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10 October 2018 | Story UFS
UFS School of Nursing gets funding for mental health project
Ronelle Jansen received research funding to provide adolescents with improved access to mental health services and care.
Ronelle Jansen from the School of Nursing at the University of the Free State (UFS) received research funding as part of a multistakeholder capacity-building project to provide adolescents with improved access to mental health services and care in PHC (primary healthcare) settings. 

The research aims to develop and implement a mobile mental health (mHealth) application screening tool for primary healthcare workers (PHCW) to identify adolescent mental health problems and provide mental healthcare training. 

Under pressure 

Jansen (UFS team leader) says mental health screening is sometimes lacking at the clinic level, because the clinics are so busy. “PHCW are under huge pressure due to the number of people they have to see every day, and due to severe staff shortages.

“There is, amongst others, a huge amount of paperwork that needs to be completed for each patient. The nurses only get about 10 minutes to see each patient and mental health screening is seen as time consuming.”

Early identification 

Jansen says the mHealth tool will focus on adolescents and they hope that the mobile application will help nurses with early identification of mental health problems. The clinic staff will then be able to treat and refer the patient correctly. 

She says they hope an accessible and user-friendly mobile tool will also help to motivate PHCW to more regularly screen for mental health problems.

This research is a three-year project co-funded by the Erasmus + programme of the European Union. Nine universities will collaborate on the project. Other partner institutions include the Turku University of Applied Science in Finland (project coordinator); Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany; Riga Technical University in Latvia; the universities of Stellenbosch; Cape Town; Pretoria; the University of Zambia and the Lusaka Apex Medical University.

Jansen says the benefit of the research may be that PHCW will be better empowered to screen for mental health problems, with the aim to improve adolescent mental healthcare and train competent PHCW.

News Archive

UFS wins four gold medals at USSA Track and Field Championships
2010-05-13

Charles le Roux in action with the tripple jump at the  University Sport South Africa’s (USSA) Track and Field Championships.
Photo: DB Prinsloo
 
 Athletes from the University of the Free State (UFS) performed well by winning four gold medals at the University Sport South Africa’s (USSA) Track and Field Championships presented at Potchefstroom this year. Marizette Badenhorst (throwing the hammer), Boy Soke (half-marathon), PC Beneke (400 m hurdles) and Windy Jonas (800 m) all brought home gold.

Following closely on their heels with a silver medal was Anneri Ebersohn (400 m hurdles), Janette Siebert (high jump), Boy Soke (10 000 m) and the 4x100 m relay team consisting of Thuso Mpuang, Kagisho Kumbane, Ashford Motsau and Nelis de Kock.

Thuso Mpuang (100 m and 200 m), Dumisane Hlaselo (1 500 m and 5 000 m), Ratlale Mokone (800 m), Pieter Marx (400 m hurdles), Marionet van der Merwe (heptathlon), and the team consisting of Pieter Marx, PC Beneke, Hannes Naudé and Windy Jonas (4x400 m relay) each received a bronze medal for Kovsies.

The Kovsies men’s team came third and the women’s team fourth in the team competition.

According to Mr DB Prinsloo from KovsieSport, the Kovsie athletes acquitted themselves well and without exception gave their best.

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