The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the learning experiences of mentors and mentees in their mentoring relationships were reflective of Kolb's experiential learning cycle. The researcher interviewed five mentors and five principals who participated in the mentoring programme as encapsulated in the ACE School Leadership programme at the University of Pretoria. The principals were selected from the Nkangala education district of Mpumalanga province. Research questions covered the four modes of Kolb's experiential learning cycle: (i) Concrete Experience, (ii) Reflective Observation, (iii) Abstract Conceptualisation, and (iv) Active Experimentation. The participants were required to describe their experiences in the mentoring programme and their anticipated future mentorship practices within their schools. Participants described the reflective processes they engaged in and the skills and knowledge gained, as well as their interpretation of the mentoring phenomenon. The participants' responses were subsequently analysed to determine the extent to which their learning experiences were reflective of the experiential learning cycle as presented by Kolb (1984). The study confirmed the participants' learning as reflective of Kolb's experiential learning cycle. The outcomes confirmed mentoring as a vital tool for enhancing principals' leadership and management knowledge and skills in order to, in turn, develop their schools as effective learning institutions. The mentoring programme not only contributed towards school improvement, but also gave a huge boost to the principals' personal and professional development. Moreover, the mentors in the programme were instrumental in helping principals to become reflective practitioners as anticipated in the Department of Education's National Policy Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (2007). During this research it was discovered that the programme was not without its challenges, however. Mentor selection was found to contain serious flaws. Moreover, the principals selected for the programme were not fully informed of the reasons for their selection to the programme; the only information they were in possession of in this regard was centred on the academic aspect of the qualification, which meant that this was what they focused on. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / PhD / Unrestricted

Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of developmental disorders characterized by significant challenges in socialization, communication, and behaviour. Unlike many other chronic illnesses, ASD proves to be a difficult disorder for parents to cope with. Nonetheless not many studies have been conducted in the area, particularly focusing on single parents. This study aimed to add to this limited literature by extending the exploration to include experiences of all types of single parents in raising children diagnosed with autism in a South African context, specifically in Pretoria. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect data from six purposefully sampled mothers, and thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The results revealed that participants were unaware of what the diagnosis of ASD meant for their children, and thus took it upon themselves to research and understand. Some of the challenges that single parents have had to face are the financial implications, behavioural problems as well as stigma. The single parents in this study showed resilience, as they were able to use resources that are available to them. Being a single parent to a child diagnosed with ASD has caused parents to adjust their lives to ensure that their child is given the biggest priority. / Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Psychology / MA / Unrestricted

This study explored 6 high school student’s experiences of setting sexual boundaries. The significance of this study expands the findings and contributes to the existing literature on sexual learning by adolescents setting sexual boundaries. Qualitative methodology, narrative style semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis were used in this study. Research findings point out that youths face significant challenges when setting sexual boundaries, such as, dealing with negative responses, having to maintain boundaries for an extended time, and managing emotional distress after consent is provided, but not followed by, a positive sexual experience. Implications for future research would include an exploration of this research question with a larger and more diverse population. The goal would be to develop findings that could be generalized with a larger population. Further, the goal would be to engage in an increased dialog of sex-education for youths. The important areas to explore would include experiences of setting sexual boundaries, support a healthy integration of the meanings that are associated with these experiences, and to enhance strength-based practices of setting healthy sexual boundaries. / Graduate

Bakgrund: Endometrios är en sjukdom som drabbar var tionde kvinna i fertil ålder. Fysioterapi rekommenderas som alternativ behandling eftersom det kan ha en smärtlindrande effekt och höja kvinnornas livskvalité. I litteraturen framkommer inte hur kvinnor med endometrios upplever den fysioterapeutiska behandlingen som helhet. Det finns därför behov av att undersöka hur den fysioterapeutiska behandlingen upplevs av kvinnor med endometrios. Syfte: Utforska kvinnors erfarenheter och upplevelser av endometrios och fysioterapeutisk behandling vid endometrios. Metod: Studien var av kvalitativ design. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fem kvinnor i åldrarna 24–40 år som diagnostiserats med endometrios. Deltagarna rekryterades via en Facebookgrupp och ett Instagramkonto för kvinnor med endometrios. Bekvämlighetsurval tillämpades. Databearbetning av materialet gjordes genom kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: I analysprocessen formulerades fyra huvudkategorier: Att leva med endometrios, Betydelse av fysioterapeutens förkunskap, Att skapa en trygg miljö med patienten och Individuella upplevelsen av de fysioterapeutiska behandlingarna. Kategorierna lyfter upplevelser och erfarenheter av sjukdomens påverkan i vardagen, fysioterapeutens kunskap och bemötande samt effekten av behandlingsmetoderna. Slutsats: Endometrios beskrevs ständigt påverka informanternas vardag där fysioterapin bidragit till lindring av symtom genom att de fått ny kunskap om smärtan samt individuellt anpassade behandlingar. Det ansågs värdefullt för informanterna att vara delaktiga i val av behandling. Att bli hörd och bekräftad upplevdes som viktigt i mötet med fysioterapeuten. Det framkom olika upplevelser av effekten av TENS, akupunktur, fysisk aktivitet och behandling av bäckenbotten. För att tydliggöra vad som gör behandlingen effektiv behövs fler studier. / Background: Endometriosis is a disease that affects every tenth woman of reproductive age. Physiotherapy is recommended as part of a treatment because it can have a pain-relieving effect and increase quality of life. The literature does not present how women with endometriosis experience the physiotherapeutic treatment. Therefore, there is a need to investigate how physiotherapeutic treatment is experienced by women with endometriosis. Objectives: Examine women's experiences of endometriosis and physiotherapeutic treatment in endometriosis.  Method: The study was of qualitative design. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with women aged 24–40 diagnosed with endometriosis. They were recruited through a Facebook group and an Instagram account. Convenience sampling was applied. Data processing was done with qualitative content analysis. Results: Four main categories were formulated: Living with endometriosis, Importance of physiotherapist's knowledge, Creating a safe environment with the patient and Individual experience of the physiotherapeutic treatments. The categories highlight experiences of the impact of the disease, the physiotherapist's knowledge and the effect of treatment methods. Conclusion: Endometriosis was described as constantly influencing the everyday lives of informants where physiotherapy has contributed to relief of symptoms by obtaining new knowledge and by individually tailored treatments. It was considered valuable for informants to be involved in the choice of treatment. Being heard and validated was perceived as important. Various experiences of the effect of TENS, acupuncture, physical activity and treatment of the pelvic floor emerged. To clarify what makes the treatment effective, more studies are needed.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Foster care is a major area of interest within the field of social work studies. The South African welfare system has not done enough to assist the youth exiting the system. This study aimed to explore and describe the experiences and support systems for youth exiting the foster care system. A qualitative exploratory-descriptive research approach was utilized with of focus group discussions, which were thematically analysed. The Humanities Social Science Research Ethics Committee ethically approved this study. Four themes were identified: insight into foster care system, challenges experienced by the youth exiting care, support needed by youth exiting care and challenges experienced by the social workers to manage foster care placements.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are stressful or traumatic events that occur during childhood that impact health and wellbeing, thus having long-lasting effects. In the context of parenting, a history of ACEs can impact a caregiver’s ability to manage stress and interfere with their ability to provide sensitive and regulated caregiving. Thankfully, there are many ways that one can foster resilience in the face of past ACEs. This study aims to help mothers combat ACEs and parenting stress by experimentally investigating the benefits of two resilience-building programs. The first is an emotion-based program that focuses on emotion regulation, self-care, and attachment theory. The second is a behavior-based program that focuses on developmental milestones and general behaviorally based parenting practices (e.g. positive reinforcement, punishment). The present project uses a pre/post/follow-up design to assess parenting stress before and after engagement in the resilience-building programs. Mothers of 3-year-old children will complete the ACEs Questionnaire, which assesses how many and what specific ACEs participants have (pre-assessment), and the Parental Stress Scale (PSS), which assesses their parenting stress (pre, post, follow up). Although statistical analyses will be conducted to examine differences in PSS scores, the ACEs Questionnaire will only be used to ensure that the sample examined is mothers with ACEs, as participants who report no ACEs will be excluded from data analysis. In addition to self-report questionnaires, participants visit the Affect, Regulation, Coping, and Health (ARCH) lab to complete moderately stressful tasks while physiological data is obtained; data from lab visits will not be analyzed in this project but will be collected since this research is a part of a larger study called the 2Gen: Feeling Better Project (2Gen) that aims to examine emotion coregulation and physiological synchrony between mothers and their three-year-old children. After the pre-assessment, participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two 8-week programs (Emotion Curriculum, Behavior Curriculum) which will be provided through electronic links to brief videos. Participants also receive binders with the video scripts, handouts, resources, and reflection questions for each week’s content. Due to being at early stages in data collection, the present project will summarize the 2Gen protocol and will simulate data using mean parenting stress values from comparable studies. That simulated data will then be analyzed using JASP, an open-source statistics software. A 2x2 factorial ANOVA will be run to compare pre and post PSS scores for the emotion and behavior-based resilience-building programs. We hypothesize that parenting stress scores will decrease for all participants; however, we anticipate this change to be greater for those who receive the emotion-based program.

Globally, great strides have been made in developing essential strategies and knowledge necessary to prevent vertical transmission of HIV. Retention in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme is essential for the achievement of this aspiration. The study applied Mixed Method Sequential Explanatory Design to explore the factors that underscored the retention decisions of newly diagnosed HIV positive pregnant women. The study was set in the PMTCT programme in the Takoradi Government Hospital, Ghana, a lower middle income country. PMTCT records were retrospectively reviewed. Subsequently, the Appreciative Inquiry process using the 4Is terminology was applied to unearth the experiences and aspirations of mothers (n=12), midwives and Community health nurses (CHNs) (n=12) engaged in the programme. Ethical approval was granted by University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences Human Ethics Research Committee and Ghana Health Service Ethics Review Committee. Retention rate at six weeks postpartum was 67.4%. Retention stories of women enrolled in the PMTCT programme reflected a life-enhancing experience in the face of a life-threatening diagnosis. Four themes were generated: Transitioning to the ‘new’ woman, Journeying with committed companions, Glimpses of triumph and Tying up the loose ends: A daring new path. The study highlighted development of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation, supportive network of family, healthcare professionals and religious leaders, and the commitment and companionship of the midwives and CHNs that culminated in the successes of the programme. ‘Healthy’ HIV-infected mothers and ‘exposed’ infants who tested negative to HIV at the end of the mother-infant pair’s journey in the PMTCT programme was evidence of the diligence of mothers, midwives and CHNs. A collaborative discussion resulted in the development of action plans to improve service delivery, enhance clients’ experiences and improve retention. The study recommends that PMTCT services should be structured to promote hope and empowerment for the clients through shared clients and healthcare professionals’ designed improvement programmes, instituting programmes that promote the emotional health of the health practitioners to sustain the programme, and promptly addressing health system challenges that contribute to disengagement.

In the South African context, a geographical region prone to the occurrence of frequent and intense periods of drought, the emergence of climate conditions reaching new extremes raises concerns of adaptability to sustain living and work well-being in such circumstances. The realisation of economic, social, environmental and psychological impacts resultant from drought conditions is particularly relevant to farmers, an occupation group who are often characterised by socio-economic vulnerability in South Africa. Consequently, this research seeks to explore the yet undocumented experiences of farmers living and working in the current drought conditions, located in the Karoo region of South Africa. A further aim of this research is to explore how these experiences have affected farmers' psychological well-being, as well as understanding the coping mechanisms they have used to deal with this long-standing crisis situation. The present study adopted an exploratory case study design using an interpretivist paradigmatic stance. Based on research conducted and reviewed within the climate change domain, it was understood that farmers' experiences of working in drought conditions were complex, context specific and differed amongst individuals. Therefore, knowledge was viewed as subjective as there was no particular, correct path to knowledge as it emerged through various contexts. The case under study was Karoo farmers in the Western Cape province. Their living and working experiences, and coping mechanisms were specific to their surrounding landscapes and chosen type of farming. Furthermore, this case study was particularly concerned with farmers who retained close living, working and cultural relationships to their natural environments. Consequently, the unit of analysis in this study was the individual. A purposive sampling strategy was adopted and a total of eight participants were interviewed. An inductive approach to analysing the data was undertaken, using Braun and Clarke's (2006) Thematic Analysis. Three major themes emerged during the analysis with a number of associated sub-themes. The results describe the sample's shared ecological grief experiences due to both implicit and explicit impacts resultant from sustained drought conditions. The negative psychological outcomes the sample endured as a result of these experiences, demonstrates the implication of living and working in such conditions for work and psychological well-being. The common coping mechanisms employed over this time are also extracted from the themes. The discussion presents the findings of this study through the lens of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach framework, to understand how drought conditions presents barriers to these farmers sustaining their well-being.

To estimate attributable burden and costs of conditions associated with exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Tennessee (TN) and Virginia (VA) during 2017. This is a cross-sectional study of individuals aged 18+ having exposure to ACEs using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Eight chronic diseases (asthma, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), depression, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis) and two risk factors (smoking and drinking) associated with ACEs were analyzed. Pearson's chi-square tests analyzed the association between ACEs, risk factors and chronic diseases. The population attributable risks (PAR) were estimated for the ACEs related diseases and risk factors and combined with health care expenses and Disability Adjusted-Life-Years (DALYs). Among those who experienced at least 1 ACE in TN, 10% had COPD, 17% had diabetes, 36% had obesity, and 30% had depression. Individuals who experienced at least 1 ACE in VA had higher percentages for COPD, obesity and depression diseases compared to those who had no ACE (p<.0001). ACEs’ exposure resulted in a burden of about 115,000 years and 127,000 years in terms of DALYs in TN and VA, respectively. The total health spending associated with ACEs based on PARs was about $647 million ($165 per adult) and $942 million ($292 per adult) in TN and VA respectively. The total costs associated with ACEs was about $15.5 billion ($3948) per person) and $20.2 billion ($6288 per person) in TN and VA, respectively. This study emphasizes the need to reduce ACEs due to high health and financial costs.

In Namibia, mental health is considered as a low priority health concern hence resources are instead diverted to life threatening illnesses. Furthermore, it is estimated that about 15% of the Namibian population suffers from mental health, with schizophrenia being the most common mental disorder. Despite the limited resources, The Ministry of Health and Social Services seeks to promote the extension of health for the care of people living with mental disorders to the family and community at large; however, such services are not yet in existence. Consequently, the responsibility of caring for the mental health users is shifted to the family caregivers who tend to be negatively affected. Additionally, only a few mental health users receive adequate mental health services and this places even more burden on the caregivers (MoHSS, 2005:5; MoHSS, 2010:13). It is against this background that the present study was conducted. The goal of the study was to explore the experiences among the caregivers of mental health users with schizophrenia in the Nankudu District, Namibia. The study was explorative in nature hence the qualitative research approach was used. Furthermore, the study adopted the case study design to explore the lives of caregivers in a modern restricted system through interviews to gain in-depth data and to understand of their lives. One on one, semi structured interviews were used to collect data from ten caregivers of mental health users with schizophrenia in Nankudu district. The purposive sampling method was used to select the participants for the study. The findings revealed that the caregivers experience physical, psychological, emotional, social and financial burden as a result of their caregiving roles and responsibilities towards the mental health users. The psychotic episodes for instance were negative experiences for all the caregivers. The caregivers adopted various roles and responsibilities towards the care of persons with schizophrenia such as overall involvement in their treatment plan, seeking for alternative traditional medicine and daily functional support of the mental health users. Moreover, they also experienced stigma from the community members and it constituted to more social and psychological effects. The study further revealed the lack of community based mental health care services and social work services for the mental health users and caregivers. Subsequently, the caregivers rely on other family members, friends and neighbours and interestingly, police officers for support. The study also highlighted some positive experiences encountered by caregivers such as acceptance of their caregiving role, good support system and the mental health user’s adherence to medication and recovery. Due to the highlighted findings, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health and Social Services should establish and implement family psychoeducational programmes for the caregivers and mental health users with schizophrenia to ensure their active involvement in the treatment plan, improve the quality of care and their well-being. Moreover, the Ministry of Health and Social Services should expedite the implementation of community based mental health services to offer support to the mental health users and caregivers as highlighted in the National Mental Health policy. Lastly, health professionals such as Social Workers should provide continuous psychosocial support to the caregivers in order to help them to address their negative experiences. / Dissertation (MSW (Health care))--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Health care) / Unrestricted