African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences

Is South Africa’s codeine abuse fuelled by private pharmacies? Investigation of over-the-counter codeine procurement patterns in Gauteng Province, South Africa

2023-09-06T10:47:01+00:00

Codeine is a natural opioid which is used as an analgesic and cough suppressant. The misuse and abuse of codeine are multi-factorial, which includes a quick development of tolerance. The objective of the study was to investigate the purchasing patterns of codeine-containing over-the-counter products of selected private healthcare pharmacies in Gauteng Province of South Africa. This quantitative, retrospective study was based on data extracted from a national private electronic procurement database for a period of six months. Sales data retrieved focused on the pattern of both codeine-containing medication and non-codeine-containing medication procured in Gauteng Province by 1162 community and private hospital pharmacies. The product name as per product composition, month of delivery, pack-size, quantity ordered and quantity delivered were analysed using SAS Enterprise 7.1. More than half (55.4%) of the analgesics procured during the data collection period contained codeine, and more than a quarter (29.9%) of the cough syrups procured also contained codeine. Products that contained paracetamol, doxylamine, codeine and caffeine accounted for more than half (59%) of all over-the-counter pain products procured. This study highlighted the high demand for codeine-containing analgesic medication in Gauteng Province, especially those in combination with sedating antihistamines. Policy makers must consider legislative changes to ensure stricter control of these medicines to curb rampant codeine misuse and abuse.

Prevalence and factors associated with unintended pregnancies: A study from a clinic in Tshwane district, South Africa

2023-09-06T10:52:08+00:00

The South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS, 2020) reported that 74 million women from low and middle-income countries had unintended pregnancies resulting in 25 million unsafe abortions and 47 000 maternal deaths. According to this survey, approximately 14 million of these unintended pregnancies were from sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the South African government’s initiative of offering free reproductive health care services, as a strategy to prevent unintended pregnancies, SADHS (2020) reported that 20.4% of pregnancies in 2019 were unintended. This is a 3.1% increase from the 17.3% reported in 1998. The aim of this study was therefore, to determine the prevalence and describe the factors contributing to unintended pregnancies among women accessing ante-natal services in a selected clinic in Tshwane district, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Based on a cross-sectional survey design, data were collected using self-administered questionnaires from 368 participants who were selected through a convenience sampling method. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors associated with unintended pregnancy, and the results are presented using odd ratios (OR). The prevalence of unintended pregnancy was 59.24%. The variables associated with unintended pregnancy were: age (OR= 1.0954), income (OR= 1.4090), and the desire to have more children (OR = 2.1081). The prevalence of unintended pregnancies was higher among women with a low level of education, receiving a low salary, older women, and those with a desire to have more children. The findings implicate the need for public health programmes that could facilitate the uptake and sustainable use of contraceptives thereby reducing the prevalence of unintended pregnancies and abortion-related complications amongst women as well as improving maternal and child health.

Occupational stress and related demographic factors among employees of a multi-national automobile organisation

2023-09-06T10:54:12+00:00

The workplace has been identified as a key health-promoting setting worldwide with corporate strategies and interventions directed at enhancing employees’ health and well-being. This study investigated the level, sources and individual differences (biographic and demographic) of occupational stress among 403 employees (males: n=237; females: n=166) of a multi-national automobile organisation in South Africa. Based on a cross-sectional research design and validated questionnaire the results indicated deadlines, time pressure, and work overload as the most cited stressors. Nearly half of the participants mentioned poor communication across the organisation, lack of promotion opportunities, and shortage of staff as a high source of stress, followed by poor coordination between departments and long working hours. Education level and work experience showed statistically significant differences concerning total stress and sources of stress. The results provide the foundation for further empirical research into occupational stress, and could potentially lead to the development of measures, training interventions, organisational structures, and work processes to manage stress in the workplace effectively and increase productivity. This study contributes to the health care theory and practice by identifying factors contributing to employees’ occupational stress and examining the association between occupational stress and demographic variables.

Physical activity and health-related quality of life among university students

2023-09-06T10:56:38+00:00

University students have been found to have poor physical activity (PA) habits, and its effect on their health status has been a focus of many studies. However, relatively few studies have objectively and subjectively assessed the physical activity levels of university students and its relationship with their health-related quality of life. This study evaluated the relationship between PA level and health-related quality of life among university students in South Africa. Physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and the Yamax Digiwalker-SW200 pedometer. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was measured using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12v2), blood pressure, and anthropometric indices. A total of 263 undergraduate students (males: n = 48; females: n= 215) participated in this study. Physical activity level was low in 22.5% (objective) and 26.9% (subjective) cases of the study sample. The average number of steps and MET-minutes/week were 6059 (4847-7482) and 3933 (2034-5572), respectively. The median physical component summary and mental component summary scores were 52.69 (47.06-58.10) and 40.72 (33.40-46.76), respectively. The predictors of a physical component summary score of the SF-12v2 were body mass index (BMI) and a high level of PA (R=0.26, p<0.001). Gender was a significant predictor of the mental component summary score of the SF-12v2 in the presence of BMI and waist-hip ratio (R=0.15, p<0.01). A high level of PA is a predictor of health-related quality of life (PCS) among the students. Thus, health-enhancing interventions to improve students’ PA levels and promote healthy lifestyle should be instituted.

Strokes and counterstrokes: Transforming the Physical Education swimming curriculum at a South African higher education institution

2023-09-06T10:59:37+00:00

Curriculum transformation in higher education institutions is constantly facing new challenges, especially regarding swimming as a discipline in the Physical Education (PE) curriculum. The fatal burden of drowning in South Africa makes it the second leading cause of death due to unintentional injury. This information is a reminder that continuous swimming for education creates an understanding of the sense and values resulting from swimming and swimming safety competency based on gaining knowledge and skills. To deal with former inequalities and misconceptions about swimming, it is time to provide opportunities (strokes) and face the challenges (counterstrokes). Counterstrokes experienced by curriculum developers in the tertiary sector should not be the motivation for excluding swimming from a PE curriculum. This interpretative phenomenological analysis aims to understand higher education's physical and social environment, where the lecturers train pre-service PE teachers. The researcher drew on the lived experiences of three South African lecturers over different periods and through several stages of the transformation of the school and tertiary education curricula. Competency in swimming safety became an integral part of comprehensive education. It adopted the role of a culture-forming factor in both the pedagogical and the teacher-professional (pedeutological) dimensions. With clear legislation for swimming for education, higher education institutions and schools can promote national swimming competency and water safety awareness. Swimming at higher educational institutions is continuously being transformed. Lecturers should continually be responsive as a community of practice to include all the students who enrol and teach swimming for education rather than swimming for performance.