Acceptance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a semi-rural population in South Africa:
- Authors: Chiwanza, Farisai , Irwin, Yoland , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/157072 , vital:40084 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hsag.v25i0.1336
- Description: Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is a valuable tool that helps in providing an insight into the diagnosis and management of hypertension; however, no evidence exists of its acceptance in the diverse South African population. We assessed the acceptance of an ambulatory blood pressure monitor in patients attending public sector primary health care (PHC) clinics. Five PHC clinics in the Makana subdistrict in the Eastern Cape.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Designing and reporting pictogram research: problems, pitfalls and lessons learnt
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/157083 , vital:40085 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.08.013
- Description: Research describing the design, evaluation or use of pictograms for various health-related applications is receiving increasing attention in the literature. However, recent reviews of this body of literature have commented adversely on the overall quality of the research, highlighting problems with the pictogram design process, as well as calling for improvement in both the methodology and reporting of all aspects of designing, developing, modifying, evaluating and applying pictograms in practice. The heterogeneity in study design, as well as in the interventions and outcomes measured, prevents overall conclusions being drawn about the effectiveness of pictograms on comprehension and medicine-taking behaviour such as adherence and self-care. The reporting of such research should provide adequate detail to enable reproducibility and replicability of the research. This article offers guidance in designing and reporting pictogram-based research, highlighting areas that are often problematic or inadequately addressed.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Preferences of resettled refugees on pictograms describing common symptoms of illness:
- Authors: Bellamy, Kim , Dowse, Roslind , Ostini, Remo , Martini, Nataly , Kairuz, Therese
- Date: 2020
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/${Handle} , vital:40086 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1007/s10903-019-00908-3
- Description: Illustrated health resources are useful for people who have limited English linguistic ability. The aim was to compare the preferences of resettled refugees from Africa and non-African countries, on pictograms describing common symptoms of illness. Data were collected in two cities in Queensland, Australia. Participants indicated their preference for three types of pictograms depicting seven symptoms. Pictogram sources included the International Pharmaceutical Federation, royaltyfree stock images, and pictograms designed in South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2020
Health literacy test for limited literacy populations (HELT-LL): validation in South Africa
- Authors: Marimwe, Chipiwa , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156652 , vital:40035 , https://doi.org/10.1080/2331205X.2019.1650417
- Description: The majority of health literacy measures emanate from high-income countries and are inappropriate for use in limited literacy individuals who are usually excluded from participation in health literacy studies. There is currently no appropriate health literacy measure for the educationally diverse South African population. This study, which reports the validation of the Health Literacy Test for Limited Literacy individuals (HELT-LL), was conducted in primary health-care clinics with 210 isiXhosa-speaking patients with a maximum of 12 years of schooling. The HELT-LL has varied cognitive demands, assesses functional literacy skills as well as local burden of disease knowledge, and also includes self-reported questions.
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- Date Issued: 2019
Outcome of illustrated information leaflet on correct usage of asthma-metered dose inhaler:
- Authors: Wrench, Wendy W , Van Dyk, Lynette , Srinivas, Sunitha C , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156640 , vital:40033 , https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v11i1.2079
- Description: Research globally has shown that metered dose inhaler (MDI) technique is poor, with patient education and regular demonstration critical in maintaining correct use of inhalers. Patient information containing pictorial aids improves understanding of medicine usage; however, manufacturer leaflets illustrating MDI use may not be easily understood by low-literacy asthma patients. To develop and evaluate the outcome of a tailored, simplified leaflet on correct MDI technique in asthma patients with limited literacy skills.
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- Date Issued: 2019
The impact of illustrated side effect information on understanding and sustained retention of antiretroviral side effect knowledge:
- Authors: Browne, Sara H , Barford, Kirsty-Lee , Ramela, Thato , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156341 , vital:39980 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2018.05.012
- Description: Prompt management of side effects is critical to supporting adherence to antiretroviral (ARV) medication. This study examines the impact of presenting side effect information using simple text combined with pictograms on sustained knowledge of ARV side effects over three months. Previously designed side effect pictograms, combined with simple text, were incorporated into a side effects panel within an ARV information leaflet. In a randomised controlled study, 116 limited literacy HIV patients taking ARVs were randomly allocated to either control (standard care) or intervention groups (standard care plus illustrated information). Side effect knowledge was assessed at baseline, and intervention patients received the illustrated leaflet. Knowledge was re-tested at one and three months. Interpretation of side effect pictograms was evaluated at one month.
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- Date Issued: 2019
‘Yummy or crummy?': the multisensory components of medicines-taking among HIV-positive youth
- Authors: Hodes, Rebecca , Vale, Beth , Toska, Elona , Cluver, Lucie , Dowse, Roslind , Ashorn, Mikael
- Date: 2019
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156663 , vital:40036 , DOI: 10.1080/17441692.2018.1504103
- Description: The global rollout of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) has revealed an urgent need to understand the medicines-taking practices of HIV-positive adolescents. In the last decade, the literature on the social determinants of health has broadened the evidence-base on ART adherence. Interdisciplinary studies have expanded conceptions of medicines-taking beyond clinical or health systems frameworks, recognising the importance of socio-structural conditions and of patients’ beliefs and experiences. Participatory research techniques which foreground the perspectives of adolescents provide greater insights still into their adherence. This article explores the use of participatory methods within a broader study on the social determinants of ART adherence among HIV-positive adolescents in South Africa. We describe how participatory methods were incorporated into this study (n = 1,059 in the quantitative baseline). We focus on an exercise, ‘Yummy or crummy?’, that explored the multisensory dimensions of medicines-taking, including their colour, smell, shape, and delivery mechanism. We describe two principal findings: first, adolescents’ preference for greater understanding of the chemical workings of medicines, manifested in their preferences for colour, taste and shape of medicines; and second, the vital relationship between sensory preferences and the social imperatives of discretion and confidentiality regarding HIV-status.
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- Date Issued: 2019
An illustrated booklet for reinforcing community health worker knowledge of tuberculosis and facilitating patient counselling:
- Authors: Okeyo, Ida L A , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2018
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156629 , vital:40032 , https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/1687/2559
- Description: Community health workers (CHWs) have facilitated the move to decentralize tuberculosis (TB) management, but lack access to information appropriate both for personal use and in patient interaction and education. To explore the impact of a pictorial-based TB booklet on reinforcing CHW knowledge and facilitating patient counselling.
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- Date Issued: 2018
Development of an item bank of health literacy questions appropriate for limited literacy public sector patients in South Africa:
- Authors: Marimwe, Chipiwa , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156618 , vital:40031 , https://doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2017.1380577
- Description: The majority of current health literacy measures emanate from high-income countries. In South Africa, there is no appropriate measure available for use by the diverse public sector population, many of whom have some literacy limitations. The objective was to develop a bank of questions for this population informed by a broader definition of health literacy, which acknowledges both traditional cognitive skills and explores the influence of the collective social environment on health literacy. Thirty questions for the Item Bank were developed to ensure cultural, contextual and educational appropriateness, and were continuously subjected to critical review by an expert consultant panel. Patients (n = 120) were recruited from a local primary care clinic and individually interviewed with the assistance of an interpreter to collect data on the Item Bank, Multidimensional Screener of Functional Health Literacy (MSFHL) and sociodemographics.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Community care worker perceptions of their roles in tuberculosis care and their information needs:
- Authors: Okeyo, Ida L A , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156596 , vital:40029 , DOI: 10.4102/hsag.v21i0.962
- Description: Community care workers (CCWs) inhabit a central role in the management of tuberculosis (TB) patients in South Africa. CCWs attend training courses, but training is not standardised at either the national or provincial level. To explore perceptions of CCWs of their role in TB care and TB information needs.
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- Date Issued: 2016
The limitations of current health literacy measures for use in developing countries:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2016
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156607 , vital:40030 , DOI: 10.1080/17538068.2016.1147742
- Description: Health literacy measures have largely emanated from developed countries, reflecting the characteristics of their economies, populations, and health systems. In contrast, it is disconcerting that health literacy appears to be so under-researched in developing countries (DCs), despite the likelihood of inadequate health literacy being endemic. In this commentary, I highlight some challenges when using existing health literacy measures in DCs and conclude with a summary of considerations when using/developing a tool for these populations.
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- Date Issued: 2016
Reflecting on patient-centred care in pharmacy through an illness narrative:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156687 , vital:40038 , https://0-doi.org.wam.seals.ac.za/10.1007/s11096-015-0104-5
- Description: Patient-centred care (PCC) is rapidly adopting a central position in discussions on the quality of healthcare, with patient-centredness deemed essential to transforming the healthcare system. PCC speaks to the quality of patient-provider relationships and has been defined as an approach to providing care that is respectful of and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values, while ensuring that patient values guide all clinical decisions. However its place within pharmacy practice is unclear and is as yet undefined, particularly in relation to pharmaceutical care. Through my personal illness narrative, I briefly explore the visibility and evidence of PCC in the pharmacy literature as well as from personal experience of pharmacy care, and find it lacking. I conclude that an integrated, seamless understanding of PCC and the use of shared language within the health professions is essential in successful teamwork with both the patient and with other health professions.
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- Date Issued: 2015
Development and evaluation of pictograms on medication labels for patients with limited literacy skills in a culturally diverse multiethnic population:
- Authors: Kheir, Nadir , Awaisu, Ahmed , Radoui, Amina , El Badawi, Aya , Jean, Linda , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156720 , vital:40041 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2013.11.003
- Description: Much of the migrant workforce in Qatar is of low literacy level and does not understand Arabic or English, presenting a significant challenge to health care professionals. Medicine labels are typically in Arabic and English and are therefore poorly understood by these migrant workers. To develop pictograms illustrating selected medicine label instructions and to evaluate comprehension of the pictograms or conventional text supported with verbal instructions in foreign workers with low literacy skills.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Patient-centred pharmacy: reflections from the patient-academic pharmacist interface
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156709 , vital:40040 , https://0-hdl.handle.net.wam.seals.ac.za/10520/EJC163769
- Description: This month, the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa (PSSA) pays tribute to a remarkable woman, who is willing to share her experiences with fellow pharmacists. Ros Dowse told her story at the South African Association of Hospital and Institutional Pharmacists and PSSA conferences, and will share it at the Academy conference as well. Ros, we are proud to be part of your "family", and are humbled by your courage and inner strength.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Simple, illustrated medicines information improves ARV knowledge and patient self-efficacy in limited literacy South African HIV patients:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind , Barford, Kirsty-Lee , Browne, Sara H
- Date: 2014
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156698 , vital:40039 , DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2014.931559
- Description: Few studies have investigated antiretroviral (ARV) knowledge and self-efficacy in limited literacy patients. Using a randomized controlled study design, we investigated the influence of a simple pre-tested patient information leaflet (PIL) containing both text and illustrations on HIV- and ARV-related knowledge and on self-efficacy over six months in a limited literacy African population. The recruited patients were randomly allocated to either control (standard care) or intervention group (standard care plus illustrated PIL). HIV and medicines-related knowledge was evaluated with a 22-question test at baseline, one, three, and six months. Self-efficacy was assessed using a modified version of the HIV Treatment Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale.
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- Date Issued: 2014
Understanding the medicines information-seeking behaviour and information needs of South African long-term patients with limited literacy skills:
- Authors: Patel, Sonal , Dowse, Roslind
- Date: 2013
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156676 , vital:40037 , doi: 10.1111/hex.12131
- Description: Although much health information‐seeking behaviour (HISB) research has been reported in patients with good literacy skills, little is known about HISB in patients with limited literacy skills served by under‐resourced health‐care systems. To investigate medicine information‐seeking behaviour and information needs in patients with limited literacy.
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- Date Issued: 2013
An illustrated leaflet containing antiretroviral information targeted for low-literate readers: development and evaluation
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind , Ramela, Thato , Browne, Sara H
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156731 , vital:40043 , https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2011.01.013
- Description: To apply a dual visual/textual modal approach in developing and evaluating a medicine information leaflet with pictograms suitable for low-literate HIV/AIDS patients. To identify and recommend best practices in this type of information design.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Developing visual images for communicating information aboutantiretroviral side effects to a low-literate population:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind , Ramela, Thato , Barford, Kirsty-Lee , Browne, Sara H
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156769 , vital:40048 , https://doi.org/10.2989/16085906.2010.530172
- Description: The side effects of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy are linked to altered quality of life and adherence. Poor adherence has also been associated with low health-literacy skills, with an uninformed patient more likely to make ARV-related decisions that compromise the efficacy of the treatment. Low literacy skills disempower patients in interactions with healthcare providers and preclude the use of existing written patient information materials, which are generally written at a high reading level. Visual images or pictograms used as a counselling tool or included in patient information leaflets have been shown to improve patients’ knowledge, particularly in low-literate groups. The objective of this study was to design visuals or pictograms illustrating various ARV side effects and to evaluate them in a low-literate South African Xhosa population. Core images were generated either from a design workshop or from posed photos or images from textbooks. The research team worked closely with a graphic artist. Initial versions of the images were discussed and assessed in group discussions, and then modified and eventually evaluated quantitatively in individual interviews with 40 participants who each had a maximum of 10 years of schooling.
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- Date Issued: 2011
Applicability of the REALM health literacy test to an English second-language South African population:
- Authors: Dowse, Roslind , Lecoko, Motlalepule L E , Ehlers, Martina S
- Date: 2010
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/156798 , vital:40051 , https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9392-y
- Description: Objective and setting. To investigate health literacy in an English second language population using the REALM test, to evaluate its appropriateness and to compare health literacy between four different education categories. Setting Primary healthcare clinics and participant homes in Grahamstown, South Africa.
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- Date Issued: 2010
Health literacy assessment: relexicalising a US test for a South African population
- Authors: Hunt, Sally , Dowse, Roslind , La Rose, Christopher M
- Date: 2009
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/139131 , vital:37708 , DOI: 10.2989/SALALS.2008.26.2.7.571
- Description: The problems of illiteracy in health contexts have been well documented in the literature and include such serious repercussions as medication non-compliance and failure to seek medical help during the course of an illness. The Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) is a standardised health literacy test developed in the United States that has been previously administered and researched in South Africa (Lecoko, 2000). It is an objective vocabulary test, designed as a screening instrument to identify the health literacy levels of patients in clinics, which uses item recognition of 66 health-related words. Lecoko found that, in a South African setting, only 8 out of the 66 words in the US-developed test could be deemed acceptable. Therefore, the current study focused on the principled relexicalisation of the REALM, using words gathered from health information and promotional texts in local clinics, hypothesising that this would improve its applicability. After administration to a statistically similar group of respondents, the number of acceptable words on the test increased from eight to 38. Thus it is concluded that principled relexicalisation may be one way of improving the applicability of standardised health literacy tests to local populations and settings. However, the limitations of standardised tests may prove to be a significant barrier overshadowing the value of relexicalisation.
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- Date Issued: 2009