Sangomas: problem or solution for South Africa's health care system.

Mental health nurses in South Africa's public rural primary care settings: a human resource crisis.

INTRODUCTION South Africa is a middle-income country with serious socioeconomic risk factors for mental illness. Of its population of 52 million, 53% live below the poverty line, 24% are unemployed and 11% live with HIV/AIDS, all of which are factors associated with an increased burden of neuropsychiatric disease. The negative social implications due to the mortality caused by AIDS are immense:...

Canada's health care system: A relevant approach for South Africa?

BACKGROUND While countries such as the USA, South Africa and China debate health reforms to improve access to care while rationalising costs, Canada's health care system has emerged as a notable option. In the USA, meaningful discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the Canadian system has been thwarted by ideological mudslinging on the part of large insurance companies seeking to pres...

Apartheid medicine. Health and human rights in South Africa.

Human rights and health care under apartheid in South Africa were studied. Human rights violations, such as detention without charge or trial, assault and torture in police custody, and restriction orders, have had devastating effects on the health of persons experiencing them. These violations have occurred in the context of a deliberate policy of discriminatory health care favoring the white ...

The impact of HIV scale-up on the role of nurses in South Africa: Time for a new approach.

South Africa's health care system is struggling to respond to the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS while at the same time respecting its postapartheid mandate to provide equitable health services to all. These unprecedented challenges are forcing a rethinking and reorganization of health resources and systems and a reappraisal of the role of nurses in the care of complex and chronic illness. Incr...

Expert trio take on Africa's health care problems--one step at a time.