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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Introduction: National community health worker (CHW) programmes are to an increasing extent being implemented in health systems globally, mirrored in South Africa in the ward-based outreach team (WBOT) strategy. In many countries, including South Africa, a major challenge impacting the performance and sustainability of scaled-up CHW programmes is ensuring adequate support from and supervision by the local health system. Supervisory systems, where they exist, are usually corrective and hierarchical in nature, and implementation remains poor. In the South African context, the absence of any guidance on CHW supportive supervision has led to varied practices across the country. Improved approaches to supportive supervision are considered critical for CHW programme performance. However, there is relatively little understanding of how this can be done sustainably at scale, and effective CHW supervisory models remain elusive. Research to date has mostly positioned supervision as a technical process rather than a set of relationships, with the former testing specific interventions rather than developing holistic approaches attuned to local contexts. This doctoral study was exploratory in nature, seeking to generate an in-depth and contextualised understanding of the supervision phenomenon in one specific district in the North West Province (NWP) in South Africa. Using co-production methodology in an iterative approach, the study culminated in the formulation of a supportive supervision framework with CHWs and other frontline actors. Methods: The study was based on a holistic conceptual framework of supportive supervision, which was viewed as comprising three core functions ‒ accountability, development and support ‒ embedded in a complex and multi-level system of resources, people and relationships. To address the study objectives, the research used a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods. Three studies were conducted in a phased process: study 1 comprised a qualitative description of policy and practices in two districts related to the supervision of WBOTs; study 2 identified the main actors and mapped the supervisory system of WBOTs in the district, using social network analysis (SNA); and study 3 involved a qualitative exploration of workplace and interpersonal trust factors in the district and the supervisory system of WBOTs in the district. These three studies provided inputs for a workshop aimed at developing recommendations for a district-level, WBOT supportive supervisory framework. Four published papers reporting on the research conducted are presented in this thesis. It should be noted that the research was conducted during a turbulent political and administrative period in the NWP, when the WBOT programme changed from being a flagship programme for the country to one in crisis. This shifting context needs to be borne in mind when the findings are viewed and interpreted. Results: The study identified weaknesses in both the design and implementation of the supervisory system of WBOTs, with the absence of clear guidance resulting in WBOTs and PHC facilities performing their roles in an ad hoc manner, defined within local contexts. The study documented evidence of high internal cohesion within WBOTs and (where present) with their immediate outreach team leaders (OTLs). However, the relationships between WBOTs and the rest of the primary health care (PHC) and district health system were characterised by considerable mistrust – both towards other workers and the system as a whole. This occurred against a backdrop of increasing OTL vacancies, and the perceived abandonment of WBOT training and development systems and career opportunities. These findings are not dissimilar to those reported previously on the WBOT programme in South Africa and in programmes in other low-resource settings. Nevertheless, through its in-depth, exploratory and participatory approaches, this study provides additional insights into the phenomenon of supportive supervision. Firstly, in conceptualising supportive supervision as a set of ‘bundled’ practices within complex local health systems, the findings reflected the complexity of everyday realities and lived experiences. Secondly, through the embedded nature of the research and the phased data-collection process, the study was able to observe the impact of wider health system contexts and crises on the coalface functioning of the WBOT programme. Thirdly, the study emphasised how supportive supervision depends on healthy relational dynamics and trust relationships, and, finally, how a co-production approach can translate broad guidance, experience and theoretical understanding into meaningful, local practice owned by all the actors involved. Ultimately, the process of engagement, building relationships and forging consensus proved to be more significant than the supportive supervision framework itself. Conclusion: The lack of explicit, coherent and holistic guidance in developing CHW supportive supervision guidance and the failure to address supervision constraints at a local level undermine the performance and sustainability of CHW programmes. Effective supportive supervisory systems require bottom-up collaborative platforms characterised by active participation, sharing of local tacit knowledge and mutual learning. Supervisory systems also need to be designed in ways that promote relationships and generate trust between CHW programmes, other actors and the health system.

The purpose of this study was to explore the referrals that were generated from one hospital emergency room to a community outreach team. This study used a specific geriatric program assessment team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as the community outreach team. Malcolm Payne’s description of Task Centered Casework and Crisis Intervention and Irene Pollin’s Medical Crisis Counseling served as the theoretical structure and design to gain an understanding of the reasons geriatric patients were referred to the GPAT on discharge. This study aimed to answer three research questions: 1) What is the emergency room medical team’s main reason for referral to a geriatric outreach team? 2) Are the referrals received from the emergency room medical team clearly identifying psychosocial issues as areas for examination by an outreach team? 3) Are psychosocial issues identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment? This study revealed that out of the 209 referrals to geriatric program assessment team, the highest number of times referred was for functional decline. It revealed that the emergency room medical team saw functional decline as a valid reason to have the geriatric program assessment team assess the individual in their home settings to ensure that any functional issue be addressed and possible adaptations made in a timely manner to avoid the reverberation that one ailment can set off. The second most common reason for referring to the geriatric program assessment team was for social issues. Forty percent of the referrals identified that there were concerns in relation to social issues which clearly identifies that the emergency room medical team identified psychosocial issues as an area for further examination. And finally, the findings show psychosocial issues were not identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment, but that both appear cognizant of the interplay between medical issues and social issues.

The purpose of this study was to explore the referrals that were generated from one hospital emergency room to a community outreach team. This study used a specific geriatric program assessment team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada as the community outreach team. Malcolm Payne’s description of Task Centered Casework and Crisis Intervention and Irene Pollin’s Medical Crisis Counseling served as the theoretical structure and design to gain an understanding of the reasons geriatric patients were referred to the GPAT on discharge. This study aimed to answer three research questions: 1) What is the emergency room medical team’s main reason for referral to a geriatric outreach team? 2) Are the referrals received from the emergency room medical team clearly identifying psychosocial issues as areas for examination by an outreach team? 3) Are psychosocial issues identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment? This study revealed that out of the 209 referrals to geriatric program assessment team, the highest number of times referred was for functional decline. It revealed that the emergency room medical team saw functional decline as a valid reason to have the geriatric program assessment team assess the individual in their home settings to ensure that any functional issue be addressed and possible adaptations made in a timely manner to avoid the reverberation that one ailment can set off. The second most common reason for referring to the geriatric program assessment team was for social issues. Forty percent of the referrals identified that there were concerns in relation to social issues which clearly identifies that the emergency room medical team identified psychosocial issues as an area for further examination. And finally, the findings show psychosocial issues were not identified only after an outreach team clinician completed a comprehensive assessment, but that both appear cognizant of the interplay between medical issues and social issues.

In-patient deterioration is a global phenomena and timely recognition and action improves outcome. Intensive care facilities are scarce and expensive and therefore patient care must be optimal. A retrospective health record analysis was used for this study. The findings indicated that nursing personnel do not recognize patient deterioration timeuously. However, the implementation of an outreach team and clinical markers training program improved the recognition of patient deterioration in general wards with three hours and 40 minutes. It is recommended to implement a comprehensive hospital program that addresses the basic knowledge and skills of general ward personnel to observe, recognize, assess and intervene to patients with clinical deterioration. Together with an extensive training program, a basic physiological parameters guideline to activate a team of experts to the bedside, such as an Outreach team, assist nursing personnel to recognize and manage those patients timeuously and ensure treatment in an appropriate level of care. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health studies)

In-patient deterioration is a global phenomena and timely recognition and action improves outcome. Intensive care facilities are scarce and expensive and therefore patient care must be optimal. A retrospective health record analysis was used for this study. The findings indicated that nursing personnel do not recognize patient deterioration timeuously. However, the implementation of an outreach team and clinical markers training program improved the recognition of patient deterioration in general wards with three hours and 40 minutes. It is recommended to implement a comprehensive hospital program that addresses the basic knowledge and skills of general ward personnel to observe, recognize, assess and intervene to patients with clinical deterioration. Together with an extensive training program, a basic physiological parameters guideline to activate a team of experts to the bedside, such as an Outreach team, assist nursing personnel to recognize and manage those patients timeuously and ensure treatment in an appropriate level of care. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health studies)

Bakgrund: Intensivvård är den högsta vårdinstansen på ett sjukhus, en av sjukvårdens mest resurskrävande behandlingsformer. När en patient blir kritiskt sjuk eller påvisar försämrade vitalparametrar kontaktar vårdpersonalen mobil intensivvårdsgrupp (MIG) som utgår ifrån intensivvårdsavdelningen (IVA). Problemformulering: De kritiskt sjuka patienterna vårdas inte längre bara på IVA men också på vårdavdelningar. I ett omvårdnads- och professionsperspektiv som intensivvårdssjuksköterska är det av betydelse och centralt att förstå orsakerna till kontakt med MIG. Syfte: Att kartlägga kontakter, orsaker och skillnader med mobil intensivvårdsgrupp på ett sjukhus i Västra Götalandsregionen. Metod: En icke-experimentell studie med ett konsekutivt urval och retrospektiv journalgranskning av 386 patientkontakter med MIG under åren 2017–2019. Resultat: Studiens resultat påvisar en hög medelålder. Ingen skillnad återfanns i patientgruppen ur ett könsperspektiv. Den framträdande gruppen är den geriatriska patienten ≥65år som är utsatt och en högriskgrupp vid kontakt med MIG. De utgör majoriteten av alla kontakter med MIG åren 2017–2019. Diskussion: Studiens kartläggning och resultat påvisar behov av kompetenshöjande utbildning och optimeringsteam. Geriatriska patientgruppen behöver vårdinsatser i rätt tid och med rätt kompetens för att minska antalet MIG kontakter och initiera insatser i förtid och motverka svikt av vitala parametrar.

Thesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Background: Chronic illnesses, including non-communicable diseases (NCDs), continue to be a public health concern, globally, and contribute to the high burden of diseases. These health challenges have led to the introduction of community health workers (CHWs) in both developed and developing countries as a way of dealing with these challenges. It is more than five years since ward-based outreach teams (WBOTs) were introduced into the Julesburg area in order to respond to the needs of the community, based on the government’s focus on quadruple burden of diseases. The researcher is aware of the increasing workload, unclear roles and responsibilities, different approaches to CHWs’ work taken, and the ever-changing focus of their work, based on the community needs and diseases that the community faces at a particular time. It is for this reason that the researcher is interested in understanding the CHWs’ experiences and the manner in which they cope with challenges when working in their ever-changing environment, workload, work focus and roles and responsibilities. Methods: A qualitative exploratory, descriptive and contextual study approach was used; data was collected using focus group discussions with CHWs and one-on-one interviews with key informants, using their supervisors to gather more information that could not have been shared by CHWs. Result: The findings from the focus group discussions revealed that the CHWs have a high workload, while receiving stipend and are not permanently employed. CHWs have had experiences that make them feel unimportant and not needed, as well as enduring poor working conditions without sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE). Even though they experience dissatisfaction, they are passionate about continuing with their community-based work for many years, evidenced by those who have up to 22 years of service.