http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1466 Article by UL authors 2026-04-06T14:36:08Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/5190 The Gentlemen’s Club : an innovation to improve HIV counselling and testing uptake at a South African university campus Matlala, Sogo F.; Mokono, Selokela J.; Tsotetsi, Pontsho Many university students were found to be engaging in high HIV risk practices on campuses which then necessitated discovering their HIV status by participating in HIV counselling and testing (HCT) campaigns. HCT is an entry point into a comprehensive continuum of prevention, treatment, care and support services for HIV infection and AIDS. However, it was also found that many students, mostly males, did not take regular HIV tests to discover their HIV status and receive the necessary counselling and support. Objectives: The innovative Gentlemen’s Club was therefore implemented at a university campus to increase HCT uptake.The club was formed to motivate male students on behaviour and lifestyle changes so that they could become responsible men. Method: To join the club, a student was required to take a confidential HIV test and as a member he was expected to follow rules of good and responsible behaviour as prescribed by the club. Results: Club membership and attendance for meetings showed an increase after the launch of the club in 2010 because of its appeal, and there was also a notable increase in the number of male students attending HCT campaigns. Women have formed a similar club to motivate other women to take regular HIV tests as well. Conclusion: The Gentlemen’s Club was an innovative idea that increased HCT uptake by male students and served as vehicle to address health and social issues facing university students. Journal article published in African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/4718 A case of severe endogenous endophthalmitis with orbital cellulitis post Covid-19 Letsoalo, Herold L.; Mathebula, Solani D. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a novel pandemic viral illness which may lead to severe respiratory diseases. However, its ophthalmic manifestations are still not well understood. There could be serious complications involving various organs in patients with the disease and in those who are recovering, or have recovered, from COVID-19. Endogenous endophthalmitis, was a rare occurrence in the past but has increased in the post-COVID-19 pandemic. Endogenous endophthalmitis results from hematogenous spread from a remote primary source. A 55-year-old man with confirmed COVID-19 presented to a local hospital with unilateral gradual loss of vision and swelling of the left eye that occurred 10 days after discharge from the hospital. Based on detailed ophthalmic examination, this patient with a co-morbidity, namely diabetes mellitus was placed in the intensive care unit where he was given corticosteroids and ventilation for two weeks. Most patients requiring mechanical ventilation may experience disorders of the eye, and it may be difficult to treat these occurrences while the patient remains in ICU. COVID-19 can lead to ocular complications especially in the late stages of infection. Follow-up of post COVID-19 patients is crucial to monitor possible ocular complaints including endophthalmitis as early diagnosis and treatment is essential to salvage vision. Contribution: There is a possible link between COVID-19 and endophthalmitis, which is a rare but devastating eye infection. The medical community should consider the eye when evaluating the role of anti-infectious treatment and immunomodulation. Journal article published in Journal of African Vision and Eye Health 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/4700 The evaluation of cytotoxic effects, antimicrobial activity, antioxidant activity and combination effect of Viscum rotundifolium and Mystroxylon aethiopicum Malada, Patience M.; Mogashoa, Mary M.; Masoko, Peter The high rate of infections and antibiotic resistance causes serious difficulties to the healthcare system. Therefore there is a need to develop new antimicrobial agents with little side effects. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of different solvents on extraction yields, antioxidant and antimicrobial potential, cytotoxic and combination effects of different leaf extracts of Viscum rotundifolium (parasite) and Mystroxylon aethiopicum (host). The leaves of V. rotundifolium and M. aethiopicum were collected, dried and ground into fine powder. The powdered plant leaves were extracted using solvents of varying polarity namely: hexane, ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol and water. The standard chemical tests were used to screen the phyto-constituents present in the plant leaves. The antioxidant activity was determined using 2, 2-Diphenyl-1-pycrylhydryzyl (DPPH) assay and ferric reducing power assay. The antimicrobial activity of extracts was tested against bacterial strains using serial micro-dilution assay. The cytotoxic effects of the plant extracts were determined using cell viability assay. Methanol was the best extractant compared to the other extractants with the percentage yield of 31% (M. aethiopicum) and 27% (V. rotundifolium). The occurrence of phyto-constituents (terpernoids, flavonoids, phlabotannins, tannins steroids and cardiac-glycosides, alkaloids and saponins) was similar in both plant leaves. The quantitative DPPH and ferric reducing power assay revealed the presence of antioxidant activity in all plant species. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.31 mg/mL to 2.5 mg/mL. The combination of hexane, ethyl acetate and acetone extracts showed synergistic effects in inhibiting the growth of S. aureus. The cytotoxicity study reveals that plants are nontoxic to human cells. The study demonstrated that the extracts of the selected plants have antibacterial potential against the tested microorganisms which may be ascribed to the phytochemicals present in the plants. Journal article published in South African Journal of Botany Volume 147, (2022), 790-798 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10386/4274 Assessment of reliability and validity of a nursing tool used to examine knowledge, attitude, and practices of professional nurses in writing nursing care plans at a teaching hospital in Gauteng Province, South Africa Lodi, Louisa M.; Randa, Moreoagae B.; Ntuli, Samuel T.; Matlala, Sogo F. Background: A nursing care plan is a guideline developed for a patient's needs. A well-documented care plan provides holistic patient-centred care and includes assessing, evaluating, and administering a variety of interventions as well as teaching patients and families. There are existing tools to measure nurses' knowledge, attitude, and practices in writing nursing care plans in many countries. However, cultural differences and most of the tools do not cover region-specific aspects of diseases, making it challenging to be used between countries. Objective: Thisstudy aimed to develop and validate a tool for determining the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of nurses in writing nursing care plans at a teaching hospital in Gauteng province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 218 registered nurses in selected hospital wards. Reliability was examined using Cronbach alpha and item-total correlation, while validity was assessed using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA EFA) and convergent validity. SPSS for Windows (version 10.0; SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used to analyze data. Results Cronbach's alpha was 0.75 for knowledge, 0.74 for attitude, and 0.77 for practices. The item-total correlation values ranged from -0.203 to 0.742. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was 0.877, 0.793, and 0.797 for the three dimensions, respectively and the Bartlett test was significant (p< 0.0001). The EFA showed that all the items had loadings ≥0.5 except for item A1. Knowledge and practice had a good convergent validity. Implications for Nursing Efforts to develop, validate and implement a new instrument to assess nursing knowledge, attitudes, and practice in writing nursing care plans improve communication between nursing staff, and involve patients more in their care, resulting in fewer medical errors and improving the quality of patient care. Conclusion: This study indicates that the tool has satisfactory reliability, and the use of EFA for the investigation of validity is adequate, but one item in the attitude dimension has a lower threshold value. Further confirmatory factor analysis studies with a larger sample size are needed to support construct validity. Journal article published in The Open Nursing Journal 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z