Browsing by Author "Agnes Erzse"
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Item Addressing the unmet needs for improved maternal and child nutrition: Qualitative insights from community-based organisations in urban South Africa(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD) Agnes Erzse; Christopher Desmond; Karen Hofman; Mary Barker; Nicola ChristofidesItem Addressing unmet social needs for improved maternal and child nutrition Qualitative insights from communitybased organisations in urban South Africa(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD) Agnes Erzse; Christopher Desmond; Karen Hofman; Mary Barker; Nicola ChristofidesItem CHAT SA: Modification of a Public Engagement Tool for Priority Setting for a South African Rural Context(2022-02-01) Aviva Tugendhaft; Marion Danis; Nicola Christofides; Kathleen Kahn; Agnes Erzse; Marthe Gold; Rhian Twine; Audrey Khosa; Karen Hofman1Background: Globally, as countries move towards universal health coverage (UHC), public participation in decision making is particularly valuable to inform difficult decisions about priority setting and resource allocation. In South Africa (SA), which is moving towards UHC, public participation in decision-making is entrenched in policy documents yet practical applications are lacking. Engagement methods that are deliberative could be useful in ensuring the public participates in the priority setting process that is evidence-based, ethical, legitimate, sustainable and inclusive. Methods modified for the country context may be more relevant and effective. To prepare for such a deliberative process in SA, we aimed to modify a specific deliberative engagement tool - the CHAT (Choosing All Together) tool for use in a rural setting. Methods: Desktop review of published literature and policy documents, as well as 3 focus groups and modified Delphi method were conducted to identify health topics/issues and related interventions appropriate for a rural setting in SA. Our approach involved a high degree of community and policy-maker/expert participation. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Cost information was drawn from various national sources and an existing actuarial model used in previous CHAT exercises was employed to create the board. Results: Based on the outcomes, 7 health topics/issues and related interventions specific for a rural context were identified and costed for inclusion. These include maternal, new-born and reproductive health; child health; woman and child abuse; HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB); lifestyle diseases; access; and malaria. There were variations in priorities between the 3 stakeholder groups, with community-based groups emphasizing issues of access. Violence against women and children and malaria were considered important in the rural context. Conclusion: The CHAT SA board reflects health topics/issues specific for a rural setting in SA and demonstrates some of the context-specific coverage decisions that will need to be made. Methodologies that include participatory principles are useful for the modification of engagement tools like CHAT and can be applied in different country contexts in order to ensure these tools are relevant and acceptable. This could in turn impact the success of the implementation, ultimately ensuring more effective priority setting approaches.Item A costeffectiveness analysis of a South African pregnancy support grant(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD) Aisha Moolla; Winfrida Mdewa; Agnes Erzse; Karen Hofman; Masedikwe Thsehla; Susan Goldstein; Ciaran Kohli-LynchItem Defining and conceptualising the commercial determinants of health(ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC) Anna Gilmore; A Fabbri; F Baum; Adam Bertscher; Agnes Erzse; Karen Hofman; Safura Abdool Karim; E et alItem Deliberative engagement methods on health care prioritysetting in a rural South African communityAviva Tugendhaft; Karen Hofman; Marion Danis; Kathleen Kahn; Agnes Erzse; Rhian Twine; Marthe Gold; Nicola ChristofidesItem Engaging community members in setting priorities for nutrition interventions in rural northern GhanaM Dalaba; E Nonterah; S Chatio; J Adoctor; Agnes Erzse; Aviva Tugendhaft; E etalItem Essential health services delivery in South Africa during COVID-19: Community and healthcare worker perspectives(2022-12-08) Samanta T. Lalla-Edward; Atiya Mosam; Jennifer Hove; Agnes Erzse; Teurai Rwafa-Ponela; Jessica Price; Athini Nyatela; Sizwe Nqakala; Kathleen Kahn; Stephen Tollman; Karen Hofman; Susan GoldsteinBackground: Between May 2020 and February 2022, South Africa’s health system bore strain as it battled mitigating the coronavirus pandemic. The country’s pandemic response was scrutinized. This period also brought into focus pre-existing shortcomings in the healthcare system and its governing bodies. Contextually, there is a paucity in literature on the experiences of healthcare providers and users. This study aimed to contribute information on COVID-19, with the intention of providing guidance on preparing for future infectious disease outbreaks. Methods: Cross sectional exploratory qualitative methodology was employed using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with community members (CM) and healthcare workers (HCW) from two South African study sites: (a) rural Bushbuckridge (run by Agincourt Health and Socio-Demographic Surveillance Site) and (b), Regions D and F in Johannesburg Metropole. Results: After interviewing 42 CMs and 43 HCWs, it emerged that mandated process changes while minimizing COVID-19 exposure, necessitated healthcare personnel focusing on critical care treatment at the expense of less acute ones. COVID-19 isolation protocols, extensive absenteeism and HCWs with advanced skills being perceived as more adept to treat COVID-19 patients contributed to HCWs experiencing higher workloads. Fears regarding contracting and transmitting COVID-19, suering financial losses, and not being able to provide adequate advice to patients were recurrent themes. Dissemination of relevant information among healthcare facility personnel and communities suered due to breakdowns in communication. Conclusion: Concessions and novel strategies to avail medication to patients had to be created. Since providence was lacking, government needs to formulate health intervention strategies that embrace health literacy, alternate methods of chronic medication dispensation, improved communication across health care platforms and the use of telehealth, to circumvent the threats of possible further infectious disease outbreaks.Item Evidence for high sugar content of baby foods in South AfricaNicola Marais; Nicola Christofides; Agnes Erzse; Karen HofmanItem Identifying pregnant and postpartum women's priorities for enhancing nutrition support through social needs programmes in a resource-constrained urban community in South Africa(BIOMED CENTRAL LTD) Agnes Erzse; Christopher Desmond; Karen Hofman; Mary Barker; Nicola ChristofidesItem Investing in school systems conceptualising returns on investment across the health education and social protection sectorsS Verguet; P Gautam; I Ali; S Husain; Agnes Erzse; Karen Hofman; E et alItem Mens motivations barriers to and aspirations for their families health in the first 1000 days in subSaharan Africa a secondary qualitative analysisD Watson; S Chatio; M Barker; P Boua; Agnes Erzse; Karen Hofman; Shane Norris; E et alItem Moving towards social inclusion Engaging rural voices in priority setting for health(WILEY-BLACKWELL) Aviva Tugendhaft; Nicola Christofides; N Stacey; Kathleen Kahn; Agnes Erzse; M Danis; M Gold; Karen HofmanItem Moving towards social inclusion Engaging rural voices in priority setting for healthAviva Tugendhaft; Nicola Christofides; N Stacey; Kathleen Kahn; Agnes Erzse; M Danis; M Gold; Karen HofmanItem Nutritionrelated noncommunicable disease and sugarsweetened beverage policies a landscape analysis in KenyaM Wanjohi; A Thow; Safura Abdool Karim; G Asiki; Agnes Erzse; F Mohamed; E et al.; Karen HofmanItem Participatory prioritisation of interventions to improve primary school food environments in Gauteng South Africa(BIOMED CENTRAL LTD) Agnes Erzse; S Karim; Teurai Rwafa; Petronell Kruger; Karen Hofman; L Foley; T Oni; Susan GoldsteinItem Qualitative exploration of the constraints on mothers and pregnant womens ability to turn available services into nutrition benefits in a lowresource urban setting South Africa(BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP) Agnes Erzse; Christopher Desmond; Karen Hofman; M Barker; Nicola ChristofidesItem Stakeholder arguments during the adoption of a sugar sweetened beverage tax in South Africa and their influence a content analysis(CO-ACTION PUBLISHING) Safura Abdool Karim; Petronell Kruger; Natasha Mazonde; Agnes Erzse; Susan Goldstein; Karen HofmanItem “We Were Afraid”: Mental Health Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Two South African Districts(2022-07-28) Teurai Rwafa-Ponela; Jessica Price; Athini Nyatela; Sizwe Nqakala; Atiya Mosam; Agnes Erzse; Samanta Tresha Lalla-Edward; Jennifer Hove; Kathleen Kahn; Stephen Tollman; Karen Hofman; Susan GoldsteinThe impacts of pandemics are recognized to go beyond infection, physical suffering, and socio-economic disruptions. Other consequences include psychological responses. Using a mental wellbeing lens, we analyzed COVID-19-related stressors in healthcare workers (HCWs) and community members who provided and regularly accessed health services in South Africa, respectively. From February to September 2021, during the second COVID-19 wave we conducted a qualitative study in one urban and one rural district. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data among 43 HCWs and 51 community members purposely and conveniently selected. Most participants experienced mental health challenges regarding multiple aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdown, with a few reporting positive adjustments to change. COVID-19 impacts on mental health were consistent among both HCWs and community members in urban and rural alike. Participants’ COVID-19-induced psychological responses included anxiety and fear of the unknown, perceived risk of infection, fear of hospitalization, and fear of dying. Physical effects of the pandemic on participants included COVID-19 infection and associated symptoms, possibilities of severe illness and discomfort of using personal protective equipment. These distresses were exacerbated by social repercussions related to concerns for family wellbeing and infection stigma. Lockdown regulations also intensified anxieties about financial insecurities and social isolation. At times when common coping mechanisms such as family support were inaccessible, cultural consequences related to lack of spiritual gatherings and limited funeral rites posed additional stress on participants. In preparation for future public health emergencies, recognition needs to be given to mental health support and treatment.Item What works in engaging communities Prioritising nutrition interventions in Burkina Faso Ghana and South Africa(PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE) Daniella Watson; Mary Barker; P Boua; S Chatio; A Compaore; M Danis; Agnes Erzse; Karen Hofman; Teurai Rwafa; E et al