Summaryobjectives To evaluate prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) implementation and integration of PMTCT with routine maternal and child health services in two districts of KwaZuluNatal; to report PMTCT coverage, to compare recorded and reported information, and to describe responsibilities of nurses and lay counsellors.methods Interviews were conducted with mothers in post-natal wards (PNW) and immunisation clinics; antenatal and child health records were reviewed. Interviews were conducted with nurses and lay counsellors in primary health care clinics.results Eight hundred and eighty-two interviews were conducted with mothers: 398 in PNWs and 484 immunisation clinics. During their recent pregnancy, 98.6% women attended antenatal care (ANC); 60.8% attended their first ANC in the third trimester, and 97.3% were tested for HIV. Of 312 mothers reporting themselves HIV positive during ANC, 91.3% received nevirapine, 78.2% had a CD4 count carried out, and 33.1% had a CD4 result recorded. In the immunisation clinic, 47.6% HIV-exposed babies had a PCR test, and 47.0% received co-trimoxazole. Of HIV-positive mothers, 42.1% received follow-up care, mainly from lay counsellors. In 12 ⁄ 26 clinics, there was a dedicated PMTCT nurse, PCR testing was not offered in 14 ⁄ 26 clinics, and co-trimoxazole was unavailable in 13 ⁄ 26 immunisation clinics. Nurses and lay counsellors disagreed about their roles and responsibilities, particularly in the post-natal period.conclusions There is high coverage of PMTCT interventions during pregnancy and delivery, but follow-up of mothers and infants is poor. Poor integration of PMTCT services into routine care, lack of clarity about health worker roles and poor record keeping create barriers to accessing services postdelivery.
At the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, data from the teaching evaluations for all 253 academic promotion decisions between 2009 and 2013 were analyzed. Overall, 52 percent of the applications resulted in a promotion. The criteria by which teaching was judge included rationale for teaching, teaching methods, postgraduate supervision, assessment, student evaluations, peer evaluations, ongoing study of higher education, developing courses, sharing teaching experiences, and special recognition. The most influential criteria in making promotion decisions were teaching methods, teaching rationale, and assessment. By having multiple teaching criteria, the academics had numerous measures by which to demonstrate their teaching proficiency. (51 ref)-University Teaching and Learning Office,
The rank progression intentions of South African associate professors is important given the declining numbers of full professors in the country. By focusing on a large South African research university where both research and teaching criteria are recognised for promotion to full professor, this article explores associate professors' perspectives on academic promotion and the role of teaching as a criterion. Key findings from an on-line survey and interviews are that; age and the number of years spent in the rank play a significant role in influencing intentions to become a full professor (or not), there is dissatisfaction with the level of support for promotion applications and, more women than men expressed positive perspectives about teaching as a criterion in promotion.The study points to how academic promotion processes, criteria and support could be enhanced to increase the number of full professors in South Africa.
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