The page number in the footer is not for bibliographic referencingwww.tandfonline.com/ojfp 57 RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACTS South African Family Practice is co-published by Medpharm Publications, NISC (Pty) Ltd and Cogent, Taylor & Francis Group S Afr Fam Pract ISSN 2078-6190 EISSN 2078-6204 © 2016 The Author(s) RESEARCH South African Family Practice 2016; 1(1):1–6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20786190.2015.1120935 Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 Physical activity of children from a small rural town, South Africa E Minnaara* , CC Grantb and L Fletcherc a Private Practice General Practitioner, Hennenman, South Africa b Section Sports Medicine, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa c Department of Statistics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa *Corresponding author, email: izetminnaar@gmail.com Introduction: Physical activity plays an integral role in the normal physical, mental, social and cognitive development of children. One of the main reasons for overweight children in low- and middle-income countries like South Africa is inactivity. This study’s aim was to describe the physical activity measured in boys and girls from section 21, quintile 5 pre-primary and primary schools in a small rural South African town and to compare it with recommended international physical activity levels. Method: Seventy-eight rural children, representing Caucasian and black African children, divided into three age groups, were issued a piezoelectric pedometer for seven complete days. Pedometer data obtained were total steps, aerobic steps, aerobic walking time, calories and distance. Steps per day were compared with international levels. Correlation statistics examined the association between physical activity and adiposity. Results: Boys in the age groups 9–11 and 12–14  years are statistically more active than girls of the same age (p = 0.005 and 0.045 respectively). Although girls’ physical activity levels tend to decrease with age, their aerobic activity levels increase with age. This group of rural children’s physical activity levels are far lower than the recommended international normative levels. No correlation was found between physical activity and adiposity. Conclusion: The pedometer data indicated that gender and age influence the activity of children. This group of rural children’s physical activity is far less than international normative levels. Nine to 11-year-old boys are the most active boys, and girls of 12–14 years old are the most aerobic active girls in this study, therefore the authors concluded that, to increase physical activity, the age group 9–11 may be the ideal age to focus on for gender-specific intervention programmes. Keywords: children, descriptive study, pedometer, physical activity, steps per day, South Africa Introduction Physical activity plays an integral role in all aspects of the development of a healthy child. Physical activity is not only important for the physical development of children,1 but is also important to establish social structures, enhance sensory and emotional intelligence, and stimulate cognitive development.2 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), low- and middle-income countries are witnessing the fastest rise in overweight children.3 This was confirmed by a review of South African literature, indicating high levels of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents; inactivity was identified as one of the major causes.4 Information available on activity levels in low- and middle- income countries indicated high volume at low-intensity activity.5 However, little is known about the influence of age and gender on physical activity in the children from these countries. For this study, pedometers were chosen to quantify physical activity. The rationale for their use is the increase in their popularity due to the fact that they are relatively inexpensive devices and produce good, reliable measurements of physical activity levels.6 The aim of this study was to determine and describe the physical activity in boys and girls from different age groups living in a small rural town in South Africa, and to compare it with recommended international standards. A secondary objective of this study was to determine the association between adiposity of the school children (body mass index) and their physical activity (total steps taken per day). Study setting The study town, primarily supported by agriculture and local industries, has a population of 3 792 people and is classified by the South African Treasury as a small rural town (B3).7 This town has only three schools from which to choose children for this study: a pre-primary, primary and secondary school. Methodology Permission for the study was obtained from the primary and pre- primary school principals from the local Department of Education, the appropriate MMed Committee and the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria (Number 182/2012). The trial was registered on the South African National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC) website (Application ID 3189). The children asked to participate in the study were from the local primary and pre-primary schools (both section 21, quintile 5 schools) respectively. Three age groups of children were invited to participate in the study: children between the ages 12– 14  years (group A), between 9 and 11  years (Group B) and between 5 and 6 years (Group C). Thirty children per age group were chosen as a sample of convenience. Children identified as per the protocol were randomly selected from the alphabetical class lists by choosing every third child till the required number of children was reached. S Afr Fam Pract 2015; DOI:10.1080/20786190.2015.1120935Abstract (Full text available online at www.tandfonline.com/ojfp) South African Family Practice is co-published by Medpharm Publications, NISC (Pty) Ltd and Cogent, Taylor & Francis Group S Afr Fam Pract ISSN 2078-6190 EISSN 2078-6204 © 2016 The Author(s) RESEARCH South African Family Practice 2016; 1(1):1–6 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20786190.2015.1120936 Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons License [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0] http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 South African–Cuban Medical Collaboration: students’ perceptions of training and perceived competence in clinical skills at a South African institution M Motalaab* and J Van Wyka a School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa b Nelson R Mandela School of Medicine, Durban, South Africa *Corresponding author, email: motalam@ukzn.ac.za Background: The South African–Cuban Medical Collaboration programme aims to alleviate the critical shortage of practitioners in local South African rural settings. The students who return from Cuban-based facilities in their fourth year experience difficulty, especially in clinical settings, upon joining the MB ChB final-year student programme at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Attempts to support their skills acquisition for local practice have led to an investigation of their prior clinical skills exposures, the curricular context and exposures in Cuba in which skills had been acquired, and students’ perceptions of their competence in clinical skills. Methods: This descriptive, cross-sectional study explored the clinical experiences of the 2013 cohort of students. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected through questionnaires that explored the curricular approach and setting of clinical skills training in Cuba, the students’ exposure to clinical skills and their perceptions of their competence at performing these skills. Results: Students experienced the Cuban curriculum as didactic and lecture intensive as opposed to the systematic, problem- based curriculum offered in South Africa. Clinical training in Cuba occurs in hospital wards while local students first train in a clinical skills laboratory prior to hospital exposures. The majority of students self-reported a lack of clinical exposure to 35 of an overall 75 core-skills list as identified by the undergraduate UKZN curriculum. In addition, they reported an inability to perform 71 of the 75 (95%) skills independently. Conclusion: This study has highlighted a mismatch between the focus and scope of clinical training offered to students studying in Cuba and those at a South African institution. Keywords: clinical skills, competence, Cuba, medical education, South Africa Introduction South Africa’s (SA) critical shortage of doctors is reflected in the ratio that estimates the number of doctors as being approximately 0.57 per 1 000 people. This ratio compares poorly with the average 2–5 doctors per 1 000 people as reported in developed countries.1 The shortage is even more apparent in rural areas where approximately 43% of the population often face greater health challenges such as having access to a mere 12% of the medical workforce.2 Efforts to address the critical health worker shortage have seen the SA government entering into various initiatives. The collaboration with the Cuban government to train local SA students in Cuban medical facilities was undertaken with the ultimate aim to return to local, rural medical practice.3 The first group of 92 students began their Cuban medical training in 1996.4 The South African–Cuban Medical Collaboration (SACMC) programme entails the recruitment of black, disadvantaged high school graduates from rural provinces in SA for medical training in Cuba. All students on this programme are offered a full scholarship with the understanding that they would return to SA rural provinces to practise in the public sector in rural and underserved areas of SA for the same amount of time they spent training in Cuba.4 Students on the programme study in Cuba for the first 6 of a 7.5 year programme. The first year at the Cuban institute involves receiving premedical bridging training during which students become proficient in Spanish for instruction at the Cuban facilities. The SACMC students then spend two years studying the basic sciences followed by three years of clinical sciences at one of three collaborating Cuban medical training facilities. After these six years of university training in Cuba, the SACMC students join one of eight SA medical schools for 18 months of SA training. At the time of the study, the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) had a five-year MB ChB. Students on the SACMC scholarship programme who returned to the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine (NRMSM) of the UKZN in 2013 joined the local fourth-year class in the second semester of their training. They spent four to six months adjusting to the SA clinical setting without having had to take any of the examinations. The SACMC students joined the local fifth-year class at the start of the new academic year to continue in the SA curriculum. This entailed participating in clinical rotations, attending ward rounds, clerking patients, keeping logbooks and completing the block assessments and clinical examinations with their peers who were completing the local medical programme at the NRMSM. During this time the students became familiar with the SA health care system to complete their training as required to practise as an intern in SA. In general, the SACMC students complete the SA examinations and a final examination as set by examiners in Cuba and then graduate with their medical degree. Figure 1 provides a diagrammatic overview of the structure of the SACMC programme and the students’ movement between the programmes and the countries. The SACMC students return to SA before having reached the end point in the Cuban curriculum. Interactions with SACMC students who join the SA group suggest that they face many challenges during their reintegration. The challenges include adjusting to the academic and social context in SA. The SACMC students S Afr Fam Pract 2015; DOI:10.1080/20786190.2015.1120936Abstract (Full text available online at www.tandfonline.com/ojfp)