Cargando…

Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Evidence from many countries suggests that provision of home and community-based health services, linked to care at fixed primary health care facilities, is critical to good health outcomes. In South Africa, the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams are well placed to provide t...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali, Lutge, Elizabeth
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8701860/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34946444
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121718
_version_ 1784621105096425472
author Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali
Lutge, Elizabeth
author_facet Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali
Lutge, Elizabeth
author_sort Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali
collection PubMed
description Introduction: Evidence from many countries suggests that provision of home and community-based health services, linked to care at fixed primary health care facilities, is critical to good health outcomes. In South Africa, the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams are well placed to provide these services. The teams report to a primary health care facility through their outreach team leader. The facility manager/operational manager provides guidance and support to the outreach team leader. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of facility managers regarding support and supervision of ward-based outreach teams in the National Health Insurance pilot sites in Kwa Zulu-Natal. Setting: The study was carried out in three National Health Insurance pilot districts in KwaZulu- Natal. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was used to interview 12 primary health care facility managers at a sub-district (municipal) level. The researchers conducted thematic analysis of data. Findings: Some gaps in the supervisory and managerial relationships between ward based primary health care outreach teams and primary health care facility managers were identified. High workload at clinics may undermine the capacity of PHC facility managers to support and supervise the teams. Field supervision seems to take place only rarely and for those teams living far away from the clinic, communication with the clinic manager may be difficult. The study further highlights issues around the training and preparation of the teams. Conclusions: Ward based primary health care outreach teams have a positive impact in preventive and promotive health in rural communities. Furthermore, these teams have also made impact in improving facility indicators. However, their work does not happen without challenges.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-8701860
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2021
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-87018602021-12-24 Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali Lutge, Elizabeth Healthcare (Basel) Article Introduction: Evidence from many countries suggests that provision of home and community-based health services, linked to care at fixed primary health care facilities, is critical to good health outcomes. In South Africa, the Ward-Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams are well placed to provide these services. The teams report to a primary health care facility through their outreach team leader. The facility manager/operational manager provides guidance and support to the outreach team leader. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of facility managers regarding support and supervision of ward-based outreach teams in the National Health Insurance pilot sites in Kwa Zulu-Natal. Setting: The study was carried out in three National Health Insurance pilot districts in KwaZulu- Natal. Methods: An exploratory qualitative design was used to interview 12 primary health care facility managers at a sub-district (municipal) level. The researchers conducted thematic analysis of data. Findings: Some gaps in the supervisory and managerial relationships between ward based primary health care outreach teams and primary health care facility managers were identified. High workload at clinics may undermine the capacity of PHC facility managers to support and supervise the teams. Field supervision seems to take place only rarely and for those teams living far away from the clinic, communication with the clinic manager may be difficult. The study further highlights issues around the training and preparation of the teams. Conclusions: Ward based primary health care outreach teams have a positive impact in preventive and promotive health in rural communities. Furthermore, these teams have also made impact in improving facility indicators. However, their work does not happen without challenges. MDPI 2021-12-13 /pmc/articles/PMC8701860/ /pubmed/34946444 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121718 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Mhlongo, Euphemia Mbali
Lutge, Elizabeth
Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title_full Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title_short Facility Managers’ Perceptions of Support and Supervision of Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in National Health Insurance Pilot Districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Qualitative Study
title_sort facility managers’ perceptions of support and supervision of ward based primary health care outreach teams in national health insurance pilot districts in kwazulu-natal, south africa. a qualitative study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8701860/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34946444
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9121718
work_keys_str_mv AT mhlongoeuphemiambali facilitymanagersperceptionsofsupportandsupervisionofwardbasedprimaryhealthcareoutreachteamsinnationalhealthinsurancepilotdistrictsinkwazulunatalsouthafricaaqualitativestudy
AT lutgeelizabeth facilitymanagersperceptionsofsupportandsupervisionofwardbasedprimaryhealthcareoutreachteamsinnationalhealthinsurancepilotdistrictsinkwazulunatalsouthafricaaqualitativestudy