Using non-experimental descriptive exploratory survey, this study sought to find out factors associated with delayed entry into HIV medical care among HIV positive people who are aware of their status. A quantitative design was used and a structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. Respondents were patients in a hospital’s Opportunistic Infection Department whose hospital records indicated that they were HIV positive during the time of the study. The study found out that as much as 71.6% (n =43) first entered HIV medical care more than 12 months after testing HIV positive while 40% (n = 24) did so as a result of illness. Low education levels, unemployment and being single are associated with delayed entry into HIV medical care. A percentage of the population uses and trusts non-biomedical approaches to dealing with HIV/AIDS. Being diagnosed HIV positive is therefore not necessarily a strong reason enough for one to immediately enter into medical care. Intensive health education needs to be done at work places, health facilities, schools, through print and electronic media, churches and other community settings to equip the population with knowledge of the advantages of early entry into HIV care. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

This study investigates the relationship between traumatic events and PTSD among police officers in KwaZulu-Natal and the mediating effects of coping and social support. The aim of the study was to determine the incidence of PTSD among police officers and whether coping and social support structures act as mediating variables in the stress-illness realtionship. In order to achieve this aim an assessment battery containing Biographical Checklist, the Ways of Coping Checklist, The Index of Social Support and the Dutch Post Traumatic Stress Scale was distributed to a sample of police officers in Kwazulu-Natal. The findings indicate a high incidence of PTSD, among policemen although no significant relationship was found between exposure to traumatic events and PTSD. Further, emotion­ focused coping strategies, namely, self-blame and wishful thinking, were found to be predictive of PTSD. No significant relationship was established between the availability of social support and satisfaction with social support and PTSD. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)

The focus of this study was to investigate the experiences of novice teachers of induction in three selected schools in Oshana region, Namibia. The point of departure is that the experiences of novice teachers of induction and support are not known. The problem was investigated by means of a literature study and empirical investigation, using a qualitative, phenomenological approach. Findings revealed that novice teachers do not have the same needs and do not have similar experiences of support. Key findings reveal that novice teachers’ problems can be solved better if support is given timeously and over a longer period, with all the stakeholders’ equal involvement in the induction process. Novice teachers are capable of making meaningful contributions to schools, and schools can benefit from them. The study recommends that novice teachers’ voices be heard and their views be incorporated when planning future induction programmes, to suit their individual and contextual needs. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

Using non-experimental descriptive exploratory survey, this study sought to find out factors associated with delayed entry into HIV medical care among HIV positive people who are aware of their status. A quantitative design was used and a structured questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. Respondents were patients in a hospital’s Opportunistic Infection Department whose hospital records indicated that they were HIV positive during the time of the study. The study found out that as much as 71.6% (n =43) first entered HIV medical care more than 12 months after testing HIV positive while 40% (n = 24) did so as a result of illness. Low education levels, unemployment and being single are associated with delayed entry into HIV medical care. A percentage of the population uses and trusts non-biomedical approaches to dealing with HIV/AIDS. Being diagnosed HIV positive is therefore not necessarily a strong reason enough for one to immediately enter into medical care. Intensive health education needs to be done at work places, health facilities, schools, through print and electronic media, churches and other community settings to equip the population with knowledge of the advantages of early entry into HIV care. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

MPH / Department of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

PhD (Sociology) / Department of Sociology / The purpose of the study was to explore and understand the circumstances, which influence abused female breadwinners to stay in nuptial contracts and to model coping strategies for their plight. The study was qualitative in nature and an explorative case study design of abused married female breadwinners who had reported cases at Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme (TVEP) trauma centers in the Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, South Africa was used. A critical case purposive sample was used to draw a cross-sectional sample of 12 participants from a total population of 1800 female breadwinners who reported cases between 2010 and 2015. The data collection methods were; in-depth interviews, focus group discussions from the same participants and key informants‟ interviews from three TVEP female managers. The three data collection techniques ensured triangulation for more complete and well-validated outcomes of the study. The data analysis method was the Van Mann. The study found out that a plethora of circumstances that involves the following; culture, the desire to take care of children, culture, religion, social needs, social status and entrapment influences abused married female breadwinners to stay in abusive marriages. As a result, they are forced to devise some coping strategies that include; problem solving strategies, reporting to the police, protection orders, seeking refuge, alcohol abuse and dependence, counselling, religious intervention, social support to cope with their plight. Establishing the reasons was critical in coming up with intervention methods that may help to curb abuse and coping strategies that may assist them in their plight. / NRF

No description available.

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Stress management is a major challenge in South Africa, as well as other countries. Job stress has negative effect on professional nurses ’rendering of patient care. They should thus be able to manage their stress successfully in order to render quality nursing care to the customers. The purpose of the study was to identify and describe factors contributing to stressors among professional nurses, the effects of stressors on the wellbeing of professional nurses and the management of stress by professional nurses. METHOD: A quantitative, exploratory, descriptive design was utilised. The target population of this research study comprised of all professional nurses who were at work the day the researcher visited the sampled hospitals. The questionnaires were used to collect data from the sampled professional nurses, and descriptive statistic was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: The findings revealed that 45% of the professional nurses experienced pressure of work without rest, whereas 75% viewed changes at work as challenging and 15% mostly experienced accidents while on duty. Most of them indicated that they had previously iii experienced anxiety and that they did not engage in exercise. The finding further revealed that EAP is not facilitated in most institutions and that 97.4% of the professional nurses like to have more knowledge on management of stress. The results of this study may be useful to the entire population of health professionals, policy

Selon certain·e·s chercheur·e·s, la co-rumination en ligne expliquerait en partie la hausse de la détresse psychologique étudiante au cours des dernières années. La co-rumination comporte deux composantes : la rumination et la composante sociale. Jusqu’à présent, le phénomène a essentiellement été étudié à l’aide du questionnaire sur la co-rumination. Dans de rares occasions, il a été étudié en laboratoire auprès d’adolescent·e·s, bien que les chercheur·e·s reconnaissent sa présence chez les adultes. L’objectif général de l’étude est de mieux décrire et comprendre le processus de co-rumination en ligne chez les étudiant·e·s universitaires en relation d’aide, ainsi que son association avec le bien-être psychologique. Pour se faire, quatre angles de la co-rumination en ligne ont été étudiés : 1) la forme qu’elle prend, 2) son association avec le bien-être psychologique, 3) ses interactions sociales et 4) son contenu. Une méthode mixte a été utilisée, comprenant une approche qualitative au premier plan. Les conversations en ligne comprenant de la co-rumination forment l’objet d’étude. Onze participant·e·s ont transmis quotidiennement des conversations ayant eu lieu en ligne. Au total, 186 journaux de bord ont été recueillis au cours de l’hiver 2022. Les journaux de bord ont permis de récupérer 147 discussions en ligne. Ces échanges ont été analysés à l’aide du manuel de Rose et ses collègues (2014) qui a identifié quatre dimensions à la co-rumination : 1) l’encouragement mutuel à discuter du problème; 2) la spéculation au sujet du problème; 3) le fait de ressasser le problème et 4) l’accent sur les affects négatifs liés au problème. Les résultats ont confirmé la présence de co-rumination en ligne. Les dimensions de co-rumination ont pu être identifiées dans 67 conversations recueillies. Les résultats ont suggéré de considérer le soutien social et l’encouragement mutuel à discuter d’un problème comme étant caractéristiques de la co-rumination. Une nouvelle dimension de la co-rumination a été proposée, l’introduction d’un nouveau problème, qui s’exprime par la transition, au cours de la discussion, vers un problème distinct de celui initialement discuté. Les résultats ont aussi montré que la co-rumination sur les médias sociaux se distingue de son absence en ce qui concerne les sentiments anxieux et dépressifs, de même que le bien-être psychologique. Les types de réponses observés dans les conversations en ligne comprenant de la co-rumination sont diversifiés et principalement de valence émotionnelle positive (p. ex., le soutien/accord, les expériences connexes). Dans la co-rumination, les réponses ambigües et neutres ont été les plus prévalentes. Quant au contenu de la co-rumination, les résultats ont montré que les problèmes centraux sont de natures interpersonnelle et scolaire. La pandémie de la COVID-19 a également constitué un thème abordé sous plusieurs angles (p. ex. les mesures sanitaires à l’université, le contexte sociétal, la famille malade). Les thèmes personnels (p. ex. l’hygiène de vie, les caractéristiques descriptives, les valeurs personnelles et les émotions) ont presque toujours été présents dans les conversations comprenant de la co-rumination, bien qu’ils n’ont pas nécessairement été abordés en tant que problèmes. Des critères de rigueur scientifique visant une meilleure validité sont discutés à la lumière de la démarche scientifique employée. La discussion soulève les apports méthodologiques, théoriques et pratiques de l’étude. Elle présente aussi des pistes d’interventions et de recherches futures pour mieux comprendre le phénomène de co-rumination. / According to some researchers, online co-rumination could partly explain the rise in student psychological distress in recent years. Co-rumination has two components: rumination and social. To date, this phenomenon has mainly been studied using the co-rumination questionnaire. On rare occasions, it has been studied in the laboratory with adolescents, although researchers have recognized its presence in adults. The overall aim of the study is to better describe and understand the process of online co-rumination among university students in the helping professions. To this end, four angles of online co-rumination were investigated: 1) the form it takes, 2) its association with psychological well-being, 3) its social component and 4) its content. A mixed method was used, with a qualitative approach in the foreground. Online conversations involving co-rumination formed the object of study. Eleven participants were asked to transmit conversations that had taken place online on a daily basis. A total of 186 logs were collected during the winter of 2022. Among those, 147 logs included online discussions. These exchanges were then analyzed using Rose & al.’s (2014) manual, which identifies four main dimensions to co-rumination: 1) mutual encouragement to discuss the problem; 2) speculation about the problem; 3) rehashing the problem; and 4) focus on negative affects related to the problem. The results confirmed the presence of online co-rumination. Co-rumination dimensions were identified in sixty-seven online conversations collected. Among other things, the results suggested that social support and mutual encouragement to discuss a problem were characteristic of co-rumination. A new dimension of co-rumination is proposed, the introduction of a new problem, expressed by the transition, during the discussion, to a problem distinct from the one initially discussed. The results also showed that co-rumination on social media differed from its absence with regard to anxious and depressive feelings, as well as psychological well-being. The types of responses in online conversations involving co-rumination were diverse and predominantly of positive emotional valence (e.g., phrases illustrating support/agreement, related experiences). Within the co-rumination dimensions themselves, ambiguous and neutral responses were the most prevalent. As for the content of online discussions involving co-rumination, the results showed that the central problems were interpersonal and academic in nature. The COVID-19 pandemic was also a theme addressed from several angles (e.g. health measures at university, societal context, sick family). Personal themes (e.g. lifestyle, descriptive characteristics, personal values and emotions) were almost always present in conversations involving co-rumination, although they were not necessarily discussed as problems. Criteria of scientific rigor aimed at improving validity are discussed in the light of the scientific approach employed. The discussion highlights the study's methodological, theoretical and practical contributions. It also suggests avenues for intervention and future research to better understand the phenomenon of co-rumination.

Background: Drug rehabilitation is crucial for drug addicts. As much as drug rehabilitation (rehab) centres are helping in dealing with drug addiction. Some drug addicts may find that some of the drug rehabs do not meet their needs. Therefore, the study explored the experience of caregivers caring for nyaope addicts. Method: This study adopted a qualitative research approach and a case study design. The purposive sampling method was employed to select the sample. The sample comprised six caregivers. The structured interview and open-ended questionnaire were employed to collect data. An interview questionnaire was designed allowing the participants to respond at home and provide feedback. Their responses provided through this process were insufficient, participants were then requested face-to-face interviews and they agreed. Results: One of the main findings in this study was that caregiving affects the caregivers negatively. Caregiving has led to psychological and physical effects amongst the caregivers. Conclusion: A need was identified for support and awareness for the caregivers and rehabilitation centres in South Africa. This might reduce the relapse of substance abuse and help eradicate the number of substance abusers in South Africa. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology (Research Consultation))