A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of
Master of Public Health (Hospital Management)
Johannesburg, August 2014 / Background
Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major cause of disease and death worldwide. In 2008, South
Africa ranked third in the world in terms of the total numbers of new TB cases. Little is
known about the profile of TB deaths at individual hospital level. Hence, the aim of the study
was to describe the profile of TB deaths in Charles Hurwitz TB Hospital for the period
January to December 2007.
Methods
A descriptive study was done, based on retrospective record review of all patients who died
between January and December 2007 at Charles Hurwitz TB Hospital, irrespective of the date
of admission. The data was analysed using Microsoft Excel.
Findings
The mean age at death was 41 years (standard deviation =10.9 years). Less than half of
deceased individuals were employed (43.4%), more than one third had a history of smoking
(42%) and the majority had a history of alcohol consumption (60.5%). Almost three quarters
of the patients (75.3%) were being treated for the first time. The majority (85.1%) of
deceased patients tested for HIV were HIV positive, but only 23.3% of those referred for
treatment were actually on ART, indicating missed opportunities in treatment and care at the
hospital.
Conclusion
There is need for ongoing vigilance and training to ensure that TB hospitals and individual
health care providers comply with the national quality of care and TB management standards,
and that missed opportunities are eliminated to reduce avoidable TB deaths.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/17388 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Diale, Dorothy Maruapula |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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