Epidemiology and Biostatistics

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Browsing Epidemiology and Biostatistics by browse.metadata.advisor "Dudley, Lilian"

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    Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the prevention of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among overweight and obese adults in Manzini, Eswatini : a cross-sectional study
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Chideme-Chinovhiringa, Karen; Chivese, Tawanda; Dudley, Lilian; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Global Health. Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Introduction: Being overweight or obese is one of the strongest risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Eswatini has a high prevalence of undiagnosed type 2 diabetes and half of its adults are either overweight or obese. However, there is a paucity of data on knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the prevention of type 2 diabetes in people at risk in Eswatini. This study aims to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus among overweight and obese adults presenting at an urban outpatient clinic in Manzini, Eswatini. Methods: A cross-sectional study of adults who were either overweight or obese attending the clinic was carried out. Knowledge, attitudes and practices towards the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus were assessed using a validated researcher administered questionnaire. Knowledge, attitudes and practices were compared between overweight and obese participants. In addition, the correlation between knowledge, attitudes and practices was evaluated using a correlation matrix. Results: A total of 105 participants, with a mean age of 35.2 (SD 10.7) years participated in the study. Of these, 55 (52.4%) and 50 (47.6%) were overweight and obese, respectively. The majority of the participants showed acceptable knowledge levels, with 61% of the participants having good knowledge and 30% excellent knowledge. Participants showed positive attitudes towards diabetes prevention, 69.5% of participants had satisfactory attitudes, 21.0% had excellent attitudes and 9.5% had neutral attitudes towards the prevention of type two diabetes mellitus. Practices were generally poor with only 33.3% meeting the World Health Organisation recommended 150 minutes of physical activity per week. Just over half (53.0%) of participants who met the criteria for screening had screened for diabetes. Dietary practices were poor with just over a third (36.2%) of participants meeting the World Health Organisation recommended daily vegetable and/or fruit intake of five servings a day and 85.7% exceeding the World Health Organisation daily recommended limit of sugar intake. There were no significant differences between participants who were overweight and those who were obese in their knowledge, attitudes and practices towards preventing type 2 diabetes mellitus. There was a significant, positive correlation between total knowledge scores and total attitude scores (r= 0.42, p<0.01). Conclusion: Overweight and obese adults visiting the outpatient clinic had satisfactory knowledge and attitude levels towards the prevention of type 2 diabetes. Practices towards prevention were generally poor with few participants meeting the World Health Organisation recommendations for physical activity and fruit and/or vegetable daily intake. Just over half of the eligible participants had screened for diabetes prior to the study. In addition to information, interventions are needed to motivate patients at high risk to adopt healthier dietary and physical activity practices.
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    The use of error reporting data in patient safety research
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Swana, Nelisiwe; Dudley, Lilian; Klemp, Kerstin; Nyasulu, Peter S.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Global Health. Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: Error reporting is the only data source designed specifically to generate patient safety data, yet its ability to report comprehensively on patient safety has not been assessed. This study aimed to assess the capability of error reporting data to report comprehensively on adverse events. The research question that guided this study was: “What are the perceptions of patient safety experts regarding the use of error reporting data in patient safety?” The objectives of the study were set to determine the demographic characteristics of those who use error reporting in patient safety, i.e., their professional backgrounds, area of practice, countries, languages and years of experience with error reporting data. The study also aimed to determine how they perceive error reporting`s capability to report comprehensively on patient safety and assess whether their professions or areas of practice influenced their choice to work with error reporting and not with other data sources also used in patient safety. Methods: A cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire was conducted. This was a descriptive study design with a quantitative approach. Reliability and validity of the study were assured through a pilot test and in consultation with the project leader (who was the researcher’s supervisor and an expert in epidemiology research), and experts in patient safety field at the University of Frankfurt. This study was conducted with approval from the University of Frankfurt (see annexure 1b) and University of Stellenbosch ethics committees. Ethics reference number: S15/11/267. Sixty-two experts in patient safety research were surveyed using a 15-item online questionnaire. Error reporting was measured against other data sources on its availability, accessibility, time consumption, annual report generation, ability to report on all causes and level of harm to patients, uniqueness, independence and adaptability to different health organisations. Data were analysed using Statistical Analysis Software 9.4. Results: Error reporting was the most widely used patient safety data source with 36 (58%) participants indicating a preference for using it, as opposed to 13 (21%) for chart review, 10 (16%) for claims data, 9 (15%) for routine data and 8 (13%) for survey data. Experts felt it was the best in reporting on all levels of harm (61.1%) and generating annual patient safety reports (44.4%), but it was the most inaccessible data source (37.2%). Both profession (p = 0.25) and area of practice (p = 0.79) had no influence on experts’ choice for error reporting as a data source. The difference between error reporting’s overall performance in patient safety and the other data sources, measured using a t-test was not statistically significant (between error reporting and claims data source (p = 0.92), between error reporting and routine data source (p = 0.74) and between error reporting and survey data source (p = 0.61). Conclusion: Error reporting, although the most widely used, had shortcomings in several areas currently complemented by other data sources. Thus, relying on it alone could be inadequate, and ways to integrate data sources should be explored further.