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07 November 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied
Implementation Science Workshop 2024
Building capacity for the use of implementation science. The Principal Investigators of the project; Dr Phindile Shangase from UFS, left, and Dr Lebogang Mogongoa from the Central University of Technology, with Dr Shalini Ahuja from King’s College London, centre, who facilitated the workshops.

The Division of Public Health at the University of the Free State (UFS) together with the Central University of Technology (CUT), held a successful workshop (first phase) for their project: Capacity building for the use of implementation science in various typologies in low- and middle-income countries for the prevention and/or management of the quadruple burden of disease.

According to the National Institute for Health as well as the World Health Organisation, implementation science supports innovative approaches to identifying, understanding, and overcoming barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up and sustainability of evidence-based interventions, tools, policies, and guidelines. Implementation research therefore pertains to gathering and analysing implementation evidence of effectiveness that determines if the intervention works in real-world circumstances.

The Principal Investigator at UFS is Dr Phindile Shangase from the Division of Public Health, supported by colleagues in the Division, as well as the CUT team, led by Dr Lebogang Mogongoa. The first phase of the project took place from 14-17 October 2024 with the first two days held at UFS.

In this co-funded project, UFS and CUT engage in partnership capacity building for academics and postgraduate students. At the UFS, the project is funded by the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation and resulted from the CUT and UFS Joint Research Programme Research Grant 9th Call.

Contributing to evidence-based policies and practices

Dr Shangase says the workshops of this project were well attended by academics, researchers, postgraduate and postdoctoral students from different disciplines, and community organisations, including programme managers, as well as clinicians from the Department of Health. Other stakeholders and international students who could not travel for face-to-face interactions attended live on UFS YouTube.

Workshops were facilitated by Dr Shalini Ahuja from King’s College, London, who is an international expert and experienced in this field through engaging in research as well as field facilitation in various low- and middle-income countries.

Says Dr Shangase: “Implementation science is the study of methods and strategies to promote the systematic uptake of research findings. It contributes to evidence-based policies and practices and ensures that they are implemented effectively to achieve their intended outcomes, through the identification of barriers and facilitators to implementation. These strategies can therefore be integrated effectively into routine practice in healthcare, public health, and other fields.

“Reviewed studies indicate that the effectiveness of implementation research is noted in the identification and investigation of factors that address disparities in healthcare delivery and outcomes, including those within the health systems and in the population. In simple terms, the goal of implementation science is to understand how and why some interventions succeed while others fail, and to identify the best ways to integrate research-backed interventions into real-world settings for maximum impact and to ensure they continue to be used and remain effective over time,” says Dr Shangase.

Purpose of project

According to her, in the context of South Africa, implementation science has potential to assist in addressing the quadruple burden of disease which comprise of these colliding epidemics: maternal, newborn and child health; HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB); non-communicable diseases (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancers, and diabetes); and violence and injury.

The purpose of this project, explains Dr Shangase, is to capacitate academics and postgraduate students at the UFS and CUT as well as community stakeholders with knowledge and skills regarding the processes and factors involved in the successful integration of evidence-based public health improvement interventions into routine practice and policy.

“Implementation science offers a strategic, data-driven approach for South Africa, especially in addressing the country’s unique and complex healthcare challenges. These advantages stem from its focus on translating evidence-based interventions into real-world practice, addressing the quadruple burden of disease and helping overcome systemic obstacles to effective healthcare delivery.

“These advantages make implementation science a vital tool for improving health outcomes and achieving sustainable public health progress in South Africa.”

The next phase of this project is expected to be more innovative and takes place between February and March in 2025 with the inclusion of a multistakeholder team.

News Archive

Cochlear implant changes Magteld's world
2009-11-06

The microphone is ready for Magteld Smith’s (second from the left) first radio interview after the cochlear implant was switched on by Mr Henk Wolmarans (right) of MedEl. With them are, from the left: Ms Vicki Fourie, Deaf Miss SA, Ms Eunika Smith from the SABC and Prof. Jonathan Jansen.
Photo: Leatitia Pienaar


Magteld Smith gave her first steps towards the world of the hearing when her cochlear implant was switched on in the Universitas Hospital this week.

A whole team was there to share her joy and disbelief and amazement the moment she could hear noises, voices and conversations. Among them were the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof. Jonathan Jansen, and the acting dean of the Faculty of Heath Sciences at the UFS, Prof. Gert van Zyl.

“I can hear my own voice! I haven’t heard it for a long time. My wish is that every deaf child can get something like this,” she said while prodding Prof. Jansen to speak so that she can hear his voice.

Magteld is working at the university's Centre for Health Systems Research and Development and was deaf since birth. She lost her last bit of hearing due to meningitis last year. Her hearing aids could then not assist her to communicate and a cochlear implant was the only option.

A donation by the Austrian company MedEl made the implant possible. Prof. André Claassen, Head of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at the UFS, says MedEl was also instrumental in the establishment of the implant programme at the Universitas Hospital and sponsored the first five implants at a total cost of R1 million.

Prof. Claassen says 27 implants have already been done here, but it came to an abrupt halt due to a lack of funds. Strong hearing aids are expensive and cochlear implants are even more expensive at R200 000 each. People with hearing disabilities must be identified at an early age as the brain’s ability to learn sound and voice diminishes after the age of three.
 

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