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Current Projects
Introduction and Background
South Africa is one of the countries that have been selected as one of seven African Countries to participate in the Nursing Leadership Initiative (NLI) in fulfilling the realisation of Ambassador Nkengasong’s two – part vision for nursing, which is to:
- Elevate the nursing profession within PEPFAR-supported countries as part of a larger effort to strengthen the healthcare workforce globally and ensure HIV response gains are sustained.
- Equip the nursing workforce within PEPFAR-supported countries to lead and respond appropriately to issues of global health security, including HIV/AIDS
Four core priority areas were identified with a focus on building nursing leadership in the participating countries as a one – year project.
Successful implementation of the project required a structured approach. FUNDISA was identified as a nursing partner organization to implement the project activities in collaboration and consultation with the Chief Nursing Office Directorate in the National Department of Health and the primary recipient, FHI360.
Objectives
- Identify evidence – based core competencies for mid- and executive-level nurse leaders by reviewing literature and analysing theoretical frameworks within a month of project initiation.
- Analyse the competencies of mid- and executive-level nurse leaders and compare to evidence-based competencies documented in the literature immediately following the literature review.
- Develop a Nurse Leadership Development (NLD) framework for middle – and executive leaders in education and practice outlining leadership competencies, training modules, and assessment criteria within three months of completing the gap analysis.
- Implement the NLD framework through a pilot study, conducting training workshops for nurse leaders in education and practice in facilities in four (4) selected Provinces of South Africa within six months of finalising the framework.
- Develop a monitoring and evaluation system and establish key indicators to track implementation and assess the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of the NLD framework at the start of the project.
- Develop and implement a mentorship programme to guide and support nurse leaders who have undergone the training on one month before assessment of nurse leaders who have undergone the training.
- Share evidence – based best practice in nurse leadership through various platforms including conferences, seminars and publications in accredited journals within six months of completing the project.
Outcomes
- Enhanced leadership effectiveness.
- Improved patient outcomes.
- Informed evidence-based decision making.
- Sustainable leadership development
Past Successes
Introduction and Background
The mental health leadership development project aimed to build leadership skills among mental health practitioners who engage directly with people and communities and to identify issues relevant to the community based on evidence – based solutions to assist people in regaining their self – worth and dignity. The rising prevalence of mental disorders, compounded by the impact of COVID-19, highlights the urgent need for enhanced mental health leadership. Alarming statistics from SACAP and SADAG reveal high rates of anxiety, depression, and related issues in South Africa.
Objectives
- Identify mental health needs in their patients, families and communities in selected Provincial facilities.
- Build interprofessional mental health teams and support them to develop leadership skills in addressing challenges faced by patients, families and communities with common mental health disorders.
Target Population
Leadership development will not only benefit individuals and teams but will also benefit facilities where the participants of the project work patients, families and communities.
Outcomes
- Improve the ability of healthcare professionals in selected provincial facilities to identify mental health needs in patients, families, and communities.
- Establish and support interprofessional mental health teams within the facilities, fostering collaboration and leadership skills development to address common mental health challenges.
Introduction and Background
The PLUME project is a structured support programme designed to support nursing schools to develop research programmes. The project, in partnership with the National Research Foundation (NRF), aims to develop lead researchers who will not only create research intensive programmes in their schools, but also enhance their own skills, working towards NRF scientific rating.
Objective
- Build a research culture in nursing, build nursing research capacity, develop research programmes, and lead researchers who will ensure continuity and sustainability of nursing research in university nursing schools.
Target Population
Academic nurse researcher identified by a university’s nursing department.
Outcomes
- To build a research culture in nursing
- To build nursing research capacity
- To build research programmes
Publication
There were 43 publications that emanated from the PLUME project.
Introduction and Background
Over the past decade, South African nursing education has seen changes with the introduction of new qualifications emphasizing evidence-based practice (EBP). Mandated by higher education and nursing councils, nurse educators must now integrate EBP into curricula to improve decision-making skills. Despite acknowledging its importance, nurses face barriers in implementing EBP, highlighting the need to empower educators with the necessary knowledge and skills. The Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) project comprised of a series of online workshops which were aimed at strengthening the competency of nurse educators in South Africa.
Objectives
- Identify gaps in EBP among nurse educators in both public and private nursing education institutions prior to project implementation.
- Conduct EBP training workshops for two groups of nurse educators over a period of one year.
- To provide nurse educators with knowledge, skills and tools needed for the implementation of EBM during the duration of one year of the training workshops.
Target Population
Multidisciplinary health teams and the community.
Outcome
To equip nurse educators with knowledge and skills to apply evidence-based practice (EBP) in teaching, learning, guiding, and assessing students during teaching and learning.
Introduction and Background
Nursing education and training in South Africa is currently undergoing changes, which are driven by three main factors, namely the migration of nursing education to higher education, the COVID – 19 pandemic and the nursing shortage. The project was developed in response to the need to assist nurse educators to utilise digital technology to enable them to meet the teaching and learning needs of nursing students and to meet the competency and standards set by the South African Nursing Council (SANC) which are internationally comparable. The project was implemented though a gap analysis, a core-creation workshop, and a series of nurse educator capacity building workshops.
Objectives
- To conduct a gap analysis of the current education and training needs of nurse educators in South Africa to identify competencies that need strengthening.
- To develop strategies to strengthen the competency of nurse educators in innovative teaching and learning.
- To empower nurse educators with technological skills and enable digital learning.
Target Population
Nurse Educators in South Africa
Outcomes
- Identification of gaps and challenges nurse educators in the selected NEIs encounter in the teaching and learning environment.
- Development of strategies that strengthen the competency of nurse educators in innovative teaching and learning.
- Nurse educators who are competent in digital and technological skills needed to cope with the current challenges in nursing education.
Introduction and Background
The Academy prepared maternal-child health nurses and midwives to effectively lead inter-professional teams to improve the quality of healthcare for childbearing women and children up to 5 years old in a variety of health care settings. The project was piloted in South Africa in 2012-2013. Based on the success of the pilot in the North-West Province and the first cohort in Africa, inclusive of Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda, the funders continued to support a second cohort.
Objective
To improve the quality of healthcare for childbearing women and children up to 5 years old in a variety of health care settings.
Target Population
Maternal-child health nurses and midwives in positions of influence
Outcome
Improvement in the quality of healthcare for childbearing women and children up to 5 years old in a variety of health care settings
Publication
An article was published from the Maternal – Child Health Nurse Leadership Academy (MCHNLA) – STTI project.
Introduction and Background
The UNESDA was funded by AP (Atlantic Philanthropies), ELMA Philanthropies and involved six (6) institutions who identified individual projects in response to the overall aim of UNEDSA which were to enhance the quality of nursing scholarship and practice. The institutions were: Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), University of Fort Hare (UFH), University of the Free State (UFS), University of the Western Cape (UWC), University of Pretoria (UP) and University of Limpopo Medunsa Campus (ULMC).
Objectives
- Facilitate the transformation of nursing and strengthen research, clinical practice, and nursing education.
- Improve the quality of nursing education and research.
- Improve the quality of nursing clinical practice.
- Enhance the status of nursing professionals, and advance nursing practice.
Target Population
University Nursing Departments
Outcomes
- Facilitation of the transformation of nursing and strengthen research, clinical practice, and nursing education.
- Improvement of the quality of nursing education and research.
- Improvement the quality of nursing clinical practice.
- Enhanced status of nursing professionals, and advance nursing practice.
Publication
A publication emanated from the University based nursing education South Africa (UNEDSA) project.
Introduction and Background
The Nurse Education Partnership Initiative (NEPI) was a special initiative to address the critical shortage of health care workers in sub-Saharan Africa by strengthening the quality and capacity of nurses and midwives. ICAP and FUNDISA have supported nursing school faculty and staff to design skills labs that address population health needs, and provided in-country training in scenario development, competency evaluation, and skills lab management. The project was implemented in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, and South Africa. The training was provided by four nursing schools affiliated to FUNDISA: the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Objectives
- To provide technical expertise to selected schools of Nursing and Midwifery in 5 NEPI countries in the development of clinical simulation-based education with appropriate simulation-based teaching/learning resources and methodologies.
- To provide technical expertise in the development of a preceptorship program for country adaptation.
- To advise selected schools in developing clinical simulation laboratory plans, resources, and monitoring tool.
- To implement clinical simulation scenarios and evaluating the effectiveness of clinical simulation.
Target Population
University Nursing Departments
Outcomes
- Provision of technical expertise to selected schools of Nursing and Midwifery in 5 NEPI countries in the development of clinical simulation-based education with appropriate simulation-based teaching/learning resources and methodologies.
- Provision of technical expertise in the development of a preceptorship program for country adaptation.
- Provision of advice to selected schools in developing clinical simulation laboratory plans, resources, and monitoring tool.
Implementation of clinical simulation scenarios and evaluating the effectiveness of clinical
Introduction and Background
FUNDISA has strengthened its organizational capacity to sustain its core function in line with corporate governance structures through recruitment of relevant skills and ongoing skills development for FUNDISA staff. This ensures that FUNDISA structures are aligned with King III requirements for corporate governance and the independent code of governance for Non-Governmental Organizations.
Objective
To strengthen organizational capacity through recruitment of relevant skills and ongoing skills development for FUNDISA staff.
Target Population
FUNDISA staff
Outcome
Strengthened organizational capacity through recruitment of relevant skills and ongoing skills development for FUNDISA staff.
Introduction and Background
The cervical cancer screening project involved conducting a cluster randomized controlled trial of interventions to enhance cervical cancer screening uptake in South Africa
Objective – To conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial of interventions to enhance cervical cancer screening uptake in South Africa
Outcome
To have conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial of interventions to enhance cervical cancer screening uptake in South Africa.
Introduction and Background
Atlantic Philanthropies commissioned FUNDISA and Nursing Education Association (NEA) to provide project management services to KZNCN inclusive of capacity building and the development and implementation of the college’s strategic plan 2013-2018.
Objectives
- To provide project management services to KZNCN
- To develop college’s strategic plan 2013-2018.
- To implement college’s strategic plan 2013-2018.
Target Population
KZNCN nursing academics
Outcomes
- Provision of project management services to KZNCN
- Development of KZNCN’s strategic plan 2013-2018.
- Implementation college’s strategic plan 2013-2018.