Although there are notable exceptions, examination of nursing's participation in colonizing processes and practices has not taken hold in nursing's consciousness or political agenda. Critical analyses, based on the examination of politics and power of the structural determinants of health, continue to be marginalized in the profession. The goals of this discussion article are to underscore the urgent need to further articulate postcolonial theory in nursing and to contribute to nursing knowledge about paths to work toward decolonizing the profession. The authors begin with a description of unifying themes in postcolonial theory, with an emphasis on colonized subjectivities and imperialism; the application of a critical social science perspective, including postcolonial feminist theory; and the project of working toward decolonization. Processes involved in the colonization of nursing are described in detail, including colonization of nursing's intellectual development and the white privilege and racism that sustain colonizing thinking and action in nursing. The authors conclude with strategies to increase the counter-narrative to continued colonization, with a focus on critical social justice, human rights and the structural determinants of health.

a b s t r a c tObjective: to explore and describe the indigenous beliefs and practices that influence the attendance of antenatal clinics by women in the Bohlabelo district in Limpopo, South Africa Research design and methods: a qualitative design was used to enable participants to share their beliefs and practices in their own words. Purposive sampling was used. Setting: women who were attending antenatal clinics for the first time were targeted. Data were collected via unstructured in-depth interviews. Twelve women were interviewed. Findings: the findings were grouped into six main categories: pregnancy is a honour; pregnancy needs to be preserved; the unborn infant is protected; the knowledge that clients have; trust in indigenous perinatal practices; and perceptions regarding clinic or hospital services. It became clear that the indigenous beliefs and practices of pregnant women have an influence on their attendance of antenatal clinics. For example, factors such as fear of bewitchment cause delayed attendance of antenatal clinics. Women use herbs to preserve and protect their unborn infants from harm. They also trust the knowledge of traditional birth attendants, and prefer their care and expertise to the harsh treatment that they receive from midwives in hospitals and clinics who look down on their indigenous beliefs and practices. Conclusions: it is recommended that indigenous beliefs and practices should be incorporated into the midwifery curriculum, so that the health sector is able to meet the needs of all members of the community.

Wealthy nations must step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries in addressing past, present, and future impacts of climate change

BackgroundThe indigenous health system was perceived to be a threat to the allopathic health system. It was associated with ‘witchcraft’, and actively discouraged, and repressed through prohibition laws. The introduction of the Traditional Health Practitioners Act No 22 of 2007 brought hope that those centuries of disrespect for traditional health systems would change. The study examined the perceptions and experiences of allopathic health practitioners on collaboration with traditional health practitioners in post-apartheid South Africa.MethodsQualitative descriptive research methodology was used to collect data from allopathic health practitioners employed by Limpopo’s Department of Health. In-depth focus group discussions and meetings were conducted between January and August 2014. Perceptions and experiences of working with traditional health practitioners were explored. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Pretoria and approval from the Department’s Research Committee.ResultsDominant views were that the two health systems were not compatible with respect to the science involved and the source of knowledge. Overall, quality of health care will be compromised if traditional health practitioners are allowed to work in public health facilities.ConclusionAllopathic health practitioners do not appear ready to work with traditional health practitioners, citing challenges of quality of health care, differences regarding concept of sciences and source of knowledge; and lack of policy on collaboration. Lack of exposure to traditional medicine seems to impede opportunities to accept and work with traditional healers. Exposure and training at undergraduate level regarding the traditional health system is recommended. Policy guidelines on collaborations are urgently required.

Aim In this paper, we critically discuss the ethics of nurses' choice to strike during the COVID‐19 pandemic, considering legal and ethical arguments, overlaying the Ubuntu philosophy, an African ethic. Background The recent unprecedented coronavirus disease pandemic and the increased reports on the absence of personal protective equipment in South Africa places many health workers' lives at risk. Nurses spend most of their time with patients, which exposes them to fatal risks as they work in unsafe environments. Research Methods Exploratory literature review was conducted using Pubmed, CINAHL, Google Scholar and Science Direct) and law cases repository. Findings Nurses thus may be justified in striking to protect their safety. State healthcare entities are obliged to ensure safety and protect the health of professionals during the pandemic. According to their Code of Practice and Pledge of Service, they are ethically obliged to put patients first, and as a result, they are legally barred from engaging in strike action. Conclusion We conclude that there may be constitutional human rights arguments to support strike action. We also find that ethical principles alone do not provide clear direction to guide nurses in making justified and ethical decisions regarding service provision in an environment threatening to compromise their safety.

. Abstract BackgroundThe global shortage of nursing professionals educated at baccalaureate level and beyond has been highlighted. Within America, services are preparing to treat an additional 32 million individuals under the new Health Reform Bill. Within South Africa the existing nursing education outputs do not meet service demands. Many countries are addressing these shortages by developing advanced nursing roles which require research degrees. Objective:To evaluate a national nursing PhD development programme within the context of a nurse education strategy and a national health insurance plan. Design:A comparative effectiveness research design was employed. Setting:The setting was South Africa between 2011 and 2013, a county with 51.7 million inhabitants, 18 universities, with eight offering nursing degrees and 12 public nursing colleges offering diplomas. 2Participants included PhD candidates, programme facilitators, supervisors and key stakeholders. Methods:Data from a day long workshop was analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Three years of evaluation reports were analysed. A mapping of the alignment of the PhD topics with priorities was conducted. A comparison of the development of nurse education of the national and international funder and an interpretation of the findings within the context of the programmes curriculum, the national nurse education strategy and the National Health Insurance plan was conducted. ResultsThe evaluation rated the programme highly. Three themes were identified from the workshop. These were, -support‖ with the sub-themes of burden, leveraging and a physical supportive place; -planning‖ with the sub-themes of the national context and practice, and -quality‖ with the sub-themes of processes as well as monitoring and evaluation. The mapping of PhD topics revealed that research was in line with development priorities.However, in order to match the underpinning values (sustainability, partnership and effectiveness) of the funders, further investment and infrastructural changes were found to be necessary to sustain the programme and its impact To address sustainability and capacity in nations scaling up nurse education and healthcare insurance it was recommended that top-up degrees for diploma educated nurses be developed along with the implementation of a national nursing strategy for PhD and post-doctoral research encompassing practice implementation and collaboration. IntroductionA global shortage of nursing professionals educated at baccalaureate level and beyond exists and the impact of this shortage is apparent on each continent. Nickitas and Feeg (2011) found that less than 1% of nurses have a doctoral degree and that forecasters predict substantial shortfalls in future nurse academics and as a consequence future nurse practitioners.Many countries are addressing these shortages in healthcare provision by ensuring that the basic nursing education qualification is at degree level and by developing advanced nursing roles which have a wider remit and which require ...

BackgroundThe indigenous health care system continues in the postcolonial era to be perceived by antagonists as a threat to Western medicine. It has been associated with ‘witchcraft’, actively discouraged and repressed through official government prohibition laws. Despite that, human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV and AIDS) patients consult both allopathic and indigenous health practitioners.AimThe study explored a collaboration model between allopathic and traditional health practitioners in the management of patients living with HIV and AIDS in postcolonial South Africa.SettingWe conducted six combined focus group discussions and four separate group discussions with each category of co-researchers.MethodsCombined and separate focus group discussions were conducted with community members, allopathic and indigenous health practitioners, applying the cyclical method in the decolonisation process. Their perceptions and experiences in the management of HIV and AIDS patients were explored, and finally decolonisation strategies suitable for collaboration in their context were identified.ResultsThe two health systems were rendering services to the same HIV and AIDS communities. Lack of communication created confusion. Collaboration was long overdue. A change in mindsets, attitudes and practices among practitioners was critical, with an acknowledgement that ‘neither health system is better than the other, but the two should be complementary, recognising that the culture and beliefs of patients influence their health-seeking behaviour’.ConclusionCo-researchers were committed to working together in the fight against HIV and AIDS infections. Their model for collaboration addresses the challenges of patients’ secrecy, treatment overdose and the abandonment of antiretroviral treatment. Through the application of a decolonisation process, their mindsets, attitudes and practices towards each other were changed, enabling the joint development of a custom model for collaboration between allopathic health practitioners and indigenous health practitioners in the management of patients living with HIV and AIDS.

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