<p>Physical inactivity has become a global health concern and is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability. This has led to increased concern for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL).&nbsp / Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in combating several CDL such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and obesity. Physiotherapists are in a&nbsp / position to combat inactivity and effectively promote physical activity to their clients. Studies however have shown that participation in physical activity among physiotherapists could have an&nbsp / impact on the promotion of physical activity and their health practices. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity levels of physiotherapists and their&nbsp / physical&nbsp / activity promotion strategies and barriers to promoting physical activity. Sequential Mixed Method Design was used in this study. Data was collected by means of a self administered&nbsp / questionnaire and a total of 92 physiotherapists voluntarily answered the questionnaire. A focus group discussion comprising of 10 purposively selected physiotherapists was conducted. The&nbsp / questionnaire assessed physical activity levels&nbsp / and physical activity promoting strategies of the participants while the focus groupdiscussion looked at the barriers to promoting physical&nbsp / activity. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information&nbsp / as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square) was used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p&lt / 0.05). For the qualitative data, focus group discussions were used to collect data. Tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, sorting and arranging data was done and themes&nbsp / &nbsp / were generated. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated themes. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the&nbsp / study were respected in this current study. The findings in the current study revealed that a big number of the participants were physical active both at work and recreation domains. However,&nbsp / there was no statistically significant association between physical activity and the demographicvariables. The results in this study revealed that the majority of participants were good&nbsp / physical activity promoting practices, although there was no significant association between physical activity levels and the physical activity promoting practices. The finding in this study revealed that discussing physical&nbsp / activity and giving out information regarding physical activity to their clients were the most common methods used in promoting physical activity. However, participants also highlighted barriers they&nbsp / ace in promotion of physical activity such as policies on physical activity, cultural influence, nature of work, time management as well as environmental barriers. The study demonstrates the&nbsp / need for all stakeholders to come up with solutions to break the barriers to promotion of physical activity. In return it will bring about enormous health&nbsp / benefits to the general population.</p>

<p>Physical inactivity has become a global health concern and is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability. This has led to increased concern for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL).&nbsp / Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in combating several CDL such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and obesity. Physiotherapists are in a&nbsp / position to combat inactivity and effectively promote physical activity to their clients. Studies however have shown that participation in physical activity among physiotherapists could have an&nbsp / impact on the promotion of physical activity and their health practices. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity levels of physiotherapists and their&nbsp / physical&nbsp / activity promotion strategies and barriers to promoting physical activity. Sequential Mixed Method Design was used in this study. Data was collected by means of a self administered&nbsp / questionnaire and a total of 92 physiotherapists voluntarily answered the questionnaire. A focus group discussion comprising of 10 purposively selected physiotherapists was conducted. The&nbsp / questionnaire assessed physical activity levels&nbsp / and physical activity promoting strategies of the participants while the focus groupdiscussion looked at the barriers to promoting physical&nbsp / activity. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information&nbsp / as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square) was used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p&lt / 0.05). For the qualitative data, focus group discussions were used to collect data. Tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, sorting and arranging data was done and themes&nbsp / &nbsp / were generated. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated themes. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the&nbsp / study were respected in this current study. The findings in the current study revealed that a big number of the participants were physical active both at work and recreation domains. However,&nbsp / there was no statistically significant association between physical activity and the demographicvariables. The results in this study revealed that the majority of participants were good&nbsp / physical activity promoting practices, although there was no significant association between physical activity levels and the physical activity promoting practices. The finding in this study revealed that discussing physical&nbsp / activity and giving out information regarding physical activity to their clients were the most common methods used in promoting physical activity. However, participants also highlighted barriers they&nbsp / ace in promotion of physical activity such as policies on physical activity, cultural influence, nature of work, time management as well as environmental barriers. The study demonstrates the&nbsp / need for all stakeholders to come up with solutions to break the barriers to promotion of physical activity. In return it will bring about enormous health&nbsp / benefits to the general population.</p>

Magister Scientiae (Physiotherapy) - MSc(Physio) / Physical inactivity has become a global health concern and is among the 10 leading causes of death and disability. This has led to increased concern for chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL). Studies have revealed that regular physical activity is effective in combating several CDL such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and obesity. Physiotherapists are in a position to combat inactivity and effectively promote physical activity to their clients. Studies however have shown that participation in physical activity among physiotherapists could have an impact on the promotion of physical activity and their health practices. This study therefore sought to establish the relationship between physical activity levels of physiotherapists and their physical activity promotion strategies and barriers to promoting physical activity. Sequential Mixed Method Design was used in this study. Data was collected by means of a self administered questionnaire and a total of 92 physiotherapists voluntarily answered the questionnaire. A focus group discussion comprising of 10 purposively selected physiotherapists was conducted. The questionnaire assessed physical activity levels and physical activity promoting strategies of the participants while the focus groupdiscussion looked at the barriers to promoting physical activity. The Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 18 was used for data capturing and analysis. Descriptive statistics were employed to summarize demographic information as means, standard deviation, frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics (chi-square) was used to test the associations between different categorical variables (p<0.05). For the qualitative data, focus group discussions were used to collect data. Tape recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, field notes typed, sorting and arranging data was done and themes were generated. Thematic analysis was then done under the generated themes. Ethical issues pertaining to informed consent, anonymity, confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the study were respected in this current study. The findings in the current study revealed that a big number of the participants were physical active both at work and recreation domains. However, there was no statistically significant association between physical activity and the demographicvariables. The results in this study revealed that the majority of participants were good physical activity promoting practices, although there was no significant association between physical activity levels and the physical activity promoting practices. The finding in this study revealed that discussing physical activity and giving out information regarding physical activity to their clients were the most common methods used in promoting physical activity. However, participants also highlighted barriers they ace in promotion of physical activity such as policies on physical activity, cultural influence, nature of work, time management as well as environmental barriers. The study demonstrates the need for all stakeholders to come up with solutions to break the barriers to promotion of physical activity. In return it will bring about enormous health&nbsp; benefits to the general population. / South Africa

The purpose of this study was to investigate the determinants of high neonatal mortality rates in Migori County, Kenya. The neonatal mortality cases were utilised as the target population to the study. A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional, non-experimental research design was used. A systematic sampling technique was employed to draw a sample of 201 archived neonatal cases out of 420 neonatal mortality medical records, which constituted the study population. Data were collected by means of a developed questionnaire. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 21 was used to analyse data. The main findings revealed the leading determinants of neonatal mortality were early neonatal period, prematurity, poor 1st Apgar score, low birth weight and neonates with intrapartum complications. Obstetrical haemorrhage and HIV were the main maternal complications associated to neonatal mortalities, while the leading direct causes of death in this study were birth asphyxia and sepsis. Other determinants were gender, rural residence, lowly educated and informally employed mothers. To reduce mortalities, a multifaceted approach is needed to establish quality improvement in neonatal intensive care, reduce preterm birth incidences, and empower mothers socio-economically. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

The purpose of this study was to establish empirical evidence on risk factors influencing drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) in Swaziland. Globally factors have been identified and specific programmatic interventions were implemented to counter the emergence of DR-TB, but the case still remains with Swaziland. The research question was “What are the risk factors influencing the epidemiology of DR-TB patients enrolled for treatment at the National Tuberculosis Referral Hospital? The research objectives were to investigate factors that influence the emergence of DR-TB in Swaziland, to establish the relationship between DR-TB and HIV and to develop a poster that will exhibit the findings on the study on risk factors influencing the epidemiology of DR-TB. A mixed method was used. A qualitative study of participants using the in-depth one on one interview with a grand tour question “ What are the risk factors that resulted in you having DR-TB” and probing questions. The quantitative retrospective part was utilised to review medical records. Convenience sampling was utilised to recruit participants using an interview guide to collect data and random sampling for the quantitative aspect using a checklist to collect data. Risk factors influencing the development of DR-TB were identified to be previous treatment with anti-tuberculosis drugs, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The findings showed that the prevalence of HIV in DR-TB was 61% for HIV positive and 39% for negative and the quantitative data showed 77% HIV positive and 23% negative to HIV. Lack of education for patients and their families on precautionary measures to take when caring for a family member, and what to do in cases of developing side effects. This study concludes that both the need to ensure that bacteriologically confirmed patients are initiated to treatment, adhere to their treatment and complete treatment and due to the number of direct cases being infected with DR-TB ensuring that infection control strategies are put in place at work and at home settings / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The objectives of the study were (1) to quantify adherence rate among the study participants in the ART unit and (2) to identify factors that contribute to non-adherence. This cross sectional study was carried out at Nekemete referral clinic. Data was collected using a self-developed structured questionnaire where a total of 338 participants grouped into adherent and non-adherent based on a score derived from an adherence assessment were interviewed. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. By using multivariate analysis of variables identified as correlates of adherence, non-adherence was common among those; with age between 18-30 yrs, with no education, who were not married, who had no pipe water supply, those with no electricity in the house, who perceived had no access to assistance from providers, who perceived the health care providers (HCPs) did not keep information confidentially, who had a language barrier with providers, and who were treated with a psychiatric illness. The study concludes that adherence is multi-factorial and varies significantly by individual and care setting. Psychosocial factors were found to impact adherence and should be analysed in more detail by further studies. Three psychosocial factors were independently associated with poor adherence: the study found that patients perceiving poor access; those perceiving problems in information confidentiality (and possibly experiencing stigmatisation); and having psychiatric morbidity (and possibly with less social support) are more likely to be non-adherent. Furthermore, individuals without electricity and those without piped water supply, implying low income, are at risk for non-adherence / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

The objectives of the study were (1) to quantify adherence rate among the study participants in the ART unit and (2) to identify factors that contribute to non-adherence. This cross sectional study was carried out at Nekemete referral clinic. Data was collected using a self-developed structured questionnaire where a total of 338 participants grouped into adherent and non-adherent based on a score derived from an adherence assessment were interviewed. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17.0. By using multivariate analysis of variables identified as correlates of adherence, non-adherence was common among those; with age between 18-30 yrs, with no education, who were not married, who had no pipe water supply, those with no electricity in the house, who perceived had no access to assistance from providers, who perceived the health care providers (HCPs) did not keep information confidentially, who had a language barrier with providers, and who were treated with a psychiatric illness. The study concludes that adherence is multi-factorial and varies significantly by individual and care setting. Psychosocial factors were found to impact adherence and should be analysed in more detail by further studies. Three psychosocial factors were independently associated with poor adherence: the study found that patients perceiving poor access; those perceiving problems in information confidentiality (and possibly experiencing stigmatisation); and having psychiatric morbidity (and possibly with less social support) are more likely to be non-adherent. Furthermore, individuals without electricity and those without piped water supply, implying low income, are at risk for non-adherence / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)