South African schools provide an enormous challenge for transformation towards inclusive and caring communities of learners, facilitators and caregivers. This qualitative study conducted at a primary school used narrative pastoral therapy-as-research and participatory action research-as-therapy to develop inclusive and caring practices. Co-authoring conversations with learners and caregivers from a diverse cultural and religious traditions and collaborating with facilitators challenged me to develop pastoral care as political care. This paved a way for future transformation of a school as a multi-religious community of care and respect. I engaged with participants in finding alternative ways of dealing with loss due to death of loved ones or separartion from caregivers. Children with chronic illness challenged their experiences of rejection and marginalisation at school by writing and producing a play while those whose voices were silenced chose other ways to inform learners and facilitators about their illness. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)

This study aimed at exploring chronic illness from both the perspectives of the patient, living with the illness and the professional, treating the illness. The epistemological framework is social constructionism. Qualitative research was selected as the research approach. Three in-depth interviews with three patients, suffering with a chronic illness were conducted, as well as three interviews with professionals, who had experience with patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Thematic analysis was the method used for the analysis of data. The stories of the participants were reconstructed in terms of themes. A comparative analysis for both participants groups was done, and linked to the relevant literature This study created an understanding of the complexity of chronic illness. The themes identified, highlighted the importance of the patient-professional relationship, specifically in the context of chronic illness. / Psychology / M.A. (Clinical Psychology)

Urbach-Wiethe Sindroom (beter bekend as lipo"ied prote"inose of hyalinosis cutis et mucosae) is 'n seldsame, outosomaal-oorerflike siekte. Die kenmerkendste simptome van die siekte is vel- en slymvliesveranderinge wat deur 'n neerslag van ekstrasellulere hialienagtige materiaal van onbekende oorsprong veroorsaak word. Die vel word maklik beseer, genees stadig en lelike, pokagtige letsels ontstaan. 'n Fyn, korrelagtige neerslag op die ooglede, die sogenaamde "kralestringvoorkoms" kenmerk die siekte, sowel as heesheid, die prominentste en lastigste simptoom, wat sedert geboorte teenwoordig kan wees. Radiografie en tomografie toon bilaterale,boontjievormige verkalking op die temporale lobbe van die brein, wat tot epileptiese aanvalle en ander neuropsigiese simptome soos geremde geheue en aggressie lei. Heesheid veroorsaak kommunikatiewe beperkinge vir die lyer,terwyldie opsigtelike velletsels aversiewe- en die verkalkings onsigbare beperkinge meebring. Die lyer aan Urbach-Wiethe Sindroom kan volgens die beginsels en kriteria van die medies-kliniese, die persoonsgeorienteerde en die sosio-omgewingsperspektiewe gestremdheid ondervind. Teoreties kan die lyer se belewinge van sy andersheid en die nie-aanvaardingdeurdie gemeenskap, soos by gestremdes,die handhawing van sy selfagting rem, sodat 'n negatiewe selfkonsep tot skuldgevoelens, angsbelewinge en depressie kan lei. 'n Betekenisvolle verband is in die empiriese ondersoek tussen die graad van aantasting en wanaanpassing in die lyer se leefwereld gevind. Die lyers wat ernstig aangetas is, identifiseer moeilik met hulle fisieke voorkoms. ldentiteitsvorming word gerem en die selfagting is negatief. Hulle openbaar 'n negatiewe selfkonsep en depressiewe gevoelens met selfmoordgedagtes. Hulle relasies en sosialisering is problematies en hulle voel hulle word nie deur die gemeenskap aanvaar nie. Die lyers ondervind 'n algemene wanaanpassing in hulle leefwereld. 'n Geval van paranoia is ook gevind. Alhoewel die ouers vrae oor die toestand het en sekere emosies beleef, kan die meeste van hulle die situasie hanteer. Riglyne vir 'n terapeutiese begeleidingsprogram vir lyers aan Urbach-Wiethe Sindroom, wat op die verbetering van die selfkonsep; die hantering van depressie, aggressie en woedebuie, asook die verbetering van relasies en sosialisering gerig is, is saamgestel. 'n Ondersteuningsgroep waarby lyers en hulle ouers kan inskakel, is gestig. / Urbach-Wiethe Syndrome, also known as lipoid proteinosis or hyalinosis cutis et mucosae, is a rare, recessively inherited, autosomal disorder characterized by lesions of the skin and mucosae, caused by widespread deposition of hyaline material of unknown etiology. The skin injures easily and heals slowly with "pock­ like" lesions. Bead-like deposits on the eyelids, called "string of pearls",are often found. Present since early infancy, hoarseness is the first, and most striking, irritating symptom. Bean-shaped intracranial calcification within the temporallobes of the brain in the area of the hippocampus, shown up by radiography and tomography, may cause epileptic seizures and other neuropsychological complications like impaired memory and aggression. The sufferer experiences communicative impairment through hoarseness, aversive impairment because of the conspicuous lesions, and concealed impairment as a result of the calcifications. According to the medical-clinical,person-orientated and socio-environmental perspectives on disability, a sufferer of Urbach-Wiethe Syndrome may experience disability. Like disabled persons, the sufferer finds it difficult to identify with his physical appearance. Impaired identity formation and low self-esteem cause a negative self­ concept. Feelings of guilt,anxiety and depression result from perceived dissimilarity, social rejection and low self-esteem. Socialising is adversely affected. A significant relationship was found in the empirical study between the extent to which the sufferer is affected and the degree of maladjustment in his life-world. Seriously affected sufferers display a negative self-concept and feelings of depression with suicidal thoughts. Socialisation and relationships are problematic and sufferers feel unaccepted by the community. General maladjustment in the life-world is experienced. A case of paranoia was reported. Except for some questions and unresolved feelings about the disease,most parents are able to cope with the situation. Guidelines have been set for a therapeutic programme for sufferers from Urbach­ Wiethe Syndrome aimed at enhancing self-concept, coping with depression and aggression, and improving relationships and socialising. A support group has been ounded for sufferers and their parents. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

Dans la perspective de faire disparaître la dichotomie existant entre la santé et la maladie, le concept « santé-dans-la-maladie » (health-within-illness) est apparu dans les écrits infirmiers pour étudier la santé chez les personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. Or, la recherche sur ce phénomène s’est surtout centrée sur l’expérience de santé (wellness) occultant celle de la maladie (illness). À l’heure actuelle, peu d’études ont été réalisées pour comprendre la coexistence de l’expérience de santé (wellness) et celle de maladie (illness) impliquée dans la réalité quotidienne des personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. De plus, aucune d’entre elles ne s’est adressée à une clientèle vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, cette étude avait pour but de décrire et de comprendre l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique et celle de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes vivant avec cette maladie chronique. La perspective disciplinaire de la chercheure, en l’occurrence la philosophie du caring humain de Watson (1979, 1988, 1999, 2006, 2008), a soutenu le processus de recherche. En cohérence avec cette auteure, la méthode qualitative de type phénoménologique existentielle herméneutique élaborée par van Manen (1984, 1997, 2002) a été choisie pour encadrer ce processus. La collecte des données repose principalement sur l’expérience d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique, recueillie au moyen de 34 entretiens en profondeur réalisés auprès de 17 participants (14 femmes et trois hommes). Les résultats ont permis d’identifier quatre thèmes pour décrire d’une part, l’essence de l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique, soit : (a) la souffrance interminable d’un corps malade; (b) la dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle du soi; (c) le processus d’accommodation et (d) l’heuristique d’accommodation. D’autre part, les deux thèmes suivants ont émergé pour exposer l’essence de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie: (a) la prise de pouvoir d’un nouveau soi et (b) l’harmonie avec l’existence. Un travail de mise en relation de ces deux essences a été effectué afin de développer une conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, elle se conçoit comme « une dialectique dans laquelle le nouveau soi mobilise son pouvoir pour vivre en harmonie avec l’existence et pour s’accommoder à la souffrance interminable, où une dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle est vécue dans le corps malade ». Les résultats de cette étude permettent de mieux comprendre la souffrance vécue par les personnes ayant la sclérodermie systémique de même que le processus et les stratégies d’accommodation à cette souffrance. Ils mettent également en évidence les moyens utilisés pour exercer un nouveau pouvoir sur leur vie et pour vivre en harmonie dans tous les aspects de leur existence. Enfin, la dialectique de santé-dans-la-maladie proposée dans cette étude souligne le caractère dynamique, continu et subjectif du processus d’intégration impliquant les expériences indissociables de la santé (wellness) et de la maladie (illness). Cette nouvelle conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie, pouvant contribuer au renouvellement des pratiques de soins, suggère également une manière inédite d’exister lorsque la maladie chronique survient, soit celle d’ « être ni en santé, ni malade ». / With a view towards eliminating the existing dichotomy between illness and health, the concept of health-within-illness appeared in nursing research on health in persons living with chronic disease. Presently, research on this phenomenon is mainly centred on the experience of wellness not revealing that of illness. At the same time, few studies have been aimed at understanding the coexistence of the experience of wellness and illness involved in the daily lives of persons with chronic disease. Furthermore, none have addressed a population living with systemic sclerosis. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to describe and understand the experience of systemic sclerosis as well as that of heath-within-illness in adults living with this chronic disease. The disciplinary perspective of the researcher, in this case, Watson’s human caring philosophy (1979, 1988, 2006, 2008), supported the research process. In accordance with this author, van Manen’s (1984, 1987, 2002) hermeneutic existential phenomenological method was chosen as the basis of the research process. Data was mainly collected from the experience of adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis, through 34 in-depth interviews with 17 participants (14 women and three men). The results allowed the identification of four themes that describe, on the one hand, the essence of the experience of systemic sclerosis, that is: (a) endless suffering of a diseased body; (b) the inner and relational disharmony of the self; (c) the process of adjustment and (d) adjustment heuristics. On the other hand, the following two themes emerged showing the essence of the experience of health-within-illness: (a) empowerment of a new self and (b) harmony with life. The two essences were interrelated in order to develop a conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness in adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis. Thus, it is conceived as a “dialectic in which the new self shifts his or her power to live in harmony with life and to adjust to endless suffering while being in a diseased body that experiences inner and relational disharmony.” The results of this study allow a better understanding of the suffering experienced by persons with systemic sclerosis as well as of the process and strategies conceived to adjust to this suffering. They also highlight the means used to exert a new power on their lives and live in harmony with every aspect of their existence. Finally, the dialectic of health-within-illness that emerged from this study underlines the dynamic, continuous, and subjective character of the integrative process involving the inseparable experiences of wellness and illness. This new conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness, that can contribute to a renewal of health care practice, also suggests a novel way of living with chronic disease, that of “being neither in health nor in illness”.

Cette thèse propose d’interroger les conditions locales d’insertion d’un modèle de gestion autonome de la maladie chronique dans le contexte d’émergence du diabète comme problème de santé publique au Burkina Faso. La réflexion prend appui sur un corpus ethnographique qui croise des récits d’expérience de la maladie, l’observation d’activités médicales et de pratiques de soins, ainsi que l’expérience singulière de l’anthropologue impliqué dans la quête thérapeutique de son logeur. Une approche socio-ethnologique d’un village bwa permet de caractériser un espace social alimentaire local et d’identifier les dimensions culturelles et sociales de la santé et de la maladie. Des éclairages historiques et politiques sont convoqués pour penser le rapport des patients au système de soins local. Les savoirs ordinaires sur le diabète sont interrogés dans leurs modalités de construction et leurs finalités pratiques. Les itinéraires thérapeutiques des patients révèlent la perception de risques sociaux liés à une individualisation des comportements alimentaires. Une logique de la “débrouillardise“ permet de “contenir“ le diabète dans un contexte d’incertitudes que majore le coût rédhibitoire des traitements. Les limites actuelles d’une médicalisation du diabète sont analysées en regard de la qualité de vie des patients. Cette approche du contexte laisse penser que l’application locale du projet global d’autonomisation des patients fait émerger de nouveaux enjeux au cœur même de la relation de soins. La thèse ouvre sur une réflexion concernant l’articulation des pratiques locales, du modèle global, et du paradigme du care dans la perspective d’une amélioration du quotidien des patients. / This PhD dissertation proposes to examine local conditions of the insertion of a model of self-management of chronic disease in the context of the emergence of diabetes as a public health problem in Burkina Faso. The reflection is based on an ethnographic corpus that includes stories of illness experience, observation of medical activities and care practices, as well as the singular experience of the anthropologist involved in a therapeutic quest for his host. A socio-anthropological approach of a bwa village (Dédougou area) characterizes the local food social space and identifies the cultural and social dimensions of health and disease. Historical and political insights are invited to think about the relationship between patients and the local health system. The modalities of construction and practical purposes of lay knowledge about diabetes are questioned. Therapeutic itineraries of patients reveal the perception of social risks related to individualized eating behaviors. A logic of "resourcefulness" can "manage" diabetes in a context of uncertainty that increases the prohibitive cost of treatment. The current limits of medicalization of diabetes are analyzed with respect to patients’ quality of life. This contextualisation suggests that the local application of the global project to empower patients produces the emergence of new issues at the heart of care relationship. The thesis opens a reflection on the articulation between local practices, global model, and the paradigm of care, understood in the perspective of improving patients’ lives.

No description available.

The research project 'This is my Face: Audio-visual practice as collaborative sense-making among men living with HIV in Chile' is an interdisciplinary project that explores 'collaborative mise en-scène' as a method to further understand the sense-making processes around the biographical disruption caused by HIV. It combines Anthropology and Arts methods as part of the PhD in Anthropology, Media and Performance, a practice-based program that fosters interdisciplinary approaches to the production of original knowledge, based on self-reflexive and critical research practices (The University of Manchester, 2018). Relying on the specific competences of photography and film and the co-creation of an ethnographic context based in hermeneutic reflexivity, the collaborators on the project created and explored representations of critical life events, in order to make sense of the disruption HIV brought to their lives. The collaborators were highly stigmatised individuals living with HIV, which hindered their possibilities for sharing narratives and for reflection, and as such, made it more difficult for them to come to terms with a diagnosis they described as a 'fracture' in their lives. This project analyses the creative process of 'collaborative mise-en-scène' as a way to provide further opportunities for reflexivity and sense making, a method that departs from their everyday face-to-face encounters as means of understanding what they are going through. Representations of life events emerged from our practice, as well as evocations, which provided a means by which to understand their experiences with HIV, and opened up ways to resignify their past experiences and projections of the future. Photography and film offered their specific expressive competences to the project, but also gave the possibility of making visible the collaborators' experiences in order to promote a dialogue with others, moving beyond our creative encounters. Therefore, their evocations became 'statements' of what it means to live with HIV in Chile, and at the same time, by taking part in its creation, it provided access to the particularities of the sense-making process in which those images were embedded. This collaborative creative process opened up ways to highlight the relevance for sense-making in face-to-face encounters, demonstrating that hermeneutic reflexivity as a practice-based form of mutual questioning can promote a critical engagement with life trajectories and with others beyond our practice.

Dans la perspective de faire disparaître la dichotomie existant entre la santé et la maladie, le concept « santé-dans-la-maladie » (health-within-illness) est apparu dans les écrits infirmiers pour étudier la santé chez les personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. Or, la recherche sur ce phénomène s’est surtout centrée sur l’expérience de santé (wellness) occultant celle de la maladie (illness). À l’heure actuelle, peu d’études ont été réalisées pour comprendre la coexistence de l’expérience de santé (wellness) et celle de maladie (illness) impliquée dans la réalité quotidienne des personnes vivant avec une maladie chronique. De plus, aucune d’entre elles ne s’est adressée à une clientèle vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, cette étude avait pour but de décrire et de comprendre l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique et celle de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes vivant avec cette maladie chronique. La perspective disciplinaire de la chercheure, en l’occurrence la philosophie du caring humain de Watson (1979, 1988, 1999, 2006, 2008), a soutenu le processus de recherche. En cohérence avec cette auteure, la méthode qualitative de type phénoménologique existentielle herméneutique élaborée par van Manen (1984, 1997, 2002) a été choisie pour encadrer ce processus. La collecte des données repose principalement sur l’expérience d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique, recueillie au moyen de 34 entretiens en profondeur réalisés auprès de 17 participants (14 femmes et trois hommes). Les résultats ont permis d’identifier quatre thèmes pour décrire d’une part, l’essence de l’expérience de la sclérodermie systémique, soit : (a) la souffrance interminable d’un corps malade; (b) la dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle du soi; (c) le processus d’accommodation et (d) l’heuristique d’accommodation. D’autre part, les deux thèmes suivants ont émergé pour exposer l’essence de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie: (a) la prise de pouvoir d’un nouveau soi et (b) l’harmonie avec l’existence. Un travail de mise en relation de ces deux essences a été effectué afin de développer une conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie dans le contexte d’adultes québécois vivant avec la sclérodermie systémique. Ainsi, elle se conçoit comme « une dialectique dans laquelle le nouveau soi mobilise son pouvoir pour vivre en harmonie avec l’existence et pour s’accommoder à la souffrance interminable, où une dysharmonie intérieure et relationnelle est vécue dans le corps malade ». Les résultats de cette étude permettent de mieux comprendre la souffrance vécue par les personnes ayant la sclérodermie systémique de même que le processus et les stratégies d’accommodation à cette souffrance. Ils mettent également en évidence les moyens utilisés pour exercer un nouveau pouvoir sur leur vie et pour vivre en harmonie dans tous les aspects de leur existence. Enfin, la dialectique de santé-dans-la-maladie proposée dans cette étude souligne le caractère dynamique, continu et subjectif du processus d’intégration impliquant les expériences indissociables de la santé (wellness) et de la maladie (illness). Cette nouvelle conceptualisation de l’expérience de santé-dans-la-maladie, pouvant contribuer au renouvellement des pratiques de soins, suggère également une manière inédite d’exister lorsque la maladie chronique survient, soit celle d’ « être ni en santé, ni malade ». / With a view towards eliminating the existing dichotomy between illness and health, the concept of health-within-illness appeared in nursing research on health in persons living with chronic disease. Presently, research on this phenomenon is mainly centred on the experience of wellness not revealing that of illness. At the same time, few studies have been aimed at understanding the coexistence of the experience of wellness and illness involved in the daily lives of persons with chronic disease. Furthermore, none have addressed a population living with systemic sclerosis. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to describe and understand the experience of systemic sclerosis as well as that of heath-within-illness in adults living with this chronic disease. The disciplinary perspective of the researcher, in this case, Watson’s human caring philosophy (1979, 1988, 2006, 2008), supported the research process. In accordance with this author, van Manen’s (1984, 1987, 2002) hermeneutic existential phenomenological method was chosen as the basis of the research process. Data was mainly collected from the experience of adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis, through 34 in-depth interviews with 17 participants (14 women and three men). The results allowed the identification of four themes that describe, on the one hand, the essence of the experience of systemic sclerosis, that is: (a) endless suffering of a diseased body; (b) the inner and relational disharmony of the self; (c) the process of adjustment and (d) adjustment heuristics. On the other hand, the following two themes emerged showing the essence of the experience of health-within-illness: (a) empowerment of a new self and (b) harmony with life. The two essences were interrelated in order to develop a conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness in adult Quebeckers living with systemic sclerosis. Thus, it is conceived as a “dialectic in which the new self shifts his or her power to live in harmony with life and to adjust to endless suffering while being in a diseased body that experiences inner and relational disharmony.” The results of this study allow a better understanding of the suffering experienced by persons with systemic sclerosis as well as of the process and strategies conceived to adjust to this suffering. They also highlight the means used to exert a new power on their lives and live in harmony with every aspect of their existence. Finally, the dialectic of health-within-illness that emerged from this study underlines the dynamic, continuous, and subjective character of the integrative process involving the inseparable experiences of wellness and illness. This new conceptualisation of the experience of health-within-illness, that can contribute to a renewal of health care practice, also suggests a novel way of living with chronic disease, that of “being neither in health nor in illness”.

No description available.

South African schools provide an enormous challenge for transformation towards inclusive and caring communities of learners, facilitators and caregivers. This qualitative study conducted at a primary school used narrative pastoral therapy-as-research and participatory action research-as-therapy to develop inclusive and caring practices. Co-authoring conversations with learners and caregivers from a diverse cultural and religious traditions and collaborating with facilitators challenged me to develop pastoral care as political care. This paved a way for future transformation of a school as a multi-religious community of care and respect. I engaged with participants in finding alternative ways of dealing with loss due to death of loved ones or separartion from caregivers. Children with chronic illness challenged their experiences of rejection and marginalisation at school by writing and producing a play while those whose voices were silenced chose other ways to inform learners and facilitators about their illness. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology with specialisation in Pastoral Therapy)