South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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A social impact bond (SIB) is an innovative financing mechanism to attract investors to social programmes traditionally funded by governments. In this article, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the authors describe the SAMRC's first foray into this new world of financing through a SIB to improve the health and quality of life of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). ⋯ The authors outline an approach to designing the package of interventions, the metrics associated with such a programme and the business model. It is hypothesised that the proposed approach will lead to an improvement in programmatic outcomes, monitoring and evaluation tools and cost-effectiveness, and will develop key learning data for the future use of SIBs in health service delivery.
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Health policy and systems research (HPSR) guides health system reforms and is essential for South Africa (SA)'s progress towards universal coverage of high-quality healthcare. For HPSR evidence to inform and strengthen health systems, it needs to flow efficiently between evidence producers, evidence synthesisers, evidence processers and disseminators and evidence implementors in an evidence ecosystem. A substantial body of evidence for health systems strengthening is generated in SA, and this informs national and international health system guidelines and guidance. ⋯ SA scientists are part of global initiatives to strengthen the health-systems evidence ecosystem, specifically through pioneering methods to synthesise evidence and produce evidence-informed guidelines to facilitate evidence use in health-system decision-making. SA institutes of health policy analysis facilitate involvement of evidence producers and synthesisers in the national health system policy-making process. A future priority is to further strengthen national initiatives to translate evidence into policy and practice and to sustain capacity for continuous technical support to health-systems policy development and implementation.
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Even at low levels in blood, lead has been associated with reduced IQ scores, behavioural problems, learning impediments, aggression and violent behaviour. Since the 1980s, the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has been investigating the sources of exposure to lead in South Africa (SA), the groups at highest risk of lead poisoning and a selection of the myriad associated health and social consequences. ⋯ More recent studies have revealed elevated risks of lead exposure in subsistence fishing and mining communities, users of arms and ammunition, those ingesting certain traditional medicines, and users of certain ceramicware and artisanal cooking pots. Lead-related cognitive damage costs the SA economy ~USD17.7 (ZAR261.3) billion annually, justifying further SAMRC investment in lead exposure research in the country.
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For several decades, researchers from the South African Medical Research Council have made invaluable contributions towards improving the health of the population through the analysis and interpretation of cause of death data. This article reflects the mortality trends in pre-and post-apartheid South Africa (SA), and describes efforts to improve vital statistics, innovations to fill data gaps, and studies to estimate the burden of disease after adjusting for data deficiencies. ⋯ Over the next 20 years, it will be important to sustain and enhance the country's capacity to collect, analyse and utilise cause of death data. SA needs to support development in the region, harnessing new data platforms and approaches such as including verbal autopsy tools in the official system and improving data linkage.
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Hair relaxers are used by up to 70% of females of black African ancestry. Occupational safety regulations list a pH ≥10.5 as irritant and a pH ≥11.50 as corrosive to the skin. ⋯ The pH of all the relaxers tested was at levels deemed corrosive to the skin and may contribute to the high prevalence of alopecia in females with afro-textured hair. A review of permissible safe pH levels for cosmetic use is warranted.