Levels and Correlates of Physical Activity in Rural Ingwavuma Community, uMkhanyakude District, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

On the Efficacy of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Unsettling Coloniality

Indigenous groups across Africa mobilized Indigenous Knowledge (IK) practices, albeit not without challenges, to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) continue to be sidelined in formal healthcare policies and programmes. This underscores the urgency to liberate Africa's epistemologies. Employing the decoloniality lens, this paper examined the colonial influences inherent in African responses to COVID-19 while also exploring the role of IKS in the uMkhanyakude District Municipality (UKDM). The argument is made that, in the case of the UKDM, the efficacy of IKS was demonstrated in the response to and fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the basis for the call to embrace and recognize that IKS is a legitimate body of knowledge comparable to Western science. Such recognition paves the way for more equitable, contextually relevant, and sustainable health strategies that can better address the complexities of current and future pandemics.

Prevalence and Correlates of Insufficient Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 18-69 Years in India: Findings From the National Noncommunicable Disease Monitoring Survey

BACKGROUND

Sufficient physical activity (PA) significantly contributes to the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases. This study aims to determine the prevalence of insufficient PA and associated sociodemographic and lifestyle factors among adults aged 18-69 years in India.

METHODS

A national population-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted during 2017-2018 among 12,000 adults that adapted globally standard data collection tools. The data were weighted and analyzed using complex samples analysis. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with insufficient PA.

RESULTS

Age standardized prevalence of insufficient PA among adults in India was 41.4%. A higher proportion of women (52.4%) and urban adults (51.7%) were not doing sufficient PA. Men (118.8 min) spent more time in PA per day than women (55.3 min). Higher odds of insufficient PA were significantly associated with unemployment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 6.45), highest wealth quintile (aOR = 1.86), presence of central obesity (aOR = 1.24), and raised blood pressure (aOR = 1.22).

CONCLUSION

This study provides the baseline prevalence of insufficient PA to monitor the set PA targets for India by 2025. The identified associated factors can guide policy makers to plan tailored interventions targeting high-risk groups and a multisectoral approach to promote PA.

Hypertension care cascade in the Ingwavuma rural community, uMkhanyakude District, KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa

Background

Treatment and control of hypertension are associated with a substantial reduction in adverse cardiovascular disease outcomes. Although South Africa aims to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases, there is limited evidence on the hypertension care cascade (HCC) performance in rural areas where stroke and hypertension are high. This study estimated HCC performance and identified predictors of hypertension screening among adults in the Ingwavuma community of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. Data were collected using the WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) questionnaire from 400 adult participants, excluding pregnant women and those with physical or cognitive impairments. Three hundred and ninety-three participants had complete data, and 131 had high blood pressure. We calculated progression rates for screening, diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension from the sub-sample of participants with high blood pressure and assessed the bivariate association between HCC stages and participant characteristics and their effect sizes. We used binary and multivariable logistic regression to identify predictors of hypertension screening.

Results

Eighty-eight per cent of participants reported prior screening for hypertension. However, only 53.5% of patients under pharmacological treatment for hypertension had controlled blood pressure. In bivariate regression, employed participants were 80.3% (COR = 0.197, 95% CI [0.042–0.921]) more likely to be screened. In multivariable regression, the likelihood of hypertension screening was 82.4% (AOR = 0.176, 95% CI [0.047–0.655]) lower among participants in a cohabiting union than single participants. Similarly, employed participants were 87.4% (AOR = 0.129, 95% CI [0.017–0.952]) less likely to be screened than their unemployed counterparts.

Conclusions

The considerable attrition from the HCC across socio-demographic categories indicates a need for community-wide interventions. Empowering health care workers for community-based health promotion and hypertension management through point-of-care diagnostic tools could improve HCC performance. Efforts to improve the HCC should also focus on social determinants of health, notably gender and formal educational attainment.

Physical Activity for Health and Wellness

Regular physical activity (PA) is both a preventive measure and a cure for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) [...].