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  • Activity 7.2.3.1: Reading the Laws

    Question 1: The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 [No 92. Of 1996] is an important source of legislation that details a women’s right to terminate her pregnancy. Look at the excerpt from the Preamble to this Act: In a full sentence that makes reference to the Constitution of South Africa (1996), write a sentence that identifies which paragraph, sub-section and section of the Bill of Rights has been used to support the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act: In Chapter 2 of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of South Africa (1996), sub-section (a) and (b) of section 12 clearly states that “everyone has the to bodily and psychological integrity, which includes the right ­ to make decisions concerning reproduction; to security in and control over their body” Question 2: Have a look at Section 5 of The Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 [No 92. Of 1996] below: Using a detailed sentence, identify in this Act when a child can get a termination of pregnancy WITHOUT the consent of their parent or legal guardian: In the Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, (1996), Sub-section 3 of Section 5 clearly states “In the case of a pregnant minor, a medical professional, or registered midwife, as the case may be, shall advise such minor to consult with her parents, guardian, family members or friends before the pregnancy is terminated: Provided that the termination of the pregnancy shall not be denied because such minor chooses not to consult them.” Question 3: Read the summary of the following seminal case in South African Case Law: SOOBRAMONEY v MINISTER OF HEALTH, KWAZULU-NATAL 1998 (1) SA 765 (CC) 1. Who was the appellant in this case? The appellant was a 41-year-old diabetic suffering from ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and irreversible chronic renal failure. 2. Who were the parties in the matter? SOOBRAMONEY v MINISTER OF HEALTH, KWAZULU-NATAL 3. What was the year of the case and which court heard the matter? The year was 1998. The court was the Constitutional Court. 4. Read the summary of this case and briefly summarise the Soobramoney judgment with a specific focus on the legal principles and how the law was applied to the facts. In addition, it was determined that the intent of section 27(3) appeared to be to guarantee that treatment in an emergency would not be delayed by formalities or bureaucratic requirements. A person who suffered a sudden calamity that necessitated immediate medical attention should not be turned away from a hospital that was able to provide the required treatment or from any other emergency services that were available. The subsection mandated that any and all available and required remedial treatment be administered immediately to prevent the harm. Held, further, that the appellant's condition was not an emergency requiring immediate remedial treatment due to the fact that he had chronic renal failure and would need dialysis two to three times per week to keep alive. It was an ongoing condition brought on by the applicant's irreversible decline in renal function. Therefore, this circumstance did not fall under Section 27(3). “Held, further, that the appellant's demand to receive dialysis treatment at a State hospital had to be determined in accordance with the provisions of sections 27(1) and (2), rather than section 27(3), which entitle everyone to have access to health care services provided by the State "within its available resources." Added that there were significantly more people in KwaZulu-Natal with chronic renal failure than there were dialysis machines to treat them due to budget constraints and cuts to hospital services. As a result, guidelines were developed to help medical professionals make difficult decisions about who should and should not receive treatment. These rules were applied in the present case. By utilizing the accessible dialysis machines as per the rules more patients benefited than would be the situation assuming that they were utilized to keep alive people with persistent renal disappointment. Because the treatment was geared toward curing patients rather than merely maintaining their chronic illness, it was also likely to have a greater positive impact on the outcome. References: ESCR-Net - International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Soobramoney v. Minister of Health (Kwazulu-Natal). Available at: https://www.escr-net.org/caselaw/2008/soobramoney-v-minister-health-kwazulu-natalLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). South African Legal Information Institute, n.d. Soobramoney v Minister of Health (Kwazulu-Natal) (CCT32/97) [1997] ZACC 17; 1998 (1) SA 765 (CC); 1997 (12) BCLR 1696 (27 November 1997). Available at: http://saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/1997/17.htmlLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). If the typography is not come off well I have attached the Word Document below:

  • Activity 9.3.1: Addressing Medicine Stock-outs

    1. Why do you think some areas on the heat map experience stock-outs more than others? Use examples from the heat map to explain your answer. Areas like Johannesburg and Pretoria, Eastern Cape, and Limpopo had the highest number of stock-out reports. Gauteng has a large population and people from all over South Africa continue to migrate there, the ratio of people to available resources could cause a stock-out. For Eastern Cape and Limpopo there could be a mismanagement of funds that are needed to provide the necessary medicines to treat patients. KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North-West, and Free-State have the second highest reports of stock-out, once again these places could have mismanagement of funds that are needed for the medicines that the community needs. Northern Cape and Western Cape have the least reports of stock-outs, for northern cape this could be because the province has the least number of people staying in the province so the demand is not that high and therefore, they can spread out whatever resources they have over a long period of time and for Western cape I have not theories, maybe the money is just spent better there and managed a little better. The order of highest to lowest population is Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Free State, and Northern Cape. So, looking at the heat map I would say that overall, the mismanagement of funds in the less populated areas is what causes the stock-out. The most private hospitals can be found in the in Gauteng and then Western Cape which means that the stock-out numbers are greatly reduced since people will turn to private healthcare to get the medicines they need. “South Africa boasts the highest standard of healthcare in Africa. There are over 200 private hospitals across the country; expats who take out private health insurance can expect the standard of care to be on par with their home country.” (Buswell 2014) 2. What do you see as some of the negative implications caused by stock-outs? There is an increase in health inequity and financial strain in rural and underprivileged districts and provinces. People must utilise facilities that are far and require additional spending on transport and childminding services, combined with wage losses due to time taken off from work, can lead to indebtedness and a constrained ability to put food on the table and purchase other essentials. Health professionals are also forced to ration resources. 3. Using the Health Systems Building Blocks Framework, how can the different building blocks work together to prevent medicine stock-outs. You may consider some of the following on the Stop Stock-outs Project: ❏ Who is leading this initiative? ❏ How is it funded? ❏ What services are provided by the project? ❏ Who is involved in running the project? ❏ What technologies are being used to address the main issue? The initiative is led by a consortium of six civil society organisations. The SSP escalates this information to the National Department of Health, provincial structures and other stakeholders to strengthen supply chain management systems of PHC medicines and maximise access to health services. So, the National Department of Health, provincial structures and other stakeholders fund this initiative. This project is to make sure that stockout issues around South Africa don’t happen as often, or the problem is solved quickly. The consortium members run this project. The technology being involved is only surveys that take place online that can be accessed through any advice. The project already involves community members and health care workers by relying on them to answer surveys so that the information needed to distribute resources is attained, for there to be more of an incentive for people to utilise what they have put in place they should pay health care workers extra and make it a side job for community members to do. Community members may be the biggest hurdle since there is since marginal communities are also less likely to speak up for their right to a consistent supply of essential PHC medicines, and other services. Technology to monitor the medicines which health professional can use to scan items when they are being taken and stocked would also be a good idea because it removes the problem of people being demotivated, due to lack of service delivery, and this technology would be connected to a system where they can access the information whenever needed. Public health should also carry out more community diagnosis. If a disease keeps increasing in a community then the community noticeably need more health resources related to the disease to tackle the problem. References: Devex, 2016. Ending drug stock-outs, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVYiUEVLU1kLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). Stop Stock-outs, 2019. Stock-outs.org. Available at: https://stockouts.org/Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). Greg Nicholson, 2013. Daily Maverick. Available at: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-06-19-eastern-capes-mthatha-problem/Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). I have attached the Word Document incase the typography does not show well.

  • Activity 4.3.1: Identifying Arguments

    In this activity, you will have the opportunity to practice identifying arguments. You will have had practice making arguments as part of your course paper and this is an important academic skill that will take you through the rest of your academic career. There are three parts in this activity, and you are required to read each passage carefully and answer the questions that follow. While working on this worksheet, consider the types of arguments you make in your own paper. Part 1: “Most health care practitioners accept that mental conditions are diseases. Nonetheless, mental conditions are not really diseases. If a condition is a disease, then that condition involves a distinctive biological problem that would show up on an autopsy table. However, mental conditions do not involve distinctive biological problems that would show up on an autopsy table.” 1. Does this passage contain an argument? Explain your answer to this question. Yes, the passage does contain an argument. The text provides reasons for the reader to believe the claim that mental illnesses are diseases. 2. If the passage contains an argument, what are the argument’s premises and conclusion? Explain your answer to this question. The premise is that diseases involve distinctive biological problems that would show up on an autopsy table. Conclusions are because mental illness does not involve distinctive biological problems that would show up on an autopsy table, it should not be considered a disease by most healthcare practitioners. The passage is proving that mental conditions are not diseases and should not be categorised as such. What disease is and how it would show up in a health setting was first defined and because mental conditions do not fit into the definitions provided by the author they concluded that the initial claim is true. 3. If the passage contains an argument, is it an inductive, abductive, or deductive argument? Explain your answer to this question. The argument is abductive. The writer makes assumptions about what health care professionals believe. Diseases are defined as something that would show up on an autopsy table. The passage relies on logic and the relative strength of its premises and conclusion to prove its claim true. Part 2: “Acupuncture is undoubtedly effective. I had a friend who suffered from unexplained chronic pain. She tried all sorts of medications and treatment, and nothing helped. Eventually, she tried acupuncture and afterwards the pain stopped. The only reasonable explanation for this is that acupuncture really does work.” 1. Does this passage contain an argument? Explain your answer to this question. Yes, it does contain an argument, the passage provides reasons for the reader to believe that acupuncture does work. 2. If the passage contains an argument, what are the argument’s premises and conclusion? Explain your answer to this question. The premise is that because a friend’s chronic pain had not been cured by any other intervention but acupuncture the conclusion that acupuncture does work and that the claim acupuncture is undoubtedly effective is true. The passage is proving that acupuncture is effective since it worked, and all other medicines and treatments did not for the chronic pain that the friend was dealing with. 3. If the passage contains an argument, is it an inductive, abductive, or deductive argument? Explain your answer to this question. The argument is inductive. It is based on individual experiences and the generalisation is then made that acupuncture does work. No evidence is given for the claim and no research was done to support the claim. Part 3: “A study of 72 obese patients with Type 2 diabetes who underwent gastric bypass operation shows that 66 patients (92 percent) had a reversal of their diabetes; however, 14 (21 percent) of the 66 patients experienced a recurrence of their diabetes. So, gastric bypass surgery is likely to reverse Type 2 diabetes, but it is also quite likely that the diabetes will recur.” 1. Does this passage contain an argument? Explain your answer to this question. Yes, the passage does contain an argument, it is proving the effects of gastric bypass surgery on diabetes. 2. If the passage contains an argument, what are the argument’s premises and conclusion? Explain your answer to this question. The premise is A study of 72 obese patients with Type 2 diabetes who underwent gastric bypass operation shows that 66 patients (92 percent) had a reversal of their diabetes; however, 14 (21 percent) of the 66 patients experienced a recurrence of their diabetes. The conclusion is gastric bypass surgery is likely to reverse Type 2 diabetes, but it is also quite likely that the diabetes will recur. The passage provides research shows how the conclusion was made on the effects of gastric bypass surgery on diabetes. 3. If the passage contains an argument, is it an inductive, abductive or deductive argument? Explain your answer to this question. The passage is deductive. The premises is supported by evidence. The conclusion was based on scientific research. References: The work taught in class. https://ulwazi.wits.ac.za/courses/31784/pages/session-3-identify-arguments?module_item_id=441168 I TRIED TO UPLOAD THE FILES HOWEVER THEY ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY WIX SO I ADDED THE LINK. If the typography is not coming off well, I have attached the Word document below.

  • Activity 5.3.1: Case Study - Health Promotion and MomConnect

    This task is about applying your knowledge about the five health promotion action areas of the Ottawa Charter (1986). As you are working your way through this task, think about the role of Health Information Systems (HIS) in health promotion. Follow the instructions below and complete the worksheet. Instructions Follow the steps below. Pay close attention to punctuation and grammar. Review your answers before submitting. Upload your completed worksheet to your ePortfolio. Step 1 Identify and explain which action areas from the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion have been applied in this video. Developing personal skills and Reorient health services are the action areas from the Ottawa Charter for health promotion that apply in the video. The mother goes to the clinic when she is pregnant and registers on the app. The app gives her updates on her baby, twice a week. She can ask questions about how to care for her child and communicate with an assignee when she is unable to receive services at whatever healthcare institution that she went to, whether because of a lack of resources because she is unable to go herself. Midwives can be found on the app for easy communication. Momconnect, the name of the app, can connect to WhatsApp to be able to reach more people and provide reliable health education and advice. How developing personal skills have been applied to the app is that it communicates information, and it motivates and builds skills and confidence of the individual to improve health. the app provides health education and behaviour strategies that increases the options available to the people so they can make choices conductive to health. Reorient health services apply to this app because it was made by a government institution with WhatsApp. The health sector worked with other sectors to be sensitive to the user needs and respect culture (The app can be used with your preferred South African language) and support the needs of the individuals and communities for a healthier life. Step 2 With reference to the levels of data collection in Health Information Systems, discuss the role that technology has played in improving the collection of health information about pregnant women in South Africa? Having technology solve the problems that there were with data collection which are: Too much information to collect: There are currently far too many data elements collected routinely without convincing evidence that the information collected is being put to good use. Not enough resources: Most health facilities at PHC level do not have sufficient capacity to collect all the required data daily without compromising patient care. Health facilities frequently run out of collection resources and have to resort to using unreliable collection methods, such as loose sheets of paper, which cannot be properly kept. Unfriendly tools: Most data collection tools are not user-friendly because of the massive data collection requirements i.e. the number of elements and the detail required. Duplicated information: There is at present duplication of data from several services which inevitably causes confusion. There has been little attempt in the design of tools/registers to collect the lowest denominator data which could be extracted for different reports. These problems were present when the research was done with paper (questionnaires) and healthcare professionals. Now with the app, there is no need for the patient or healthcare professionals to go the long way round to contribute to healthcare research. They can now answer or participate in research directly with the researcher. I have applied the required typography, if it does not appear, I have attached the Word document below.

  • Week 10 Reflection

    What will I do differently the next time I write an essay? My arguments tend to be abductive, which is that they support their conclusion via reference to the best explanation. Abductive arguments are intended to give only probabilistic support for their conclusions. Therefore, I think it would be a good idea for me to have some deductive arguments that give conclusive support to their conclusions and shows a clear stance that I have taken concerning the topic. As citizens of a democratic state, what do you think you could be doing to improve the provision of health services in South Africa? What role do you feel you could play in holding those we have elected into power responsible for their actions? I feel that because I have no legislative power the best thing would be to vote for leaders who align with my values and are focused on making the necessary improvements to the health system. To hold them accountable would mean them losing their jobs and facing criminal charges for violating the right of all to healthcare services. Week 10: Reflection This week the modules were about Leadership and governance. What stood out to me this week was learning the functions of the different tiers of government, which are the National, Provincial, and Local. The role of National Government, has the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Each branch works individually and collectively to establish and maintain laws for the country as a whole. The Cabinet of Ministers, which is appointed by parliament along with the President, acts as the executive committee of the government and each Minister is the political head of a government department. The Presidency coordinates the work of the government and provides direction and strategic support to ministers and departments. The presidency monitors and evaluates overall progress toward achieving government goals. The departments that the Ministers run develop policies, by preparing and initiating legislation which it submits to the parliament for approval. Each department is responsible for implementing policies and running the administration of the respective government departments. The executive must account for its actions and policies to parliament. The national assembly and the National Council of Provinces are the two Houses that make up the national legislature or parliament. The people of South Africa elect the members of these Houses. According to the constitution, each house has its district functions and powers. The national assembly is in charge of choosing the president, making laws, making sure that the members of the executive branch do their jobs correctly, and providing a place where people's representatives can talk about issues in public. The national council of provinces serves as a forum for discussion of issues affecting the provinces and is also involved in the legislative process. Its primary goal is to make sure that provincial interests are taken into account at the national level. The provincial government has legislative and executive powers alongside the powers of the National Government, over several issues. One of the issues is health care. This ties in with the ability of the provincial government to oversee District Health Systems. “The National Health bill, 2001, established a Provincial Health Authority (PHA) which consists of the provincial Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) for Health, the Councillors responsible for health in the Metropolitan and District Councils in the province, and a representative of the provincial local government association responsible for health. In addition to the requirements of the Bill, there is a stipulation that the Bill must be augmented by specific provincial health legislation that provides for the establishment of a District Health System in that province.” (Barron & Asia 2021) Local government is more in charge of providing essential services such as water and sanitation, waste removal, and lights. Learning about the levels of government and who is in charge of what as a future health professional has helped me realize that the government would need a long time to improve the quality of healthcare services offered to communities as a whole. As the government implements solutions to improve the South African health system, I will be more patient with them. Reflections: Barron, P & Asia, B 2021, The District Health System, www.hst.org.za, viewed 1 November 2022, . Civics Academy SA, 2016. What is Government? Available at: https://www.youtube.com/embed/DLDStQ3P5Ag?rel=0 Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 01 November 2022). Levendal, E., Ogle, A. 2016. Understanding the meaning of Health Governance and the Role of PHC Facility Governance Structures. Available at: https://www.hst.org.za/hstconference/hstconference2016/Presentations/finhstconfgovernance_03.05.2016_.pdf Links to an external site. (Last accessed:01 November 2022) I have changed the typography to the requirements listed, however, it may not show well so I have attached the word document below.

  • Week 8 Reflection

    This week the work was based on Health Information systems and Health Promotion: The Ottawa Charter. Health Information systems is the topic that stood out to me the most. HIS is “a system that integrates data collection, processing, reporting, and use of the information necessary for improving health service effectiveness and efficiency through better management at all levels of health services” (WHO, 2004).The gathering of data occurs at four distinct levels. In order to meet the needs of the population, all levels of data are required. The levels are individual-level data, health facility-level data, public health surveillance data, and population-level data. At the individual- level Individual patient profiles are compiled, patient-level healthcare requirements are identified, and medical treatment histories are recorded. Managing continuity of care based on a patient's past and across service levels is made easier with patient information. At the Health Facility Level information regarding resource procurement records and information regarding the services provided within a facility are gathered by health information systems. This data assists office directors with persuading for the assets expected to convey the administrations presented by that office. In the Public health surveillance level of data, the prevalence of diseases within a specified geographical region, most frequently in relation to health districts, is the primary focus. Understanding BOD is aided by prevalence data. To identify new cases, incidence data are useful. Priorities for health promotion can be identified with the assistance of data on incidence and prevalence. Data at the population level. This involves a lot of data about who is using which health services and who isn't using them across the system. Population-level health data helps with reporting on health benefits in the community from interventions and programs that have been put in place. There are four essential functionalities that must be taken into consideration at each level of data collection. These are: Data generation is the process of gathering data from predetermined indicators. These indicators alter in response to requirements. Putting all of this information together to get a bigger picture is called compilation. Analysing and synthesis is the process of figuring out what's going on and where improvements can be made by looking at the big picture. Communication and Utilization: communicating the analysis's findings to decision-makers so that resources can be made available to meet health-related needs. To respond appropriately to both the needs of the population and those of the individual, these four functions must occur at the appropriate times. A good HIS: It provides a holistic picture of the disease/problem. It helps to assess the effectiveness of treatment protocols (current and new). It helps to assess the effectiveness of management plans. It gives an indication of progress/regression of health measures. It provides information for new programme development. It helps decision-makers prioritise resource allocation, such as medicine procurement or the allocation of human resources. It allows opportunities for innovation and development. A Good HIS Helps with Health Planning. Health planners and decision-makers need different kinds of information including: Health and social determinants. Inputs to the health system and related processes. The performance or outputs of the health system. Health outcomes. Health inequalities. A good health information system brings together all relevant partners to ensure that users of health information have access to reliable, authoritative, useable, understandable, comparative data. The HIS collecting information on health and social determinants links to the work that was done in Week 2, Session 1, Public Health. Public Health addresses the health needs by identifying the social determinants in a community, which are identified through something called a community diagnosis, and then addressing them with interventions. It was interesting to realise the importance of people and more specifically health workers in ensuring that the correct interventions are put in place by the relevant partners and the government. The information given must be reliable, useable, authoritative, understandable, and comparative because it makes a significant contribution to the community diagnosis. The South African health system is challenged in the following ways. There is too much information to collect, insufficient resources, unfriendly tools that health professionals or anyone being surveyed can’t use, duplicated information, unclear descriptors, too many changes too often, and no buy-in from health care workers. The South African health system is not a good one currently. People are unwilling to participate in the various ways of getting the information that the government would need. This means that the health and social determinants aren’t addressed and therefore health inequalities in South Africa increase over time. This week's work as a health professional helped me comprehend the significance of the government's efforts to gather community data. Additionally, I will make every effort to educate my co-workers. My contribution is not about me; rather, it is about assisting in enhancing the community's health status in the future. References: Health Metrics Network Framework and Standards for Country Health Information Systems, World Health Organization, January 2008. Available at: https://www.who.int/healthinfo/country_monitoring_evaluation/who-hmn-framework-standards-chi.pdfLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). Schonfeldt A, Masilela T, Barron P, English R. Health information systems in South Africa. South African health review. 2011 Jan 1;2011(1):81-9. Available at: https://journals.co.za/content/healthr/2011/1/EJC119082Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). World Health Organization. (2004). Developing health management information systems: a practical guide for developing countries. Available at: https://iris.wpro.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665.1/5498/9290611650_eng.pdfLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). I have changed the typography to the requirements listed, however, it may not show well so I have attached the word document below.

  • Week 7 Reflections

    What aspects of argumentation do I find most challenging? Why? What did I learn about myself as a writer? What do I need to do in order to become better at formulating a good academic argument? What I find most difficult is figuring out whether my premises is valid, because it is a new concept to me so I'm still trying to learn the skill. I learned that all my arguments should be supported by research so that it does not become an opinion-based argument. To formulate good academic arguments, I would just have to practice and implement the skills I have been taught. Week 7 Reflection This week was about health financing, a building block of health systems. Health finances are raised by health financing systems. A good health financing system raises adequate funds for health, that ensure people can use the needed services and are protected from financial catastrophe or impoverishment associated with having to pay for them. The health financing system has three functions collecting money, pooling money, and providing services. There are three models for health financing. Model 1 is public for the public. Healthcare is provided and funded by the government, hospitals and clinics are owned by the government, and healthcare workers are employed by the government. Model 2 is Private to the public. Health care is provided by private individuals and hospitals and clinics are owned by the private sector and doctors are self-employed. People pay for health care either by cash or insurance. Model 3 is mixed funding. Money is raised by taxation or privately. The government then buys healthcare from private providers or provides healthcare through public institutions. South Africa uses models 1 (public) and 2(private). In South Africa, public healthcare sector money is divided by the national allocation of funds to provinces. The provinces then allocate money to local governments and local governments to health care institutions. Currently, the public and private healthcare sectors both have the same amount of money, but the public caters to 68% of the population, and the private sector 16% (16% are out of pocket). The healthcare system in the public sector is of inadequate quality because there are not enough funds to take care of the number of people that it does. Model 3 (the national health insurance) could be more equitable and the quality of care can improve overall. There would be more funds to take care of the majority instead of the minority. Model 3 would only work if the public health sector shows that they are managing the money that is already there well. Model three requires great leadership and management of money otherwise it won’t work. Especially if there would still be private hospitals. People would be paying for NHI and private insurance. Health Financing in South Africa is a complicated building block. There is mismanagement of funds and corruption which weakens the public health sector and makes it difficult to believe that giving more money would improve the situation. There is also an economic problem with the middle class shrinking and the financial burden increasing. The National Health Insurance Funds which plans to increase the personal tax even more would weaken the financial status of the people of South Africa. Is Model Three the best for health financing, yes. But is it the best for South Africa with the problem that it is currently facing, I would say no. References: The Health Policy Project, May 2016. ‘Health Financing Profile: South Africa’. Available at: https://www.healthpolicyproject.com/pubs/7887/SouthAfrica_HFP.pdfLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). Naidoo, S., 2012. The South African national health insurance: A revolution in health-care delivery!. Journal of Public Health, 34(1), pp.149-150. Available at: https://academic.oup.com/jpubhealth/article/34/1/149/1557418Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). Parliament, National Assembly (2019) National Health Insurance Bill (B11-2019). Cape Town: Government Gazette No. 42598. Available at: https://www.gov.za/documents/national-health-insurance-bill-b-11-2019-6-aug-2019-0000Links to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022). I have changed the typography to the requirements listed, however, it may not show well so I have attached the word document below.

  • Week 9: Reflection

    This week’s module was about Medicines and Technologies. What stood out to me was disease prevention. Disease prevention covers measures not only to prevent the occurrence of disease, such as risk factors reduction, but also to arrest its progress and resume its consequences once established. It encompasses various actions aiming to promote health, preserve health, restore health when it is impaired and minimize death. These are achieved through levels of prevention which are called primordial, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primordial prevention is the actions and prevention measures that inhibit the emergence and establishment of environmental, economic, and social conditions, and cultural patterns of living, known to increase the risk of disease. Primary prevention is specific prevention by personal and communal efforts before disease occurs. Secondary prevention is a set of measures available to individuals and communities for early detection and prompt intervention. Tertiary Prevention targets people with symptomatic diseases. Measures aimed at softening the impact of the disease. Understanding the levels of prevention requires a good understanding of the natural course of diseases. (Pandve,2022) Primordial prevention reduces/minimises exposure in the population through health promotion and addressing social determinants of health. creating conditions that allow people to make healthier lifestyle choices. At the primary prevention level, intervention occurs there to prevent exposure to risk factors and thus reduce the number of new cases of diseases. At the secondary level, intervention happens for the early detection of diseases in asymptomatic people. At the tertiary level, interventions happen here to cure or control the disease, limit disability or minimise the risk of death. Disease prevention ties in well with the community diagnosis approach of population health, which we learnt in week 2. Community diagnosis identifies the main health problems in a community and the determinants of health for a community. Through the diagnosis, an intervention can happen. An intervention targets the most common problems and their causes. Intervention target social determinants of health just like primordial prevention. Public Health government institutions are closely related to primordial. Disease prevention goes well with the levels of care, that were taught in week 5, which are populous, folk, and professional. Populous and folk are closely related to primary prevention. Professional with secondary and tertiary. Firstly, it illustrates that health is a communal effort and not just something that can only be achieved through health professionals. Secondly, it expands the meaning of intervention to any level and allows it to not just be about the government. It adds meaning by including asking for advice on health from your family as an intervention, going to the doctor as an intervention, and traditional medicine as an intervention. Disease prevention can be applied to health scientists. On the primordial level, they can advocate for social change to make physical activity easier, in the primary level they can give primary care advice as part of routine consultations, on the secondary level they can provide care for risk factor reduction of chronic disease, falls and injury and for the tertiary level they can exercise advice to rehabilitate the patient and prevent further health deterioration. References: Pandve H.T. Changing concept of disease prevention: From primordial to quaternary. Arch Med Health Sci 2014;2:254-6 Available at: http://www.amhsjournal.org/article.asp?issn=2321-4848;year=2014;volume=2;issue=2;spage=254;epage=256;aulast=PandveLinks to an external site. (Last accessed: 31 October 2022) I have changed the typography to the requirements listed, however, it may not show well so I have attached the word document below.

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