Browsing by Author "Groenewald, Johann"

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    Declaration on mental health in Africa : moving to implementation
    (Co-Action Publishing, 2014-06-16) Daar, Abdallah S.; Jacobs, Marian; Wall, Stig; Groenewald, Johann; Eaton, Julian; Patel, Vikram; Dos Santos, Palmira; Kagee, Ashraf; Gevers, Anik; Sunkel, Charlene; Andrews, Gail; Daniels, Ingrid; Ndetei, David
    Urgent action is needed to address mental health issues globally. In Africa, where mental health disorders account for a huge burden of disease and disability, and where in general less than 1% of the already small health budgets are spent on these disorders, the need for action is acute and urgent. Members of the World Health Organization, including African countries, have adopted a Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan. Africa now has an historic opportunity to improve the mental health and wellbeing of its citizens, beginning with provision of basic mental health services and development of national mental health strategic plans (roadmaps). There is need to integrate mental health into primary health care and address stigma and violations of human rights. We advocate for inclusion of mental health into the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals, and for the convening of a special UN General Assembly High Level Meeting on Mental Health within three years.
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    Graduate School formats and functions
    (SUN MeDIA, 2016) Groenewald, Johann; Steenekamp, Cindy
    INTRODUCTION: This chapter explores the reasons for the success, in the area of doctoral studies, of the recently established Graduate School in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) at Stellenbosch University (SUN), South Africa. First we provide a brief history of the establishment of the FASS Graduate School which includes a description of the institutional developments leading to the release of funding for this HOPE project initiative. (We use the term ‘graduate school’ in referring exclusively to doctoral programmes.) We also look at recent national policy developments that catapulted doctoral education to the position of a strategic enabler in the South African science and research system, as well as some of the recommendations for increasing doctoral production in South Africa. The greater part of the chapter is devoted to a description of the structure and functions of the Graduate School. The discussion explores the meaning of fulltime study as a key component of successful PhD programmes. Next, the recently developed notion of graduate enrolment management (GEM) is introduced as a heuristic device to describe the operations of the Graduate School. The provision of continuous programmatic support is unpacked as a specific form of support of which the content as well as the timing is determined by the stage of study. In the last section, the outcomes of the FASS Graduate School are presented and evaluated, concluding with a summary of the reasons for the success of the Graduate School and an attempt to articulate some general lessons that could be learnt from this enterprise.
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    A roadmap for the implementation of mHealth innovations for image-based diagnostic support in clinical and public-health settings : a focus on front-line health workers and health-system organizations
    (Taylor & Francis Open, 2017) Wallis, Lee; Hasselberg, Marie; Barkman, Catharina; Bogoch, Isaac; Broomhead, Sean; Dumont, Guy; Groenewald, Johann; Lundin, Johan; Bergendahl, Johan Norell; Nyasulu, Peter; Olofsson, Maud; Weinehall, Lars; Laflamme, Lucie
    Background: Diagnostic support for clinicians is a domain of application of mHealth technologies with a slow uptake despite promising opportunities, such as image-based clinical support. The absence of a roadmap for the adoption and implementation of these types of applications is a further obstacle. Objectives: This article provides the groundwork for a roadmap to implement image-based support for clinicians, focusing on how to overcome potential barriers affecting front-line users, the health-care organization and the technical system. Methods: A consensual approach was used during a two-day roundtable meeting gathering a convenience sample of stakeholders (n = 50) from clinical, research, policymaking and business fields and from different countries. A series of sessions was held including small group discussions followed by reports to the plenary. Session moderators synthesized the reports in a number of theme-specific strategies that were presented to the participants again at the end of the meeting for them to determine their individual priority. Results: There were four to seven strategies derived from the thematic sessions. Once reviewed and prioritized by the participants some received greater priorities than others. As an example, of the seven strategies related to the front-line users, three received greater priority: the need for any system to significantly add value to the users; the usability of mHealth apps; and the goodness-of-fit into the work flow. Further, three aspects cut across the themes: ease of integration of the mHealth applications; solid ICT infrastructure and support network; and interoperability. Conclusions: Research and development in image-based diagnostic pave the way to making health care more accessible and more equitable. The successful implementation of those solutions will necessitate a seamless introduction into routines, adequate technical support and significant added value.