D.Cur. / Like in many countries, Namibia is experiencing social and economic health care problems related to care provision at state health facilities. The Namibian State has acknowledged that it can no more afford to provide care for all the sick people alone, especially at its health facilities. It is now calling upon the society to take up the responsibility of caring for their sick people at home. Although this call is genuine and necessary, one cannot help to always wonder about the expectations of stakeholders involved in home care provision in rural Namibia. The purpose of the study was to develop and describe a model for capacity building to facilitate quality home care in rural Namibia. To achieve this the following specific objectives were formulated: 1) to explore and describe the expectations of the stakeholders involved in home care situation in rural Northern Namibia; 2) to assess the status of available resources in relation to quality home care; 3) to analyse the concept capacity as a management process and conceptualise the whole study into existing theoretical frameworks to facilitate home care in rural Namibia and 4) to develop and describe practical guidelines for the implementation of the model. A qualitative case study design was used to carry out the study. Explorative, descriptive, theory generative and inductive strategies were utilised. Face to face interviews were conducted with thirty stakeholders in home care using an interview guide. Purposive and Snowballing/networking sampling were used to identify the stakeholders involved with home care. Observations were also made with regard to the status of the resources, its availability and accessibility to the stakeholders. From the empirical phase, various expectations were expressed related to resources, namely, physical structures, knowledgeable human resources, financial and logistics, information, safe water supply, transport and communication means, support systems and mechanisms at home and community levels, food and nutrition. It was clear that resources were lacking as well as the support systems for home care.

M.Ed. (Educational Psychology) / Research literature regarding functional enuresis indicates that the prevalence of functional enuresis is higher in institutionalised children as opposed to non-institutionalised children. A preliminary survey conducted at the Abraham Kriel Children's Home revealed that approximately 10% of the children experience problems with enuresis. One of the childrens' personal files was studied. From this it appeared that although on a number of occasions there were therapeutic interventions, the girl still experiences problems with enuresis. To enable better understanding of this phenomenon it was decided to obtain a holistic image of the girl's construction of meaning, and, by so doing, establish whether the therapeutic interventions addressed and tackled the crux of the problem. To achieve this goal (which is exploratory and descriptive in nature, with a contextual concern), a qualitative single case study was used as the chosen research format. In this research a developmental exploration of the girl's world of meaning was performed. By means of a holistic analysis her life history was analysed in the light of Erik Erikson's developmental theory. Developmental tasks and needs that are characteristic of each life phase were identified. On the basis of this the girl's circumstances were examined in order to determine her possible self meaning. By means of a play diagnostic investigation an analysis was made of the way in which she presently perceives herself and the world...

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / The majority of Cameroonians depend on traditional medicines for their health care needs and about seven per cent of the average household health budget is spent on traditional medicines irrespective of their incomes. The aim of this study was (i) to assess the role of traditional healers (THs) in providing oral care services in Cameroon; (ii) to determine their cost of treatment and to investigate reasons why people visit THs. The present study was cross sectional and consisted of a sample of 21 THs and 52 clients with a history of dental problems. It utilized semi structured questionnaires and photographs to collect data. The mean age of THs was 46.0 years (range 20-77 years). Thirty per cent of THs were above 40 years and the majority males. Nearly a quarter of the THs practiced as herbalists and the remainder practiced both divination and herbalism. More than two thirds of Cameroonians, who patronize THs for their oral health needs, fall within the 20-40 year age group. THs in this region are experienced and enjoy good relationships with hospitals and other THs. However, collaboration between the oral health work force and THs is very poor as only 6% of all patients seen by THs are referred to the dentist. Socio-cultural and economic factors affect the oral health care seeking behavior of patients in this area and only 6.5% of patients visit dental clinics. Reasons for not attending dental clinics included cost, poor accessibility, superstition and fear. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Background: In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 22.2% of the total population is in the age group of 15 to 24 years. In this country, this population group faces a large number of reproductive health problems. Even though the concerned health officials have implemented several health care programs, the youth particularly girls still have many problems particularly lack of sexual health information, poor health care, inability to avoid early and unprotected sexual relationships, early marriage, early pregnancies, early childbearing, etc. Objectives: The aim of this study is to examine reproductive health issues among young women and to understand how they utilise the health care systems in their respective socio-economic and demographic characteristic. Data and Methods: Descriptive and multivariate analyses were used. Cross tabulation, Chi-square, Phi coefficient and Cramer‘s V were applied to test for association between independents and outcome variables. At multivariate level of analysis, binary logistic regression was performed. All analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: The study found that young women who faced early sexual intercourse (OR=73.5) and those who experienced it at 16-17 (OR= 42.3) are more at risk of early marriage than those who initiated at the age 18-24. Meanwhile, young women with no education (OR=14.1), primary and secondary education (OR=10.7 and OR=8.6 respectively) have a higher risk of early union than their higher educated counterparts. Furthermore, respondents who married in their early adolescence (OR=38.3) and middle (OR=20.0) adolescence are more at risk of early childbearing than those who married in their emerging adulthood. Moreover, young women from Maniema, Equateur and Bas Congo provinces are 95%, 62% and 58% (respectively) less likely to have had at least four ANC visits than those from Kinshasa. Conclusion: There is an urgent need for formal sex education before first sexual initiation to give better options than early marriage to adolescent girls. Also, the disparities in the antenatal care services utilization between provinces should be addressed. The concerned authorities should balance the distribution of health facilities and qualified personal among provinces.

Magister Scientiae Dentium - MSc(Dent) / BACKGROUND: The concept of consumer satisfaction is gaining momentum across all business sectors worldwide. In keeping with this trend, health care systems are now also being reviewed to assess patient satisfaction with regard to the quality of care provided. Patient satisfaction is an instrumental tool for identifying shortcomings and challenges of the health system, and provides patients with a constructive outlet to rate their hospital experience. AIM: To determine the perceived levels of patient satisfaction with health care services. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using patients who attended the Outpatients Department of Untunjambili Hospital in Kwa-Zulu Natal. A sample of 250 patients was selected using systematic random sampling. The research instrument, a structured questionnaire consisted of 23 questions which were subdivided into five categories, namely: biographical data; accessibility to the hospital; infrastructure; overall satisfaction and general comments. The 5-Point Likert Scale was used to determine the perceived levels of patient satisfaction. Data collected from the responses was analysed using the SPSS Programme, Version 22.0. A Significance level of (p=0.05) was applied. RESULTS: The response rate of the study was 99.2% (n=248).The majority of the respondents were female (75.4%) and aged between 20-30 years old. The relative ratio of males to females was approximately 1:3. Nearly half of the participants (48.4%) had a secondary education, and a high degree of illiteracy was noted (21.8%). The majority of patients relied on taxis as the mode of transport to reach the hospital (71.4%), with 55.2% having to pay more than R15.00 for travel costs. While statements relating to personality such as staff friendliness, and doctors treating patients respectfully scored highly (93.5%), more than two thirds reported dissatisfaction with the lengthy waiting times (71.8%). In terms of infrastructure, respondents were mainly satisfied with the seating arrangements, cleanliness and air circulation, but were unhappy with the state of the toilet facilities and the unavailability of drinking water. Overall, 90.3% of patients were satisfied with the level of care they received at Untunjambili Hospital, with 89.5% suggesting that they would recommend the institution to others.

This study surveyed the self perceptions of thirty individuals over sixty-five years of age, who lived in the Vancouver Quadra electoral district, in order to gather information about their needs. The study was designed to answer three questions. Do the elderly living at home in a specific geographical area of Vancouver perceive themselves as having needs in the need areas defined by the literature, namely housing, health, independent living, employment, economic security and interpersonal relations? Do the elderly in the selected sample perceive their needs as being met? Do the elderly in the selected sample perceive nurses as involved in helping them meet their needs? A semi-structured interview schedule was used to obtain information relevant to the research problem. The results of this study indicated that more than half the respondents, or 53 per cent, perceived needs in the need areas defined by the literature. The majority of perceived needs, or 76 per cent, were not met. None of the elderly whose needs were met perceived nurses as involved in helping them meet these needs. Moreover, the majority of the study sample, or 87 per cent, did not perceive nurses as potentially helpful in assisting them to meet their needs. The study recommends that nurses extend their current role and become actively involved in assessing and meeting the needs of the elderly living at home. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.