scholarly journals Self-Reported Physical Activity in Middle-Aged and Older Adults in Rural South Africa: Levels and Correlates

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 6325
Author(s):  
Simone A. Tomaz ◽  
Justine I. Davies ◽  
Lisa K. Micklesfield ◽  
Alisha N. Wade ◽  
Kathleen Kahn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Global Physical Activity Questionnaire ◽  
Age Range

Little is known about physical activity (PA) levels and correlates in adults from rural settings in South Africa, where a rapid increase in the number of older people and marked disparities in wealth are evident, particularly between those living in rural and urban areas. This paper describes levels of self-reported PA in rural South African men and women and examines factors associated with meeting PA guidelines. Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal studies of INDEPTH communities (HAALSI) survey of 5059 adults aged over 40 years were assessed. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess socio-demographic, functional and cognitive capacity, and chronic disease measures associated with PA. In addition, 75.4% (n = 3421) of the participants with valid GPAQ data (n = 4538 of 5059) met the PA guidelines. Factors associated with not the meeting PA guidelines were being male, over the age of 80 years, being in a higher wealth category, obesity, and poorer functional capacity. These findings highlight worthwhile targets for future interventions to maintain or improve PA levels in this population and suggest that intervening earlier within this age range (from 40 years) may be crucial to prevent the ‘spiral of decline’ that characterizes the frailty syndrome.

scholarly journals Socio-economic development through the exploitation of natural resources in rural South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 44-52
Author(s):  
Akwasi Arko-Achemfuor
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Rural South ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rural South Africa

South Africa has many developmental challenges but three have been identified as affecting each other. The three challenges are unemployment, poverty and inequality. The Second Quarter Report by Statistics South Africa (STATSSA) confirms that poverty, unemployment and inequality are highest in rural areas and most especially among people with no or little education. Meanwhile, many people in rural South Africa have access to land which can be used to produce food for the ever increasing population in both the rural and urban areas, as well as for export and other value adding agribusinesses. The task of addressing the challenges of poor communities calls for a multi-stakeholder approach which can include the private sector, NGOs, communities, traditional leaders and the state coming together to pursue economic transformation in rural South Africa by tapping into the natural resources nature has provided for the communities. This article reports on how some stakeholders have come together to transform a rural community in South Africa. The paper uses qualitative data from personal and focus group interviews and observations as the main data collection instruments. The findings indicate that the stakeholders have been able to empower a community by tapping into and effectively using the natural resources in an area to transform it through collaborations and partnerships. The model is recommended to the government and development practitioners for adoption on how the natural resources that exist within communities can be exploited and effectively managed to transform rural economies to ensure inclusive growth and development.

scholarly journals Validity of two physical activity questionnaires (IPAQ and PAQA) for Vietnamese adolescents in rural and urban areas

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl K Lachat ◽  
Roosmarijn Verstraeten ◽  
Le Khanh ◽  
Maria Hagströmer ◽  
Nguyen Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Activity Questionnaires

DEATH ‘ON THE MOVE’: FUNERALS, ENTREPRENEURS AND THE RURAL–URBAN NEXUS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Africa ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 226-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Lee
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Funeral Directors ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Cultural Mediators ◽  
The Dead

ABSTRACTThis article primarily concerns the intersection of the changing management of death with the problems and possibilities presented by the growing mobility of the African, and specifically Xhosa-speaking, population in South Africa from the latter half of the twentieth century to the present day. I am interested in how shifts in the practices and beliefs around death are mediated by individuals, households and businesses who have an historical affinity towards movement, particularly across what has been called the ‘rural–urban nexus’. In what ways has this more mobile orientation influenced the perception of rites and responsibilities surrounding death? And how have more mobile ‘ways of dying’ in turn created new subjectivities and new ways in which to imagine relations between the living and the dead? I argue that African funeral directors based in Cape Town and the rural areas of the Eastern Cape – a steadily more numerous and prominent group of entrepreneurs – are well-placed to shape these processes, through their role as cultural mediators and technological innovators, and their particular emphasis on maintaining a flow of bodies (both dead and alive) between rural and urban areas. I focus on two aspects of contemporary South African funerals – embalming and exhumations – that are suggestive of how the migration dynamic, and the continuing demands from mobile mourners for innovations via the funeral industry, have encouraged new perceptions of and relations to the dead body.

scholarly journals Level of physical activity and quality of life: a comparative study among the elderly of rural and urban areas

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Pedroso Barbosa ◽  
Tatiane Gomes Teixeira ◽  
Bianca Orlandi ◽  
Naiane Teixeira Bastos de Oliveira ◽  
Maria Helena Villas Boas Concone
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Rural Group

Objective : To investigate if the relationship between physical activity level (PAL) and quality of life (QOL) is affected by living environment (rural or urban). Method : A quantitative, observational and cross-sectional study was performed. Of the 40 participants of both genders, 20 were residents of urban areas and 20 were residents of rural areas in the town of Pimenta Bueno (RO), Brazil. The WHOQOL BREF and IPAQ Long Version questionnaires were used to assess QOL and PAL, respectively. Mann Whitney and Fisher's Exact were used to statistically compare groups for QOL and PAL scores. The correlation between the two was tested by the Spearman test. A significance level of p<0.05 was used. Results : No differences between the rural and urban areas for QOL or PAL were found. In the rural group a positive and significant correlation was found between PAL and the physical, psychological and complete QOL domains. In terms of PAL, elderly persons from the rural area who were regularly active had higher total QOL and physical domain scores than insufficiently active elderly individuals from the rural area. When place of residence was compared, insufficiently active elderly in the urban area had higher scores on the social component of QOL than insufficiently active elderly from the rural group. Among regularly active seniors, those living in the rural area had higher physical QOL scores. Conclusion : According to the results, level of physical activity exerts a differential influence on the QOL of elderly people from rural and urban areas.

scholarly journals Reframing the policy discourse: A comparative analysis of teacher preparation for rural and remote education in Australia, South Africa and Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Susan Ledger ◽  
Alfred Masinire ◽  
Miguel Angel Díaz Delgado ◽  
Madeline Burgess
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Policy Texts

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has highlighted a ‘vicious cycle of decline’ in rural, regional and remote (RRR) regions, with significant inequalities in educational outcomes between rural and urban areas. However, interventions have not resulted in transformative or lasting improvements to education in rural contexts. This paper presents a cross-comparative country analysis of current global policy on RRR education. We used a policy analysis framework to interrogate national policy texts concerning teacher education for RRR contexts in three countries - Australia, South Africa and Mexico. A rigorous selection process of the literature yielded 17 key policy texts, which were examined for the influences, practices, language and outcomes relating to teacher education preparation for RRR locales. Findings highlighted a legacy of historical influences and a metrocentric bias in policy texts, with limited examples of assets-based education. We argue that these factors may be perpetuating the significant and persistent disadvantage in RRR education. We recommend an alternative policy discourse that recognises the productivities and potentialities of an assets-based approach within the local context, where school leaders and teachers are positioned as central change agents in RRR education.

scholarly journals Assessing the Effectiveness of e-Government and e-Governance in South Africa: During National Lockdown 2020

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
P.P. Blom ◽  
D.E. Uwizeyimana
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Municipal Services ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Services Delivery ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Government

This article aims to assess the effectiveness of e-Government and e-Governance service during the national lockdown in South Africa. The focus of this article is on e-Health, e-Education and e-Municipal Services delivery, as these are the most sought-after e-Services during the national lockdown caused by COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in 2020. Education, health, and municipal services are some of the core functions that could not be paused during the lockdown due to their importance. The methodology used in this research is mainly qualitative. Unobtrusive research techniques based on documentary and theoretical analysis will be applied to assess the state and use of e-Government and e-Governance within the public sector during the national lockdown in South Africa. The findings of this article suggest that government failed to achieve its objective of building an inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) infrastructure in South Africa. Even though steps have been taken by the government to provide free access to basic e-Services, network coverage, and ICT infrastructures, poverty and inequality remain the major challenges in rural areas. The findings of this research suggest that the South African government needs to build ICT infrastructures in rural areas and to provide citizens with training on how to utilise ICT infrastructures in order to reduce the gap between rural and urban areas.

scholarly journals Factors associated with physical growth of children during the first two years of life in rural and urban areas of Vietnam

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huong Thu Nguyen ◽  
Bo Eriksson ◽  
Max Petzold ◽  
Göran Bondjers ◽  
Toan Khanh Tran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Physical Growth ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document