KASWA Researcher Profile and List of Publications .pdf

Wed 25 Aug 2021 09:22:42 SAST

Expertise:

Clinical research in field of HIV, TB, Women’s health and communicable disease; Clinical research data analysis both quantitative and Qualitative

Clinical outcomes of hospitalised COVID-19 patients at Mthatha Regional Hospital, Eastern Cape, South Africa: A retrospective study

Tue 19 Jul 2022 16:30:23 SAST

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health crisis that threatens the current health system. The sudden expansion in the need for inpatient and intensive care facilities raised concerns about optimal clinical management and resource allocation. Despite the pressing need for evidence to make context-specific decisions on COVID-19 management, evidence from South Africa remained limited. This study aimed to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 hospitalised patients. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was used to evaluate the clinical outcomes of hospitalised adult patients (≥ 18 years old) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness at Mthatha Regional Hospital (MRH), Eastern Cape. Results: Of the 1814 patients tested for COVID-19 between 20 March 2020 and 31 July 2020 at MRH, two-thirds (65.4%) were female. About two-thirds (242) of the 392 patients (21.6%) who tested positive for this disease were hospitalised and one-third (150) were quarantined at home. The mean age of the patients tested for COVID-19 was 42.6 years and there was no difference between males and females. The mean age of hospitalised patients was 55.5 years and the mean age of hospitalised patients who died (61.3 years) was much higher than recovered (49.5 years). Overall, 188 (77.6%) hospitalised patients had clinical comorbidity on admission. Diabetes (36.8%) and hypertension (33.1%) were the most common comorbidities amongst COVID-19 hospitalised patients. Conclusion: The majority of the patients who were hospitalised for COVID-19 were elderly and had high baseline comorbidities. Advance age and underlying comorbidities (diabetes, hypertension and HIV) were associated with high mortality in hospitalised COVID-19 patients. Keywords: COVID-19, diabetes; hypertension; hospitalised; co-morbidity.

Primary healthcare approach to substance abuse management

Tue 19 Jul 2022 10:04:40 SAST

Substance abuse is common amongst patients attending primary healthcare settings. Despite the substantial impact on one’s health, substance abuse is often underdiagnosed by primary care providers owing to a lack of training and time for screening. Self-reported screening tools are easy to administer and efficient to make a substance abuse diagnosis in primary care settings. Comorbid mental illness and intimate partner violence are common amongst patients presenting with substance abuse in primary care. An early diagnosis and a brief behavioural change counselling are effective in managing substance abuse before it develops into dependency. A brief motivational communication rather than a confrontation during substance abuse screening, counselling and treatment is important to achieve optimum patient outcomes. Keywords: substance abuse; primary healthcare setting; screening tools; brief behavioural change counselling; co-morbidity

Malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years in a primary health care setting

Tue 19 Jul 2022 09:18:59 SAST

In this study, we outlined the types of malnutrition amongst children, the causes of malnutrition intervention at the primary health care level and some recommendations to alleviate childhood malnutrition in South Africa. Keywords: obesity; severe acute malnutrition; individual factors; community level factors; dietary intervention.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on accessing HIV care: A case report

Thu 07 Mar 2024 12:25:33 SAST

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had an enormous impact on the provision of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services amongst people living with HIV. Many people have adopted different health-seeking behaviour in alignment with the lockdown provisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. These lockdown regulations have had a huge impact on healthcare access for people on chronic medication. The disruption of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has a profound effect on HIV-associated morbidity and mortality. The impact on HIV programmes as a result of the interruption in ART could be bigger than the HIV pandemic alone. Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; HIV; ART; lockdown; morbidity and mortality.