Browsing by Subject "Data Collection"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Open Access
    Measles vaccination coverage in high-incidence areas of the Western Cape, following the mass vaccination campaign
    (2013) Bernhardt, G L; Cameron, N A; Willems, B; Boulle, A; Coetzee, D
    BACKGROUND: Despite significant advances in measles control, large epidemics occurred in many African countries in 2009 - 2011, including South Africa. South Africa's control strategy includes mass vaccination campaigns about every 4 years, the last of which was conducted nationally in April 2010 and coincided with the epidemic. AIM: A community survey was conducted in the Western Cape to assess measles vaccination coverage attained by routine and campaign services, in children aged 6 months to 59 months at the time of the mass campaign, from high-incidence areas. METHODS: Households were consecutively sampled in high-incidence areas identified using measles epidemic surveillance data. A caregiver history of campaign vaccination and routine vaccination status from the child's Road to Health card were collected. Pre- and post-campaign immunity was estimated by analytical methods. RESULTS: Of 8 332 households visited, there was no response at 3 435 (41.2%); 95.1% (1 711/1 800) of eligible households participated; and 91.2% (1 448/1 587; 95% confidence interval 86 - 94%) of children received a campaign vaccination. Before the campaign, 33.0% (103/312) of 9 - 17-month-olds had not received a measles vaccination, and this was reduced to 4.5% (14/312) after the campaign. Of the 1 587 children, 61.5% were estimated to have measles immunity before the campaign, and this increased to 94.0% after the campaign. DISCUSSION: Routine services had failed to achieve adequate herd immunity in areas with suspected highly mobile populations. Mass campaigns in such areas in the Western Cape significantly increased coverage. Extra vigilance is required to monitor and sustain adequate coverage in these areas.
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    Open Access
    Newborns should be receiving premedication before elective intubation
    (2014) Raban, Moegammad Shukri; Joolay, Yaseen; Horn, Alan Richard; Harrison, Michael Charles
    BACKGROUND: Intubation is a common neonatal procedure. Premedication is accepted as a standard of care, but its use is not universal and wide variations exist in practice. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate current practices for premedication use prior to elective neonatal intubation in South Africa (SA). METHOD: We invited 481 clinicians to participate in a cross-sectional web-based survey. RESULTS: We received responses from 28.3% of the clinicians surveyed; 54.1% were from the private sector and 45.9% from the state sector. Most respondents worked in medium-sized neonatal units with six to ten beds. Most paediatricians (76.0%) worked in the private sector, and 78.6% of neonatologists in the state sector. Premedication was practised by 71.9% of the respondents, but only 38.5% of neonatal units had a written policy. Sedatives were used for premedication by 63.2% of the respondents. Midazolam (41.5%), morphine (34.0%) and ketamine (20.8%) were most commonly used. Muscle relaxants and atropine were not routinely administered. Suxamethonium was the muscle relaxant of choice. Varied combinations of agents or single agents were used. Midazolam used alone was the preferred option. CONCLUSION: This first survey of premedication for neonatal intubation in SA revealed variations in practice, with a minority of clinicians following a written policy. The findings can be used to benchmark practice and inform the design of local collaborative trials aimed at determining optimal premedication prior to neonatal intubation. The survey demonstrates clinicians' reluctance to participate in surveys, suggesting a need for a national collaborative network to obtain representative data.
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    The importance of identified cause-of-death information being available for public health surveillance, actions and research
    (2015) Groenewald, Pam; Azevedo, Virginia; Daniels, Johann; Evans, Juliet; Boulle, Andrew; Naledi, Tracey; Bradshaw, Debbie
    An amendment to the South African Births and Deaths Registration Act has compromised efforts to strengthen local mortality surveillance to provide statistics for small areas and enable data linkage to provide information for public health actions. Internationally it has been recognised that a careful balance needs to be kept between protecting individual patient confidentiality and enabling effective public health intelligence to guide patient care and service delivery and prevent harmful exposures. This article describes the public health benefits of a local mortality surveillance system in the Western Cape Province, South Africa (SA), as well as its potential for improving the quality of vital statistics data with integration into the national civil registration and vital statistics system. It also identifies other important uses for identifiable cause-of-death data in SA that have been compromised by this legislation.