A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. Quantitative data were collected pre-and post-intervention via a computer-based quiz.Background. Diabetes is one of the non-communicable diseases with a major negative impact on the health and development of South Africans. Empowering the population's understanding of the condition, with health-literacy appropriate approaches, is one of the interventions that allows discussions around the prevention of diabetes. Objective. To determine the effects of a health education programme on increasing knowledge about diabetes and encouraging preventive measures. Method. A public health education exhibition was held by a pharmacy student at a national science festival. It incorporated presentations, posters, health models, word-search games, information leaflets and a computer-based quiz consisting of pre-and post-intervention questions. Results. Junior and senior school learners participated in the computer-based quiz. Results from the junior school pre-intervention phase showed that learners had a fair prior knowledge of diabetes, with an overall score of 52.8%. Improvement in their overall mean score at the 5% significance level was noted (p=0.020). There was a significant difference in the mean score after the intervention at the 1% level (government schools: 65.5 (standard error (SE) 3.1)%, independent schools: 45.9 (6.2)%; p=0.006). Of the senior learners 53.7% (n=137) indicated that they use computers at school, while 118 (46.3%) did not have access to computers. The improvement in overall knowledge of the senior participants after the intervention was significant at the 0.1% level (p<0.001). Conclusion. The health education offered by the pharmacy student's project was interactive and used an interdisciplinary approach to improve health literacy and raise awareness of diabetes. This is a tested intervention that may be adopted for improving health literacy among schoolchildren.
Alcohol consumption has been a major contributor to the global burden of diseases, accounting for 3.3 million deaths, which is equivalent to 5.9% of all global deaths. Alcohol misuse is the fifth leading risk factor for premature death and disability, and is the top factor among people between 15 and 49 years. There are causal relationships between the harmful use of alcohol and incidences of both non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases such as STIs, including HIV/AIDS. In addition to health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol also causes significant social and economic losses to individuals and society. This article focuses on alcohol consumption in India and South Africa, and highlights the policies that have been adopted in both countries and discusses interventions that could be used to combat it. Though policies and interventions have been put into place, gaps exist because alcohol use is high, especially in South Africa, and continues to rise in both countries. Strategies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol include the adoption of national policies and educational interventions such as health promotion. To reduce the harmful use of alcohol, the World Health Organization Global Strategy provides an initial framework that countries can adopt. South Africa's national policy follows this framework, while in India, alcohol remains a state/province controlled subject. A well formulated national policy on alcohol use, when implemented effectively, could have a positive effect on sustainable development.
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