and earned 1500 to 14200 Rand per month (67.7%). For both the intervention and the control group, majority never used tobacco (98.10% vs 94.40%) or alcohol (88.00% vs 87.00%). Both arms of the study showed improvement in the primary outcome (blood glucose level), with no significant difference, the mean adjusted difference in blood glucose from baseline to six months post-intervention was 0.26 (-0.81 to 1.32), p=0.634. Also, the intervention did not have a significant effect on the secondary outcomes (knowledge, medication adherence, dietary adherence, adherence to physical activity, healthrelated quality of life, self-management behaviour and diabetes distress). Similarly, the intervention did not have any significant effect on secondary clinical outcomes such as weight (p=0.654), body mass index (p=0.439), systolic (p=0.610) and diastolic blood pressure (p=0.535). An overwhelming majority of the participants (90.74%) were pleased with the intervention and felt it was helpful. Of those who took part in the intervention, 91% completed the follow-up study after six months. Conclusion: The use of SMS is a highly acceptable and feasible adjunct to standard clinical care in the promotion of health among diabetic patients in this study setting. Although there was a little improvement, the efficacy of a unidirectional text messaging in promoting health outcomes in this study setting is still doubt
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Utilisation of the Auditor-General's reports in improving the audit outcomes at selected municipalities within Amathole District Municipality (2006- 2015)
- Authors: Kwaza, Makhosandile Hercules
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Auditing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Public administration -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Finance, Public -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Civil service -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/1664 , vital:27540
- Description: Amathole District Municipality has for the past five consecutive years been receiving an unqualified audit opinion from the AGSA. This has been the trend, despite the commitment made by the Executive Mayor in April 2012 to the then Auditor-General, Mr Nombembe, that the leadership of the municipality would deliver a clean audit outcome by 30 June 2013. This scenario is replicated in the local municipalities within the district. Two of the district municipalities have for the past three consecutive years been receiving a disclaimer audit opinion. In one of the municipalities, this trend changed; and this municipality received an unqualified audit opinion for two consecutive years; while in the third year, it received a qualified audit opinion. The stagnation and regression in the audit outcomes of these municipalities may be as a result of either the non-implementation of audit-action plans to address the previous year’s audit findings; or there could be other factors resulting in the above scenario. The main objective of this study is to investigate whether the utilisation of the Auditor-General’s reports improve the audit outcomes in selected municipalities within Amathole District Municipality for the period 01 July 2006 to 30 June 2015.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2017
Improving reading ability and academic performance through working memory training
- Authors: Mukheibir, Adrienne Jayne
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Reading -- Ability testing , Short-term memory , Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MEd
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/4840 , vital:20716
- Description: This dissertation is based on the results of a study that used a working memory (WM) adaptive computer programme known as Jungle Memory to determine whether training WM would have a positive impact on learners with reading difficulties, which would ultimately lead to an improvement in their overall academic performance. A pragmatic paradigm has been used, involving a mixed methodology that allowed for a postpositivistic as well as a constructive approach. The first section of the investigation involved the quantitative component, where specific variables (performance levels of the sample of learners) were determined. Thereafter, empirical measures were used to determine if these specific variables increased once the WM intervention programme had been completed. Concurrently, in the qualitative component, the sample group (namely the teachers working with these learners) provided qualitative information to verify if any changes in the participants were observed after the intervention. The participants included 30 boys who attend an ex Model C School in the Eastern Cape where I teach, all of whom had been identified as experiencing various reading difficulties and were receiving remedial assistance. The boys were placed into three groups according to specific criteria: Group A had all been diagnosed as having ADHD and were being treated pharmaceutically for the disorder; Group B all had significant ADHD symptoms but were not receiving any pharmaceutical assistance to alleviate these symptoms; and Group C displayed no significant ADHD symptoms. Five boys from each subgroup formed the Experimental group and the other five formed the Control group in each stratum. The participants' class-based teachers involved in the qualitative component of the study provided information-rich data regarding any notable progress made by each participant. Each participant took part in a battery of pre-assessment tests to determine their general level of academic performance. These assessments included the following well-known standardised tests in South Africa: the Young Group Reading Test, the Essi Reading Test, the Essi Spelling Test and the Vassi Mathematics Proficiency Test. The participants from all three Experimental Groups then took part in the eight week intervention programme, Jungle Memory, while the Control groups continued with their regular remedial programme. At the end of the eight weeks, all the participants were re-assessed using the same standardised tests.The findings from this study revealed that the participants from all three strata of the Experimental group showed significant improvements in the quantitative postassessment results and twelve of the fifteen also showed significant improvements in the comments made by the teachers in the qualitative component. The majority of the participants from the Control groups however, made very little progress in both components, and these small improvements were probably due to other variables such as maturity, incidental WM improvements through observing their peers, or familiarity with the tests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
The history of marine fish systematics in South Africa
- Authors: Gon, O (Ofer), 1949-
- Date: 2003
- Subjects: J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology Fishes -- Research -- South Africa -- History Fishes -- Catalogs and collections -- South Africa -- History Museums -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:2599 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007800
- Description: South African marine fish collections and systematic research are relatively young, essentially a product of the 20th century. Their history in South Africa comprises three distinct periods: the emergence of fish collections (before 1895), the beginning of research (1895-1945) and modern research (1945-1999). From the outset of their arrival in South Africa in the mid-17th century, the European settlers of the Cape Colony supplemented their diet with fishes. Therefore it is not surprising that when natural history museums appeared in the 19th century fishes were among the first specimens they procured or received from the public. In these early days, fishes were acquired for display purposes and were curated together with other natural history specimens. There were no fish collections as such and, in many ways, the early history of South African fish collections closely followed the history of the institutions in which they were housed. Major political events in South Africa between 1850-1910 had little effect on the slow growth offish collections as the low influx of specimens from the public did not change. None of the museums did any active fish collecting and no fish research as such took place during these years. The second period in the growth of fish collections in South Africa was characterised by a general shift to collecting for research rather than display. It was also a period during which the need for aquatic research was recognized by and began to attract funding from the South African government, starting with the establishment of the Marine Biological Survey in Cape Town. However, with the exception of the Albany Museum's self-trained J.L.B. Smith, no trained marine fish systematists were working in museums either as curators or as researchers. In the first half of the 20"' century South Africa experienced the fast growth of the fishing industry, the development of academic and applied research in marine biology, and the thriving of sport fishing. These developments created a demand for well-trained professional ichthyologists. J.L.B. Smith was the first to fill this professional gap. The growth rate offish collections increased significantly through the interaction between museum scientists, such as Smith in Grahamstown and K.H. Barnard in Cape Town, with the fishing industry, government biologists and fisheries officers, and anglers. Barnard's review of the South African marine fish fauna was published in mid-I920s. The discovery of the first living coelacanth placed South African ichthyology and Smith on the international stage. The identification of this fish, made by a relatively inexperienced Smith, changed the way ichthyology has been viewed in South Africa. At the beginning of the third period, largely due to the establishment of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in 1945, science in South Africa underwent a process of reorganisation. As funding became more available museums were able to enlarge their research staff. Natural history museums hired qualified experts to conduct research and manage collections of specific groups of organisms. For the first time, trained ichthyologists started working in museums and initiated research projects that were the main contributors to the growth of fish collections around the country. Furthermore it was a period of consolidation offish collections resulting in two large marine fish collections, one at the South African Museum, Cape Town, and another at the J .L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Grahamstown. This period also witnessed the establishment of the latter as a research institute dedicated to the study of fishes and its rise to international prominence. The last 55 years at J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology can be divided into two distinct periods, 1945-1967 and 1968-1999, each consisting of similar elements of research work and objectives. These included the research and production of major reviews of the fish faunas of South Africa, the western Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean, as well as research on the coelacanth. While in the former period the work was done by one scientist, J.L.B. Smith, the latter period has been characterised by collaborative projects including scientists from South Africa and abroad. As this history shows, the establishment of a viable, long-lasting collection is a lengthy process. For about 60 years the durability of fish collections depended on the enthusiasm and persistence of individual curators and scientists who were not ichthyologists. More often than not, enthusiasm disappeared when such individuals left their museums. This dependence existed until Rhodes University College established the Department of Ichthyology (1947) and the South African Museum created a post specifically for the curation of the fish collection (1957) and thus ensured continuity. The continuity of biosystematic research in South Africa has been a minor concern for the nation's systematists for decades. The threats to marine fish systematics have been of a financial, political and professional nature. The latter has been the most serious one because of the dearth of South Africans trained in marine fish systematics. After J.L.B. Smith's death in 1968 M.M. Smith had to work hard to convince the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Rhodes University that she could step into her late husband's shoes. Realizing that there was nobody to take over from her she initiated the first and only postgraduate programme in ichthyology in South Africa. The teaching started in the academic year of 1970171 at the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology, but to date only one student has completed a thesis in marine fish systematics. Due to the government's transformation policy all the practising marine fish systematists in South Africa will be retiring in the course of the present decade. Consequently, if no aspiring, motivated students appear on the scene in the next couple of years marine fish systematics in this country will be in a deep crisis by the year 2010, possibly even earlier.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2003
The computer in secondary school mathematics : an analysis and classification of possible modes of application, with suggested implications for the mathematics curriculum in South Africa
- Authors: Marsh, Terence Anthony
- Date: 1991
- Subjects: Mathematics -- Computer-assisted instruction Mathematics -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:1459 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1003340
- Description: There is a variety of possible ways in which computers can be used to enhance mathematics education. This thesis attempts to identify, analyse and classify these possibilities, particularly at the secondary school level. It describes and exemplifies applications ranging from drill-and-practice through games and simulations to problem solving by computer programming. Software evaluation procedures are considered in some depth. Illuminative evaluations of various items of software and there classroom use are reported. The underlying methodology is small-scale action research. Insights gained during the process of investigating each class of software lead to the eventual formulation of a scheme for classifying mathematics education software by means of 'multidimensional attributes'. It is contended that this scheme will help mathematics teachers to make well informed and sound professional judgements regarding the evaluation and use of computer programs for teaching/learning purposes. Also, it is hoped that this scheme and the thesis as a whole will contribute towards the establishment of well founded standards and procedures for software development in the field of mathematics education. Several implications of the computer for the mathematics curriculum in South Africa are suggested. A note of caution is sounded regarding possible detrimental effects of the computer and several questions requiring further research are posed. A recommendation arising from the thesis is that in-service training courses concerning computer applications in mathematics education should be run for secondary school teachers.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1991
The historical collection, King George VI Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth
- Authors: Forster-Towne, Rosemary
- Date: 1984
- Subjects: Art collections and art museums Fine arts and History of art
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MFA
- Identifier: vital:2463 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008567
- Description: From Conclusion: For the sake of posterity and historical research, our need for secure origins and our appreciation of and pleasure in fine craftsmanship and art, it is important that any Art Collection, particularly an Historical one, be fully documented. All data pertaining to the pictures should be recorded from an artistic, historical and even scientific point of view and photographs should be taken of the pictures. An organized classification system, the correct registering and labeling of each picture and its accessioning and cataloguing as part of the contents of the Gallery and for visitors information, should be constantly 53 maintained and where necessary and in as many ways as possible, cross-references made so that the stored information be usable. To this end and with the growth and increasing importance being placed on Art Museums and Galleries in the community it would probably be of value to cross-reference with other similar institutions and in the respect and day and age, it is not unrealistic to propose that the King George VI Art Gallery consider a computer cataloguing system to facilitate research and complement a more simplified version for the use and guide of the general viewing public . The significance of a picture is not only its value as such, but also the information relating to it. The importance of the Historical Collection as Africana and works of art, expressive of the places, events, people and even attitudes, and as cultural and historic items, goes without saying. Without the Historical Collection of the King George VI Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth, the Eastern Cape community and South Africa too, would be the poorer. The pictures have their role to play .
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1984
Geology and mine planning
- Authors: Maturana-Bascope, M
- Date: 1983
- Subjects: Geology , Mining geology , Geology, Economics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:5027 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006896
- Description: From introduction: This dissertation aims to review the main aspects involved in mine planning, in order to provide the geologists with the main criteria to obtain a preliminary estimate of the minability of an in situ orebody, and to make the geologists aware of the information they can contribute to the planning engineers. Furthermore, an understanding of the basic principles behind mine planning may help the exploration geologist to select more realistic targets of exploration.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1983