{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T12:20:49Z","timestamp":1787746849216,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"AOSIS","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"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:\u00a0In South Africa, infectious disease outbreaks are common and pose severe public health threats. To mitigate outbreaks, health promotion plays a significant role. However, the role of health promotion practitioners remains obscure.\nAim:\u00a0To describe the role of health promotion practitioners during outbreaks in the OR Tambo District.\nSetting:\u00a0The study was conducted in the Oliver Reginald (OR) Tambo District, a predominantly rural area in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.\nMethods:\u00a0The study used a qualitative descriptive-phenomenological design. The population comprised health promotion practitioners with a tertiary qualification. These were selected using snowball sampling until data saturation. Data were collected using individual face-to-face and telephonic interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data.\nResults:\u00a0The sample consisted of 14 participants, with the majority (57.1%,\u00a0n\u00a0= 8) being female. Three themes were identified. Firstly, the implementation role in planning and health education. This was supported by three subthemes: (1) planning and organising, (2) health education collaboration with government departments and (3) multidisciplinary collaborative health education. Secondly, the theme was research, monitoring and evaluation, supported by two subthemes: (1) surveillance and assessment and (2) monitoring and evaluation. Thirdly, the theme, advocacy, was supported by the subtheme advocacy for health services.\nConclusion:\u00a0The roles of health promotion practitioners during outbreaks were aligned with the national strategy and could be optimised by inclusion in training and planning activities.\nContribution:\u00a0The study contributes to the efficient management of infectious disease outbreaks by clarifying the role of health promotion practitioners.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/jphia.v17i1.1650","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,26]],"date-time":"2026-08-26T11:42:51Z","timestamp":1787744571000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The role of health promotion practitioners during disease outbreaks in the OR Tambo District, South Africa"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-6982-7093","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mzwanele","family":"Toni","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02svzjn28","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Walter Sisulu University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3162-6295","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nongiwe L.","family":"Mhlanga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02svzjn28","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Walter Sisulu University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4130-0707","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sibusiso C.","family":"Nomatshila","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/02svzjn28","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Walter Sisulu University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mboussou F, Ndumbi P, Ngom R, et al. 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