A morbidity survey of South African primary care

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dc.contributor.authorMash, Bob
dc.contributor.authorFairall, Lara
dc.contributor.authorAdejayan, Olubunmi
dc.contributor.authorIkpefan, Omozuanvbo
dc.contributor.authorKumari, Jyoti
dc.contributor.authorMathee, Shaheed
dc.contributor.authorOkun, Ronit
dc.contributor.authorYogolelo, Willy
dc.date.accessioned2012-04-25T14:31:06Z
dc.date.available2012-04-25T14:31:06Z
dc.date.issued2012-03
dc.descriptionPublication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.en_ZA
dc.descriptionThe original publication is available at www.plosone.org/
dc.descriptionBibliography
dc.description.abstractBackground: Recent studies have described the burden of disease in South Africa. However these studies do not tell us which of these conditions commonly present to primary care providers, how these conditions may present and how providers make sense of them in terms of their diagnoses. Clinical nurse practitioners are the main primary care providers and need to be better prepared for this role. This study aimed to determine the range and prevalence of reasons for encounter and diagnoses found among ambulatory patients attending public sector primary care facilities in South Africa. Methodology/Principal Findings: The study was a multi-centre prospective cross-sectional survey of consultations in primary care in four provinces of South Africa: Western Cape, Limpopo, Northern Cape and North West. Consultations were coded prior to analysis by using the International Classification of Primary Care-Version 2 in terms of reasons for encounter (REF) and diagnoses. Altogether 18856 consultations were included in the survey and generated 31451 reasons for encounter (RFE) and 24561 diagnoses. Women accounted for 12526 (66.6%) and men 6288 (33.4%). Nurses saw 16238 (86.1%) and doctors 2612 (13.9%) of patients. The top 80 RFE and top 25 diagnoses are reported and ongoing care for hypertension was the commonest RFE and diagnosis. The 20 commonest RFE and diagnoses by age group are also reported. Conclusions/Significance: Ambulatory primary care is dominated by non-communicable chronic diseases. HIV/AIDS and TB are common, but not to the extent predicted by the burden of disease. Pneumonia and gastroenteritis are commonly seen especially in children. Women’s health issues such as family planning and pregnancy related visits are also common. Injuries are not as common as expected from the burden of disease. Primary care providers did not recognise mental health problems. The results should guide the future training and assessment of primary care providers.en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipStellenbosch University Open Access Funden_ZA
dc.description.versionPublishers' Versionen_ZA
dc.format.extent12 p. : ill.
dc.identifier.citationMash, B. et al. 2012. A morbidity survey of South African primary Care. PLoSOne, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032358.
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203 (online)
dc.identifier.otherdoi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032358
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/20873
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS)en_ZA
dc.rights.holderAuthors retain the copyrighten_ZA
dc.subject.lcshChronic diseases -- Treatmenten_ZA
dc.subject.lcshAmbulatory medical care -- Utilizationen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshPrimary care providers -- Trainingen_ZA
dc.titleA morbidity survey of South African primary careen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA
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