Background: South Africa introduced a 6-month rotation in family medicine (FM) as part of the 2-year internship. This necessitated a restructuring of the traditional hospital rotations. It is not known if the new rotation is meeting the goals set by the Health Professions Council of South Africa. The aim was to evaluate the new FM rotation for medical interns in South Africa. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey of 260 interns, 74 supervisors across 34 intern programmes in all provinces of South Africa in 2025. Quantitative data were collected using a validated questionnaire, distributed using Redcap, and analysed descriptively in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Results: Most interns ‘strongly agreed’ that they learnt how to refer patients (57.8%), how to manage people with chronic conditions (55.7%), and to take greater responsibility for clinical decision-making (53.9%). Most interns also ‘agreed’ that they learnt to coordinate care between the district and referral hospitals (72.8%), to consider the patient’s perspective (70.5%) and context (67.8%), to manage undifferentiated conditions (68.3%) and to rationalise prescribing (62.7%). Most interns reported little exposure to palliative care (58.2%), community-based services (56.0%) and quality improvement (50.2%). A substantial proportion reported little exposure to public health medicine (42.2%), continuity of care (26.2%) and forensic medicine (24.4%). Conclusion: The intern rotation in FM is fulfilling its promise in developing junior doctors who are fit for purpose and better able to cope with the community service year, with some specific areas for improvement. Contribution: The findings confirm the value of the rotation and should guide quality improvement.
This Table of Contents reflects the print compilation of peer-reviewed articles published in the journal. Each article listed was originally published online under the journal’s open access model and remains individually accessible and citable. This compilation has been created solely for print distribution, reference, and archival purposes. No new research content is introduced. The publisher affirms that all articles included in this compilation have undergone the journal’s standard editorial and peer-review processes.
Background: In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, South Africa implemented shutdowns of varying severity to mitigate the spread of the highly contagious respiratory disease. The impacts of the pandemic and other similar restriction levels were seen in tertiary schooling. The impact on undergraduate students has been noticed globally but not studied within the South African context. Methods: A self-administered electronic survey was developed by using a SUNsurvey to retrospectively investigate students’ experiences during and after the lockdown. Data were analysed to identify differences in eating behaviour, physical activity and mental health during severe restricted level (SRL) and least restricted level (LRL, p < 0.05). Results: Food behaviour trends were negatively impacted by the easing of restrictions as consumption of energy-dense foods increased during LRL (p < 0.001). Severe restricted level resulted in reduced physical activity while simultaneously increasing screen time (to > 6 h/day). The frequency of feeling stressed or anxious increased during LRL (daily: 58.6%) and had a negative impact on the mental health of students (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A better understanding of the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on undergraduate students is essential. Governing bodies need to have guidelines, programmes and alternative measures in place to mitigate possible negative outcomes of similar stressful and isolating times. Contribution: Results from this study may provide insights into the eating behaviours of the said population, regardless of the pandemic status, which may prove to be insightful for universities when determining future food and physical activity intervention policies for similar future situations.
Background: An outbreak of Serratia marcescens disrupted care in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Jubilee District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa. This study profiled infected neonates and identified outbreak factors. Methods: Retrospective review of an epidemiological outbreak of S. marcescens in the NICU of Jubilee District Hospital between 2022 and 2023. Results: From January 2022 to December 2023, 273 neonates with S. marcescens were admitted. Most were male (56.27%), under 1 day old at admission (68.86%), and had low birth weight (59.27%). Admissions mainly came from the hospital’s labour ward (70.61%). Serratia marcescens (95.97%) was the predominant bacteria, with Klebsiella pneumoniae (4.03%) less common. Mortality was 16.12%. Multivariable analysis showed low birth weight (OR = 6.16, 95% CI: 2.27–16.70; p < 0.001) and age at first blood culture (OR = 2.98, 95% CI: 1.78–4.98; p < 0.001) independently increased mortality risk. Conclusion: A S. marcescens outbreak in the NICU of Jubilee District Hospital between January 2022 and December 2023 revealed that S. marcescens mainly affected low-birth-weight male neonates admitted within 1 day of the labour ward. Low birth weight and early blood culture timing were linked to higher mortality. These results highlight the urgent need to enhance infection control in the labour ward, update and enforce policies that protect vulnerable neonates, and ensure timely blood culture testing and treatment to reduce mortality. Contribution: The Jubilee NICU S. marcescens outbreak affected mainly low-birth-weight male neonates admitted within 1 day from the labour ward. Low birth weight and early blood culture timing increased mortality risk. These findings highlight the need to strengthen infection control in labour wards, protect vulnerable neonates, and ensure timely blood culture and treatment to reduce deaths.
Background: Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is the most common cause of death globally, and therefore it is a serious public health issue. The chance of survival is increased when bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is incorporated into the OHCA chain of survival. The aim is to determine if there is an association between exposure to CPR training and basic life support (BLS) practice among laypersons in a church community. Methods: At a church community in Braamfontein, South Africa, a quantitative analytical cross-sectional study of the congregation was carried out using convenience sampling. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted. Results: Only 14.6% of respondents had received CPR training. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation training was significantly associated with the ability to effectively open the airway (p = 0.001), perform mouth-to-mouth respiration (p = 0.001), perform chest compression (p = 0.013), perform both mouth-to-mouth ventilation and chest compression (p = 0.001), perform CPR effectively (p = 0.003) and willingness to learn CPR (p = 0.029). Conclusion: Although the church laypersons’ knowledge of CPR was poor, participants with prior CPR training reported being better at performing a variety of CPR techniques. With about one-fourth of respondents reporting having witnessed a cardiac arrest, it is important to proactively investigate and put into practice various forms of layperson CPR training as a strategy to ensure the laypeople are equipped to help increase the survival rates of OHCA. Contribution: The study enhances our understanding of how CPR training among laypersons in the church can increase their willingness to administer BLS and identifies churches as key locations for community CPR capacity building.
