{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T17:07:12Z","timestamp":1785431232304,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":10,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]],"date-time":"2026-01-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1768953600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background:\u00a0Power outages are prevalent in low- and middle-income countries. They cause a partial or complete interruption of power supply for electrical customers, including the public, businesses and essential services. This study explored the experiences of patients at Pretoria Primary Healthcare facilities during power outages.\nMethods:\u00a0This was a qualitative study with a descriptive phenomenology design using focus group discussions in three Community Health Centres (Soshanguve 3, Phedisong 4 and Kgabo) of Pretoria.\nResults:\u00a0Of the 19 respondents, 12 (63.12%) were women and 7 (36.84%) were men. The average age was 50.52, with a minimum of 30 years old and a maximum of 74 years old. Four themes emerged from the analysis: restricted healthcare services during power outages, alternatives available during power outages, patient perceptions of staff behaviour and attitudes during power outages and recommendations for mitigating the effects of power outages. These were expanded upon two sub-themes: previous attempts to involve staff for improvement and strategies for minimising the consequences of power outages in clinics.\nConclusion:\u00a0In the selected Pretoria Primary Healthcare facilities, power outages disrupted medical services such as diagnostic, treatment and administration, resulting in extended waiting times and poor health outcomes. Generators and other restricted alternatives for resolving the problem were used.\nContribution:\u00a0Negative health effects can be prevented if the current issue is considered in the healthcare system.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/jcmsa.v4i1.254","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T12:01:00Z","timestamp":1768824060000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Patients\u2019 views of the healthcare services during power outages in Pretoria Primary Healthcare"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"4","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-5405-5105","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thando T.","family":"Mnisi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0574-1062","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tombo","family":"Bongongo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8816-8382","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adeline M.","family":"Nkoane","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/003hsr719","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"Pescaroli G, Turner S, Gould T, Alexander DE, Wicks RT. 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JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(11):e213900. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1001\/jamahealthforum.2021.3900","DOI":"10.1001\/jamahealthforum.2021.3900"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Reuland F, Behnke N, Cronk R, et al. Energy access in Malawian healthcare facilities: Consequences for health service delivery and environmental health conditions. Health Policy Plan. 2020;35(2):142\u2013152. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/heapol\/czz118","DOI":"10.1093\/heapol\/czz118"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Otiangala D, Agai NO, Olayo B, et al. Oxygen insecurity and mortality in resource-constrained healthcare facilities in rural Kenya. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2020;55(4):1043\u20131049. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ppul.24679","DOI":"10.1002\/ppul.24679"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gehringer C, Rode H, Schomaker M. The effect of electrical load shedding on pediatric hospital admissions in South Africa. Epidemiology. 2018;29(6):841\u2013847. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/EDE.0000000000000905","DOI":"10.1097\/EDE.0000000000000905"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Laher AE, Van Aardt BJ, Craythorne AD, Van Welie M, Malinga DM, Madi S. \u2018Getting out of the dark\u2019: Implications of load shedding on healthcare in South Africa and strategies to enhance preparedness. S Afr Med J. 2019;109(12):899\u2013901. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7196\/SAMJ.2019.v109i12.14322","DOI":"10.7196\/SAMJ.2019.v109i12.14322"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Munyaradzi M. Power cuts and South Africa\u2019s health care. Lancet. 2023;401(10386): 1413. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00850-4","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(23)00850-4"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mothupi MN, Ndimande JV, Nkoane MA, Steyn C, Bongongo T. Doctors\u2019 experiences regarding patient referral to tertiary care in Pretoria, South Africa. J Coll Med S Afr. 2024;2(1):a46. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/jcmsa.v2i1.46","DOI":"10.4102\/jcmsa.v2i1.46"},{"key":"ref9","unstructured":"Greene L. 7 lifesaving power solution when the grid goes down [homepage on the Internet]. 2024 [cited 2025 Sept 09]. Available from: https:\/\/www.bing.com\/search?pglt=43&q=Greene+L.+7+lifesaving+power+solution+when+the+grid+goes+down+%5Bhomepage+on+the+Internet%5D.+2024&cvid=d116abcbd3d84df38aef2c5e9b9c5e7f&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDkyBggAEEUYOTIICAEQ6QcY_FXSAQg4NDM2ajBqMagCALACAA&FORM=ANSAB1&PC=U531"}],"container-title":["Journal of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa"],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T12:01:03Z","timestamp":1768824063000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jcmsa.org.za\/index.php\/jcmsa\/article\/view\/254"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"references-count":10,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/jcmsa.v4i1.254","relation":{},"ISSN":["3105-4331","2960-110X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"3105-4331","type":"print"},{"value":"2960-110X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,21]]},"article-number":"a254"}}