Ubuntu philosophy as a strategy to promote access to under-five child healthcare services.
Livhuwani Tshivhase, Idah Moyo
PMID 40599043WHAT IT FOUND
Caregivers and providers described barriers to under-five care in sub-Saharan Africa: negative staff attitudes, language problems, stigma, long waits, distance, closed clinics, drug and staff shortages.
Family beliefs, education, support and money also affected access.
Key findings
01The review grouped barriers into parental or guardian factors, healthcare provider factors, and healthcare environment factors.
02Healthcare provider factors included staff attitudes and behaviours, difficult communication and language barriers, poor interpersonal relationships, and stigma.
03Healthcare environment factors included early health post closure, distance to facilities, overcrowding, long waiting times, and shortage of resources.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This review did not study patients or test an intervention. It included only peer-reviewed English-language articles from sub-Saharan Africa. The included evidence was largely qualitative, so the findings describe experiences rather than prove effects. Different study designs were combined, so findings could not be directly compared.
Declared interests
The authors reported no specific funding from public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these barriers as proof that teaching ubuntu values improves under-five healthcare access. The review synthesised experiences and themes; it did not test an intervention or measure patient outcomes.