Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Previous research indicates that mental health conditions contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite these findings, issues surrounding mental health are still plagued with ignorance and stigma. In recent years’ mental health has taken priority and is increasingly being recognized as an important public health and development issue. Research has found that belief systems play a crucial role in the conceptualisation of mental health and health-seeking behaviour. The exploration of these belief systems gives valuable insight on issues related to health-seeking and treatment adherence behaviours. This study looks specifically at traditional African beliefs and perceptions of mental health. The motivation of this study is to explore how these beliefs and perceptions impact on health-seeking and treatment adherence behaviours. The study poses the following research question: What current literature exists on traditional African beliefs and perceptions about mental health? To achieve this, the study employs a systematic review methodology to assess the methodological rigour of literature on traditional African belief systems. A systematic search in eleven databases was conducted to find relevant literature published between the years 2008 and 2019 with only qualitative research studies.

HIV and AIDS which was discovered in the 1980s is causing havoc in many developing countries and Sub-Saharan continent is the hardest hit. Pratt (2008:8) highlights that “the number of people living with the disease is concentrated in the industrially developing world, mostly in those resource deprived countries least able to afford the care of HIV-infected people”. Zimbabwe is one of the SADC countries with the highest statistics of HIV and AIDS. Women account for the largest number of people infected by the pandemic and this could be as a result of the social and cultural norms which oppress women and their position in society. Antiretrovirals (ARV’s) are the life-long drugs given to HIV-infected people to slow the progression of the disease. There are different types of ARV regimens. Zimbabwe introduced the ART roll-out in 2004, however the ART users face multiple obstacles in accessing ARVs. The study targets women because they are a vulnerable group in society, specifically in Zimbabwe. Women have been subjected to stigma, discrimination, violence, humiliation, degradation and psychological torture when they are identified as being HIV positive. Some are neglected and deserted by their partners and families after disclosure, as a result many are too scared to disclose their status to families. The country’s political and economic situation has a major impact on the HIV positive women’s access to ARV treatment. This is compounded with the social and cultural norms and values of the people. The focus of this study is on the challenges experienced by HIV positive women with regard to accessing ARV treatment in Zimbabwe. This study strived to understand the challenges HIV positive women encounter in adhering and accessing to ARV treatment. The goal was to explore the challenges experienced by HIV positive women with regard to accessing ARV treatment in Zimbabwe. The research question of the study was: What are the challenges experienced by HIV positive women with regard to accessing ARV treatment in Zimbabwe? This study used a qualitative approach with a collective case study research design. The population for this study was the African women from Zimbabwe who were infected with HIV and AIDS. Non-probability purposive sampling was utilised in this study to select the sample of 10 women who were living with HIV and AIDS in Masvingo District, Zimbabwe and who were accessing ART. Specific criteria for sampling was used to select clients of two NGO’s in Masvingo district of Zimbabwe: Batanai HIV and AIDS Service Organisation and the Reformed Church in Zimbabwe Community Based AIDS Program. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were used to collect data. The researcher sought permission of the participants to voice record their interviews and the researcher transcribed them personally. The data gathered was analysed and theme and sub-themes were generated from the data. The research findings were presented thereafter by providing a profile of research participants followed by thematic analysis of the themes and sub-themes from the transcriptions. Literature control and verbatim quotes were used to support these themes and sub-themes. The following are the themes from this study: Theme One- Information regarding HIV and AIDS, Theme Two- Information on ARV treatment, Theme Three- Societal and HIV positive women’s views on HIV and AIDS, Theme Four- Experiences of being an HIV positive woman and Theme Five- Needs identified by HIV positive women. The conclusions of this study reflect that HIV positive women experience some challenges in adhering and accessing ARV treatment. Disclosure, stigma and discrimination, traditional and faith healer’s diagnosis of HIV and AIDS, access to medication for Opportunistic Infections, food shortage, distance to ARV sites, the availability and change of ARV regimens were amongst some of the factors which made access to ARV treatment a challenge. Recommendations from this study can be used by HIV and AIDS stakeholders to understand the challenges and experiences by HIV positive women better. The social workers can also use the recommendations to find ways to make their services known to the communities and also improve their intervention and support to these women. / Dissertation (MSW (Health Care))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Health Care) / Unrestricted

Bakgrund: Substansbrukssyndrom är en vanligt förekommande sjukdom som kan orsaka både somatisk och psykisk ohälsa. Det råder en stigmatisering av personer med substansbrukssyndrom i samhället och det finns därför en risk att dessa patienter upplever ett negativt bemötande inom hälso- och sjukvården. Sjuksköterskor har ett ansvar att arbeta utifrån vård på lika villkor och sträva efter en jämn fördelning av sjukvårdens resurser. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med substansbrukssyndrom inom somatisk och psykiatrisk slutenvård. Metod: En litteraturöversikt användes som metod där tio vetenskapliga artiklar granskades. Databassökningar skedde i databaserna CINAHL Complete och PubMed. Kvalitativa studier inkluderades och analyserades därefter enligt Fribergs metod. Resultat: Fyra huvudteman identifierades; distanserad vård, kamp mellan värderingar och verklighet, utmaningar i vårdrelationen och kunskapsbrist. Resultatet visade att personer med substansbrukssyndrom kunde uppfattas som aggressiva samt manipulativa. Sjuksköterskor upplevde en känsla av frustration och osäkerhet i mötet med personer med substansbrukssyndrom och menade på att det krävs ett öppet och kreativt förhållningssätt. Det fanns ett behov av ökad kunskap och utbildning hos sjuksköterskor om hur patienter med substansbrukssyndrom bör vårdas. Diskussion: Resultatet har diskuterats utifrån Jean Watsons omvårdnadsteori för mänsklig omsorg. För att kunna reducera stress hos sjuksköterskor behövs en trygg vårdmiljö, en förmåga att sätta gränser samt att sjuksköterskan värnar om sitt eget mående. För att hitta de bästa lösningarna för patienten borde sjuksköterskan använda sig av all sin inhämtade kunskap och individanpassa vården.

Denna uppsats lyfter kvinnor diagnostiserade med autism och fokuserar på förståelsen utav deras verklighet och position. Autismspektrumtillstånd är ett brett begrepp som innefattar ett flertal diagnoser. Däremot är forskning och kunskap inom området manligt snedvriden vilket gör att kvinnor med autism riskerar att bli odiagnostiserade eller diagnostiseras i vuxen ålder.  Att bli diagnostiserade med någon typ av neuropsykiatrisk diagnos kan medföra en förståelse för sig själv. av omgivningen och tillgång till det stöd som samhället erbjuder. Dock kan  diagnosen tillskriva individen till negativa attityder och fördomar som etablerats, detta är en form av stigmatisering.  Syftet med studien är att med en fenomenologisk ansats undersöka hur kvinnor som diagnostiserats med autism i tonår eller som unga vuxna hanterar och förhåller sig till sin diagnos, samtidigt leva upp till det som de upplever vara samhällets förväntningar. Tidigare forskning visar att kvinnor i stor utsträckning kamouflerar sina symtom. En anledning kan vara att de socialiseras in i en roll där kvinnan förväntas att ta det sociala och emotionella ansvaret. I intervjuer med sex kvinnor i åldrarna 18-31, samtliga diagnostiserade med autism, var intentionen att förstå deras upplevelser av att ständigt balansera och upprätthålla svårigheter som diagnosen innebär.  Den bristande kunskap och det något skeva uppfattningar om autism hos kvinnor kräver förståelse för hur dessa upplever sin tillvaro i relation till allt som hör livet till. Genom att låta denna minoritetsgrupp tala och beskriva deras verklighet bidrar studien till mer kunskap och förståelse som är nödvändig för att rätt förutsättningar ska fastställas. Jag vill lyfta tidigare forskning och dessa kvinnors upplevelser i hopp att skapa förutsättningar till en bättre tillvaro. Inte minst är denna studie för just hon som lever i detta kaosartade tillvaro, du är inte ensam.

LGBTQ individuals may be at risk for suicidal behavior due to perceived stigma and psychopathology. However, protective factors, such as community connectedness, may reduce risk. We examined depression and anxiety as mediators of the linkage between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior, and the moderating role of LGBTQ community connectedness. Among our sample of LGBTQ persons (N = 496), psychopathology mediated the association between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior. Connectedness moderated the relation between perceived stigma and depression, and between perceived stigma and suicidal behavior in the anxiety model. Therapeutically addressing stigma and promoting LGBTQ community connectedness may reduce risk for suicidal behavior.

We hypothesized that benefit finding would moderate the relationship between HIV-related stigma and psychological well-being in people living with HIV (PLWH). 106 PLWH completed an online survey that included measures of demographics, HIV-related stigma, benefit finding, and psychological well-being (depression, anxiety, anger). Results suggest that higher levels of benefit finding offset the negative effects of HIV-related stigma on anger. However, for individuals who fail to find benefits in their illness diagnosis, experiencing stigma may be associated with increased levels of anger.

No description available.

Trauma is deeply rooted in South African society. South Africa has been considered one of the most violent countries and has been termed the “rape capital of the world” (Human Rights Watch, 1995). Prior studies evidence high levels of community violence, intimate partner violence, and rape. Research measuring morbidity/mortality has suggested a link between trauma and mental health problems. 34 However, national lifetime prevalence of multiple forms of trauma is not firmly established. Further, nationally-based studies on trauma in South African context have not examined multiple traumas simultaneously. Given the assumed burden of trauma in South Africa, it is important that research uncovers precise rates of traumas and links to mental health. Investigating individual and cumulative effects of trauma in a large, national sample can contribute to understanding the trauma burden. Thus, using nationally representative data from the South Africa Stress and Health Study, we examine lifetime prevalence of a variety of traumas and multiple traumas (number of events). Employing regression analysis, we study individual and cumulative effects of traumas on psychological distress. Results indicate most South Africans (approximately 75%) experience at least one traumatic event during their lives, with the majority reporting multiple. With few exceptions, exposure to traumatic events is associated with greater distress. Results further indicate a cumulative effect of trauma, evidenced by a graded relation between multiple traumas (1, 2, 3, 4-5, 6+) and distress. Those with the most traumas (6+) appear at five- times greater risk of high distress. This study provides a previously unavailable glimpse of exposure to a range of traumas in a nationally representative sample of adults in South Africa. Moreover, implicated by our findings of a cumulative effect of multiple traumas and that the majority experience such multiple traumas is a possible burden of mental health in South Africa.

Each day in the United States, millions of adult consumers possessing traditional literacy skills below an eighth grade reading level enter a marketplace packed with written messages. This research offers the first in-depth, systematic investigation exploring the impact of low literacy skills within the marketplace and the methods consumers utilize to cope with literacy deficits. Based on the body of literature on stigma theory (Goffman 1963), previous work suggested coping strategies to result as a mechanism to protect the consumers' feelings of self-worth. This research identifies seven categories of coping strategies. The data collected show that coping strategies are not only used to protect the consumers' self-esteem but also to facilitate problem-solving tasks within the marketplace. In several cases, informants reveal their successes in getting marketplace needs met. Thus, a new conceptualization of the consumer literacy construct is offered to consist of traditional literacy skills, coping strategies or surrogate literacy skills, and specialized knowledge of the marketplace environment. Applying Link and Phelan's (2001) reconceptualization of the stigma concept to the data yields a richer understanding of the stigmatization process and consequences within the marketplace. Rather than passively accept the role of low literate, this research offers a perspective of the low literate consumer as an active challenger to the stereotypes that lead to negative evaluations and stigmatization. Implications of these findings for public policymakers, academicians, and members of the business community, as well as future researcher opportunities are discussed. The Association for Consumer Research (http://www.acrweb.org), the Society for Consumer Psychology (http://fisher.osu.edu/mkt/scp/), and the Sheth Foundation provided financial support for this research in the form of dissertation grants. / Ph. D.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy (D.Phil) in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, 2017 / In South Africa, one of the most distressing concerns of many people living with HIV/AIDS is the stigma attached to this diagnosis. This intense stigma is psychologically traumatic, even leading to levels of depression. Religion or spirituality has come to be one of the most essential and effective coping strategies to live with the pandemic and depression as its consequence. This study sought to establish the impact of religion/spirituality on people living with HIV/AIDS using a convenient sample in South Africa. Using quantitative research methods, the study used the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) to assess the severity of depression on HIV/AIDS victims. The BDI-II is presently one of the most commonly used scales for rating depression to indicate the level of distress the respondent is experiencing. To assess spirituality among people living with HIV, the Religious Coping (RCOPE) was used to measure the coping measures used by people living with HIV and AIDS. The results of the study established that, in both samples, respondents having a HIV positive status with depression levels within the spiritual/religious cohort, are different from those of the nonspiritual/religious cohort. Expressed differently, spirituality or religion seems to have a calming effect on the respondents to the extent that it lessens their level of depression. Furthermore, it was established that there is a considerably strong inverse relationship between religion/spirituality and depression. In fact, the correlation coefficient is -0.89 suggesting a near perfect negative relationship between the variables. In other words, as one’s spirituality/religious quotient increases, one’s depression levels decreases. The study concludes that, spirituality and religiousness plays an important role in the lives of patients with depression and HIV, and is the corner stone of coping strategies and longevity. Moreover, the study recommends that physicians should consider fusing in spirituality coping strategies in treating depressed HIV positive patients.