Magister Public Health - MPH / Background: Dental canes and gingivitis are reported to affect 60-90% of school children in most countries (World Health Organization, 2003). Learners in the Swakopmund district of Namibia were examined and it was found that 73% and 89% of them were affected by dental caries and gingivitis respectively (Ministry of Health and Social Services, 2003). This district has implemented an oral health programme at primary schools with the aim of reducing the prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis. Aim: To compare knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of teachers and learners in response to the school-based oral health programme at four primary schools in Swakopmund district. Study Design: This study is a cross-sectional survey that compared the responses of learners from high participating schools to those from low participating schools. The total sample was 186 participants comprising of 159 learners and 27 teachers. Data Collection: Structured, self-administered questionnaires were used for the teachers whilst learners were interviewed by the researcher and research assistants using structured questionnaires. Data on knowledge of risk factors for dental caries and gingivitis as well as attitude and behaviour towards prevention of these diseases at school were collected. Data analysis: Data were captured in Microsoft Excel Programme and imported to CDC Epi Info 2002 version 3.3 for analysis. Prevalence ratio (PR) was used as a preferable measure of effect at 95% confidence interval. Chi-square test was used to assess statistical significance of the proportional differences between high and low participating schools and the cut off point for statistical significance was a p-value < 0.05. 111 Results: Learners from low participating schools were more knowledgeable than learners from high participating schools in most of the knowledge questions and the results were statistically significant. There were positive oral health practices and attitudes reported by the learners with minimal differences between high participating and low participating schools and consequently the results were not statistically significant. The results for the variables knowledge, behaviour and attitudes for the teachers were not statistically significant. Teachers from both high and low participating schools exhibited high levels of knowledge and positive oral health behaviours and attitudes. However, teachers reported some shortcomings in the programme which included lack of: toothbrushes, parental involvement, time for oral health activities, regular workshops and educational materials. Conclusion: The study revealed that learners and teachers from both high and low participating schools had positive oral health knowledge, attitudes and behaviour towards oral health. However, certain socio-environmental factors which are important determinants of oral health could explain the reasons for low participation in oral health programme by some schools. Therefore the Health Promoting Schools approach is a pragmatic way to promote oral health at schools in Swakopmund district because a Health Promoting School has a healthy public policy that creates a supportive environment for oral health, making healthy choices easier.

The purpose of this study is to explore and describe the nature and extent of school health nurses’ roles and responsibilities in the prevention of drug abuse by learners in schools. The study was conducted at two high schools in Eldorado Park Extension 4 (Region G), in Johannesburg West. A mixed-methods (triangulated) research approach was opted for, in terms of which structured focus group interviews, self-administered questionnaires, and participant observations optimised and complemented the data collection process. The non-probability simple random sampling technique was utilised to select 35 research participants consisting of 9 (nine) educators, 1 (one) school health nurse and 25 community healthcare workers. The 1 (one) school health nurse and the 25 community-based healthcare workers were involved in the study by means of structured self-administered questionnaires, while the nine (9) educators (who were not part of the 26) only participated in the study’s two focus group interview sessions. Among others, the study’s findings indicate that the distribution of professionally trained and registered school health nurses is not yet proportionally commensurate to addressing the problem of drug and substance abuse in schools. There has been a need to augment the shortage of school health nurses with community-based school health workers. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-04T12:42:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010 / A família como foco da atenção é um dos atributos da Atenção Primária em Saúde sendo necessário conhecê-la em sua dinâmica e assisti-la em suas necessidades individuais e de grupo em interação. Reconhece-se o contexto familiar como o espaço primeiro de identificação e explicação do adoecimento de seus membros e onde este adoecimento adquire maior relevância. Tais características tornam a família uma unidade de cuidados, devendo ser compreendida pelos profissionais de saúde em suas interrelações, ao mesmo tempo em que é uma unidade prestadora de cuidados, podendo tornar-se uma parceira dos serviços de saúde no cuidado de seus membros. A Estratégia Saúde da Família tem como proposta estabelecer esta parceria com a família tornando-a mais autônoma, mais independente, contribuindo assim para a construção de sua cidadania. A pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o atributo centralidade da família no PSF, buscando examinar como o contexto familiar é considerado nas práticas de saúde dos profissionais, e como as famílias percebem estas práticas no PSF de Manaus. Para o desenvolvimento do estudo optou-se pela pesquisa qualitativa. Neste estudo foram informantes as famílias e os profissionais que atuam na Estratégia. Como técnica de levantamento de dados foram realizados grupos focais com enfermeiros, médicos, agentes comunitários de saúde e auxiliares / técnicos de enfermagem; entrevistas semi estruturadas com famílias cadastradas e com coordenadores dos Treinamentos Introdutórios e Cursos de Especialização em Saúde da Família; e observação das práticas dos profissionais das equipes de Saúde da Família nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde da Família (UBSF), e nos domicílios das famílias cadastradas. O trabalho de campo foi realizado no período de dezembro de 2008 a abril de 2009. A análise de dados confrontada com a literatura permitiu identificar que as concepções de família dos profissionais das ESF e das famílias cadastradas corroboram a literatura quando evidencia que o entendimento sobre o que é família é diverso, a depender dos referenciais de quem o manifesta. Deste modo emergiram concepções de família como: família para além da consangüinidade, família como espaço de relações, família como um campo complexo e família como aqueles com quem se pode contar. Como tipologias de família emergiram: família nuclear, família monoparental chefiada por mulher, família trigeracional, família transitória e família satélite. O conhecimento dos profissionais sobre as famílias cadastradas mostrou-se referido às famílias como coletividade, indicando mais um conhecimento sobre a comunidade do que propriamente um conhecimento sobre as famílias. A concepção das famílias cadastradas sobre a abordagem da família pela ESF mostrou o ACS como o membro da equipe que mais lhe conhece. A análise das práticas de saúde dos profissionais das ESF direcionadas às famílias mostrou que a abordagem familiar se fez presente em poucas ações tais como: reunião com a família e visita domiciliar realizadas por ACS, e, atividades desenvolvidas por enfermeiros e médicos na intermediação de conflitos familiares, com repercussões tanto no contexto familiar quanto social. A análise da documentação da família mostrou que os registros sobre o núcleo familiar se dão de forma incompleta e insuficiente, sem interlocução entre os membros da família. O prontuário familiar encontra-se fragmentado com as fichas de Assistência Médico Sanitária dos integrantes da família separadas por programas prioritários e a ficha de cadastro das famílias com dados sócio-econômicos sob a guarda do ACS dificultando sua consulta por parte dos demais membros das ESF. A visita domiciliar é por sua vez uma prática mais direcionada aos indivíduos do que às famílias. Seus objetivos foram referidos como: uma atividade administrativa de coleta de dados, uma atividade assistencial, uma estratégia de informar tanto familiares quanto a equipe, uma forma de estabelecer vínculos, resgatar faltosos e agendar procedimentos na UBSF. A análise destas práticas indica que a abordagem familiar é referida recorrentemente aos indivíduos inscritos nos programas do MS e/ou portadores de limitações físicas que os impeçam de locomoverem-se até às UBSF. Do mesmo modo, as famílias não perceberam receber atenção focada na família, reconhecem a atuação ainda referida ao plano individual do membro da família. A abordagem da família na capacitação dos profissionais das ESF está aquém da proposta do Programa, os conteúdos ministrados sobre abordagem familiar são insuficientes, tanto temáticos como de carga horária. A análise da abordagem da família nas atribuições dos profissionais contida em documentos oficiais aponta o ACS como o maior responsável pelos vínculos com a família devendo munir tanto a ESF quanto as famílias de informações de seu interesse. No entanto, a observação do cotidiano das práticas dos profissionais das ESF indicou baixa utilização pelas ESF das informações trazidas do contexto familiar pelo ACS. Em síntese, a análise da centralidade na família do PSF de Manaus mostrou que a abordagem tem se dado de forma hegemônica sobre o indivíduo, e de forma incipiente sobre a família. Para que as equipes efetivem o atributo da APS centralidade na família são necessárias medidas dos gestores federal, estadual e municipal para uma formação específica e disponibilização de ferramentas e recursos que possibilitem a abordagem familiar. / One feature of Primary Health Care is its focus on the family: understanding family dynamics and providing care to meet the needs of its members, both individually and as an interacting group. The family is recognised as the prime context for identifying and explaining its members' illness and where such illness is most important. These characteristics make the family a unit of care which health workers should understand in terms of its dynamics, at the same time as it is a care-giving unit which can become health services' partner in caring for its members. The purpose of Brazil's Family Health Strategy (Estratégia Saúde da Família) is to establish that partnership with the family in such a way as to make it more autonomous and more independent, thus contributing to building citizenship. The purpose of the present study was to analyse “centrality of the family” as an attribute of the Family Health Strategy (Estratégia Saúde da Familia), examining how health workers contemplate the family context in practice and how family members perceive the practices of the Family Health Strategy in Manaus. It is qualitative study. The study informants were the families and the health professionals working in the Family Health Teams (Equipe Saúde da Família – ESF). The data collection techniques were: focal groups with nurses, doctors, community health workers (CHWs) and nursing auxiliaries; semi-structured interviews of families registered with the Strategy; and observation of the routines of health workers at the family health clinics and at the homes of registered families. Analysis of the data, confronted with the literature, revealed that the conceptions of “family” held by the SF health workers and the registered families corroborate the literature when it shows that the understanding of what family is diverse, depending on the references of whom expresses it. Accordingly, the conceptions of the family that emerged included: family beyond consanguinity, family as a space of relations, family as a complex field and family as the people you can rely on. The typologies of family that emerged were: nuclear family, single-parent family headed by a women, three generational family, transitory family and satellite family. The Strategy health workers' knowledge of the registered families proved to relate to the families as collectivity, indicating more knowledge about the community than properly knowledge about the families. The registered families held a perception of the SF family approach that depicted the CHWs as the team members that knew them best. The analysis of the ESF health workers' dealings with the families showed that the family approach was present in few activities, such as CHWs' home visits and meetings with the family and nurses' and doctors' activities in intermediating family conflicts, which had repercussions in both the family and social contexts. Analysis of family documentation revealed that recordkeeping with regard to the family unit is incomplete and insufficient, with no dialogue among family members. Family health records are fragmented, with individual family members' Medical Care records separated by priority health programme and the family's registration card with social-economical data being held by the CHW, making it more difficult for other ESF workers to consult. Home visits are, in turn, a practice directed more to individuals than to the families. Their purposes were described as: an administrative data-gathering activity, a care activity, a strategy for informing both the family members and the team, and a way of forging links, following up non-attendance and scheduling procedures at the family health clinic. Analysis of these practices indicated that the family approach is recurrently addressed to individuals of priority health programme or with physical disabilities. In the same way, the families did not see themselves as receiving family-focussed care, rather they recognize the activities as still relating to the individual family member level. ESF health worker training falls short of the programme proposal for the family approach: the corresponding course content is insufficient in terms of both subject matter and course hours. Analysis of the family approach in health workers' duties as defined in official documents points to the CHW as the key component responsible for links with the family. The CHW is expected to provide both the ESF and the families with the information they require. Although, observation of ESF workers' day-to-day activities indicated that the ESF made little use of the information on the family context provided by the CHW. In summary, analysis of the family's centrality in the Family Health Strategy in Manaus showed that the approach has been directed predominantly to the individual and only incipiently to the family. In order for the healthcare teams actually to implement “centrality of the family” as an attribute of Primary Health Care measures by federal and municipal managers are necessary to provide specific training, as well as tools and resources to make the family approach possible.