scholarly journals Cognitive Function and Impairment in Older, Rural South African Adults: Evidence from “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in Rural South Africa”

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 32-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay C. Kobayashi ◽  
Farrah J. Mateen ◽  
Livia Montana ◽  
Ryan G. Wagner ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Rural South Africa

Grandchild Caregiving and Cognitive Health Among Grandparents in Rural South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110065
Author(s):  
Elyse A. Jennings ◽  
Meagan T. Farrell ◽  
Lindsay C. Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
South African ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Conclusive Evidence ◽  
Rural South ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Black South African ◽  
Rural South Africa

Objectives: We investigate how caregiving for grandchildren is associated with cognitive function among rural South Africans, and whether the association differs by gender. We further investigate whether measures of physical activity or social engagement mediate this association. Methods: Data were from interviews with 3668 Black, South African grandparents in the “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa” study, conducted between 2014 and 2015. Results: We find that caregiving grandparents have better cognitive function than non-caregiving grandparents, and this association does not differ by grandparent gender. Although grandchild caregiving is associated with physical activity and social engagement measures, and some of these measures are associated with cognitive function, we do not find conclusive evidence of mediation. Discussion: Providing care for grandchildren may stimulate cognitive function for both grandmothers and grandfathers. Neither physical activity nor social engagement explains the association between caregiving and cognitive function.

The question of inclusion and representation in rural South Africa: challenging the concept of water user associations as a vehicle for transformation

Water Policy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Kemerink ◽  
L. E. Méndez ◽  
R. Ahlers ◽  
P. Wester ◽  
P. van der Zaag
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Water User Associations ◽  
Water User ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
Reform Processes ◽  
Rural South Africa

The promotion of local governance and the transfer of water management responsibilities to water user associations (WUAs) have been central in water reform processes throughout the world, including in the reforms that took place in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper reflects on the notions of inclusion and representation as put forward by the various actors involved in the establishment of a WUA in a tertiary catchment in the Thukela River Basin. The paper describes how the WUA in the study catchment came to be dominated by commercial farmers, despite the South African government's aim to redress the inequities of the past by the inclusion and representation of historically disadvantaged individuals. The authors argue that the notions of inclusion and representation as embedded in the concept of the WUA are highly contested and more aligned with the institutional settings familiar to the commercial farmers. The paper concludes that, unless the inherently political nature of the participatory process is recognized and the different institutional settings become part of the negotiation process of the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of progressive collaboration at catchment level, the establishment of the WUA in the study catchment will not contribute to achieving the envisioned transformation.

scholarly journals Book Review: Andrew Faull and Sindiso Mnisi Weeks

2018 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Bill (William) Dixon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Human Security ◽  
Police Work ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Cultural Contradictions ◽  
Rural South Africa

Review of: Andrew Faull, Police Work and Identity: A South African Ethnography, Abingdon, Routledge, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-138-23329-4 Sindiso Mnisi Weeks, Access to Justice and Human Security: Cultural Contradictions in Rural South Africa, Abingdon, Routledge, 2018 ISBN: 978-1-138-57860-9

scholarly journals Relationship between children’s cognitions and later educational progress in rural South Africa: a longitudinal study

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 422-426
Author(s):  
Melissa Cortina ◽  
Helen E Jack ◽  
Rebecca Pearson ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
Stephen Tollman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Psychological Functioning ◽  
Behavioural Therapy ◽  
Educational Progress ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Cognitive Triad ◽  
Rural South Africa

BackgroundChildren in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) who remain in school have better health and employment outcomes. South Africa, like many LMICs, has a secondary school completion rate under 50%, leaving room for improvement if we can identify factors that affect educational attainment. This is the first longitudinal study to examine the effects of childhood mental health and cognitions on educational outcomes in LMIC.MethodsUsing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Cognitive Triad Inventory for Children (CTI-C), we assessed the psychological functioning and cognition of children aged 10–12 in rural South Africa. We linked that data with measures of educational progress collected 5 years later and examined associations between educational progress and (1) behavioural and emotional problems and (2) cognitive interpretations, adjusting for possible confounders.ResultsEducational data were available for 443 individuals. 92% (n=408) of individuals had advanced three or fewer grades in 7 years. Having more positive cognitions (CTIC-C) was positively associated with progressing at least three grade levels (adjusted OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.79). There was no evidence for an association between emotional and behavioural problems (SDQ) and educational progress (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.72 to 1.11).ConclusionIf children in LMICs can develop more positive perspectives, they may be able to stay in school longer. Cognitions can be modified, and future studies should test interventions that work to improve cognition in childhood, guided, for example, by principles of cognitive–behavioural therapy.

scholarly journals WOMEN AS DIVINERS AND AS CHRISTIAN CONVERTS IN RURAL SOUTH AFRICA, c. 1880–1963

2016 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-389
Author(s):  
SEAN REDDING
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Spiritual Beliefs ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Cultural Mediators ◽  
Christian Families ◽  
African Families ◽  
Rural South Africa

AbstractThis article argues that rural South African women's importance as spiritual actors in the period from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries stemmed from their ability to embrace hybrid spiritual identities that corresponded closely to the lived reality of African rural life, and that by embracing those identities, women expanded their roles as social healers. Professing a belief in Christianity did not prevent individuals from practicing as diviners, nor did it prevent Christians from consulting diviners to determine the causes of death or misfortune. Similarly, young women who converted to Christianity often maintained close ties to non-Christian families and bridged spiritual lives on the mission stations with life in their families. Over this time period, women became cultural mediators who borrowed, adopted, and combined spiritual beliefs to provide more complete answers to problems faced by rural African families in South Africa.

scholarly journals Tourism and poverty in rural South Africa: A revisit

2020 ◽  
Vol 116 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daan Toerien
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Hospitality Sector ◽  
Tourism And Hospitality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Geography ◽  
Rural South Africa

Debates about the value of pro-poor tourism indicated a need to revisit the links between the dynamics of tourism and hospitality enterprises and community poverty in rural South African towns. The numbers of tourism and hospitality enterprises in these towns are related to population numbers by a power law with a sub-linear exponent. The residents of smaller South African towns are more dependent on the tourism and hospitality sector than are the residents of larger towns. Measurement of the enterprise dependency indices (EDIs) of these towns provides a valid measurement of their wealth/poverty states. Their EDIs are directly and negatively associated with the strength of their tourism and hospitality sectors. Communities in towns with more tourist and hospitality enterprises are overall wealthier, and vice versa. This finding contrasts with a previous view about tourism and poverty reduction in South Africa. Debates about the benefits of pro-poor tourism should include information about the impact of tourism on community wealth/poverty. The EDI is a simple, yet powerful, measure to provide poverty information. Expressing the number of tourism and hospitality enterprises per 1000 residents of towns enables comparisons of towns of different population sizes. Based on ideas of the ‘new geography of jobs’, it is clear that tourism is part of what is called the traded sector and results in inflows of external money into local economies. Tourism is a driver of prosperity and a reducer of poverty in South African towns.

scholarly journals Cognitive function and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in rural South Africa: baseline evidence from the HAALSI study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Houle ◽  
Thomas Gaziano ◽  
Meagan Farrell ◽  
F. Xavier Gómez-Olivé ◽  
Lindsay C. Kobayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cardiometabolic Risk ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiometabolic Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiometabolic Disease ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Cardiometabolic Disease Risk

Abstract Background Evidence on cognitive function in older South Africans is limited, with few population-based studies. We aimed to estimate baseline associations between cognitive function and cardiometabolic disease risk factors in rural South Africa. Methods We use baseline data from “Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa” (HAALSI), a population-based study of adults aged 40 and above in rural South Africa in 2015. Cognitive function was measured using measures of time orientation, immediate and delayed recall, and numeracy adapted from the Health and Retirement Study cognitive battery (overall total cognitive score range 0–26). We used multiple linear regression to estimate associations between cardiometabolic risk factors (including BMI, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, history of stroke, alcohol frequency, and smoking status) and the overall cognitive function score, adjusted for potential confounders. Results In multivariable-adjusted analyses (n = 3018; male = 1520; female = 1498; median age 59 (interquartile range 50–67)), cardiometabolic risk factors associated with lower cognitive function scores included: diabetes (b = − 1.11 [95% confidence interval: − 2.01, − 0.20] for controlled diabetes vs. no diabetes); underweight BMI (b = − 0.87 [CI: − 1.48, − 0.26] vs. normal BMI); and current and past smoking history compared to never smokers. Factors associated with higher cognitive function scores included: obese BMI (b = 0.74 [CI: 0.39, 1.10] vs. normal BMI); and controlled hypertension (b = 0.53 [CI: 0.11, 0.96] vs. normotensive). Conclusions We provide an important baseline from rural South Africa on the associations between cardiometabolic disease risk factors and cognitive function in an older, rural South African population using standardized clinical measurements and cut-offs and widely used cognitive assessments. Future studies are needed to clarify temporal associations as well as patterns between the onset and duration of cardiometabolic conditions and cognitive function. As the South African population ages, effective management of cardiometabolic risk factors may be key to lasting cognitive health.

scholarly journals Home deaths of children under 5 years in rural South Africa: a population‐based longitudinal study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Price ◽  
Merlin Willcox ◽  
Chodziwadziwa Whiteson Kabudula ◽  
Kobus Herbst ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Rural South Africa ◽  
Children Under 5
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