Khuzwayo Landiwe S, Moshabela Mosa
School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal.
Afr J Prim Health Care Fam Med. 2017 May 29;9(1):e1-e5. doi: 10.4102/phcfm.v9i1.1388.
The aim of ward-based outreach teams (WBOTs) is to improve access to primary healthcare (PHC) services including health promotion and disease prevention in South Africa. Limited information is available in South Africa on user perceptions of services provided by WBOTs in rural households.
The study aimed to explore community awareness and perception of WBOTs, as well people's motivation to engage and use WBOT services.
The study was conducted between July and September 2015 in iLembe district, KwaZulu-Natal.
This was exploratory-descriptive qualitative research. Purposive sampling technique was used in this study. A total of 16 key informant interviews and 4 focus group discussions were conducted. The voice recordings were transcribed in isiZulu and translated into English.
Four themes emerged from the data analysis, namely bringing services closer, organising services, expanding services and forming bridges. Respondents demonstrated insightful knowledge and understanding of services provided by WBOTs. They expressed an appreciation of the way WBOT services brought healthcare closer to people and serve to bridge the gap between the community and local healthcare facilities. Respondents identified unclear WBOT work schedules and the failure to carry medication other than vitamin A as the main challenges. However, WBOTs did deliver medication for controlled chronic patients in their households.
The study suggests that WBOTs provide a commendable service, but need to expand their service package to further increase access to PHC services and cater for community health needs.
病房外展团队（WBOTs）的目标是改善南非初级医疗保健（PHC）服务的可及性，包括健康促进和疾病预防。在南非，关于农村家庭用户对WBOTs提供服务的看法的信息有限。
该研究旨在探索社区对WBOTs的认知和看法，以及人们参与和使用WBOTs服务的动机。
该研究于2015年7月至9月在夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省的伊伦贝区进行。
这是一项探索性描述性定性研究。本研究采用了目的抽样技术。共进行了16次关键 informant访谈和4次焦点小组讨论。语音记录被转录为伊西祖鲁语并翻译成英语。
数据分析得出了四个主题，即拉近服务距离、组织服务、扩展服务和建立桥梁。受访者对WBOTs提供的服务表现出深刻的了解和理解。他们对WBOTs服务将医疗保健带给人们的方式以及弥合社区与当地医疗机构之间差距的作用表示赞赏。受访者指出，WBOTs工作时间表不明确以及除维生素A外未携带其他药物是主要挑战。然而，WBOTs确实为家中的慢性病患者提供了药物。
该研究表明，WBOTs提供了值得称赞的服务，但需要扩展其服务包，以进一步增加初级医疗保健服务的可及性并满足社区的健康需求。
