The Influence of Family Physicians Within the South African District Health System: A Cross-Sectional Study

Evidence of the influence of family physicians on health care is required to assist managers and policy makers with human resource planning in Africa. The International argument for family physicians derives mainly from research in high-income countries, so this study aimed to evaluate the influence of family physicians on the South African district health system. 

Assessing the feasibility of community health insurance in Uganda: A mixed-methods exploratory analysis

Community health insurance (CHI) aims to provide financial protection and facilitate health care access among poor rural populations. Given common operational challenges that hamper the full development of the scheme, there is need to undertake systematic feasibility studies. These are scarce in the literature and usually they do not provide a comprehensive analysis of the local context. The present research intends to adopt a mixed-methods approach to assess ex-ante the feasibility of CHI. 

The complex challenge of providing patient-centred perinatal healthcare in rural Uganda:A qualitative enquiry

Increasing research and reflections on quality of healthcare across the perinatal period slowly propels the global community to lobby for improved standards of quality perinatal healthcare, especially in low-and- middle- income countries. 

The purpose of this qualitative study was to obtain a deeper understanding of how interpersonal dimensions of the quality of care relate to real-life experiences of perinatal care, in a resource-contrained local health system. 

Ghana's community-based primary health care: Why women and children are ‘disadvantaged’ by its implementation

Policy analysis on why women and children in low- and middle- income settings are still disadvantaged by access to appropiate care despite Primary Health Care (PHC) programmes implementation is limited. Drawing on the street- level bureaucracy theory, this article explored how and why frontline providers (FLP) actions on their own and in interaction with health system factors shape Ghana´s community-based PHC implementation to the disadvantage of women and children accessing and using health services. 

Operationalizing mHealth to improve patient care: a qualitative implementation science evaluation of the WelTel texting intervention in Canada and Kenya

Mobile health (mHealth) applications have proliferated across the  globe with much enthusiasm, although few have reached scale and shown public health impact. In this study, they explored how different contextual factors influenced the implementation, effectiveness and potential for scale-up of welTel, an easy-to-use and evidence-based mHealth intervention. WelTel uses two-way SMS communication to improve patient adherence to medication and engagement in care, and has been developed and tested in Canada and Kenya. 

An Evaluation of the Role of an Intermediate Care Facility in the Continuum of Care in Western Cape, South Africa

A comprehensive primary healthcare (PHC) approach requires clear referral and continuity of care pathways. South Africa is a lower- middle income country (LMIC) that lacks data on the role of intermediate care (IC) services in the health system. This study described the model of service provision at one facility in Cape Town, including reason for admission, the mix of services and skills provided and needed, patient satisfaction, patient outcome and articulation with other services across the spectrum of care. 

Urban-rural difference in satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Ghana

Understanding regional variation in patient satisfaction about healthcare systems (PHCs) on the quality of services provided is instrumental to improving quality and developing a patient-centered healthcare system by making it  more responsive especially to the cultural aspects of health demands of a population. Reaching to the innovative National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, surpassing several reforms in healthcare financing has been a milestone. However little research has been conducted concerning patient satisfaction in resource-poor settings like in Ghana. This study was therefore dedicated to examining the variation in satisfaction across rural and urban women in Ghana. 

Utilization of community-based health planning and services compounds in the Kintampo North Municipality: a cross-sectional descriptive correlational study

The Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative was introduced to improve coverage and utilization of basic health services for people in remote rural communities whose use of orthodox health services was hitherto limited by distance. So the objectives of this study were to examine the extent of patronage of CHPS compounds in the Kintampo North Municipality , factors associated with their use and challenges faced by community members regarding the use of these facilities. 

Social accountability in primary health care in West and Central Africa: exploring the role of health facility committees

Social accountability has been emphasised as an important strategy to increase the quality, equity, and responsiveness of health services. In many countries, health facility committees (HFCs) provide the accountability interface between health providers and citizens or users of health services. This article explores the social accountability practices facilitated by HFCs in Benin, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Perceived mHealth barriers and benefits for home-based HIV testing and counseling and other care: Qualitative findings from health officials, community health workers, and persons living with HIV in South Africa

mHealth has been proposed to address inefficiencies in the current South African healthcare system, including home-based HIV testing and counseling (HTC) programs. Yet wide-scale adoption of mHealth has not occurred. Even as infrastructure barriers decrease, a need to better understand perceived adoption barriers by skateholders remains.