PhD, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / The aim of the study was to explore the practice of antiretroviral (ARV) therapy services, specifically regarding the patients’ issues and experiences, as well as the experiences of the health care providers rendering these services. Qualitative research methods were used, including a metasynthesis of qualitative research articles on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive patients on ARV therapy, and phenomenological methods of inquiry. The study objectives were to conduct a metasynthesis of qualitative research on HIV-positive people on ARV therapy; to investigate the experiences of HIV-positive people who are on ARV therapy; to identify the constraints faced by HIV-positive people receiving ARV therapy; and to explore adherence to ARV therapy. The study was conducted in eThekwini district in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province. The district was chosen considering the number of clinics rolling out ARV therapy. Three institutions initiating ARV therapy participated in the study; one urban, one semi-urban and one rural clinic, to ensure representation of each type. Participants were recruited from two initiating hospitals and one Community Health Centre providing ARV therapy. The metasynthesis revealed a shared set of four themes viz.: 1. Acceptance of, and coping with, HIV positive status 2. Social support and disclosure 3. Experiences and beliefs about HIV medication and health care 4. Provider relationships and health system factors Qualitative analyses of interviews with clients indicated their experiences and concerns, and were summarized in these themes: 1. Life before and after knowing HIV status 2. Initiating and continuing ARV therapy 3. Adherence to, and side effects of, the ARV therapy treatment 4. Social support for people on ARV treatment vi 5. Positive outcomes of being on ARV treatment 6. Improving access to ARV treatment services Analyses of in-depth interviews with health care providers specified their experiences, and were categorized into three themes viz.: 1. Establishing and maintaining a good client-provider relationship 2. Facilitators of and adherence to ARV treatment 3. Barriers to access to treatment

It has been well documented that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) lead to unfavorable outcomes in later life, especially with regard to health and psychological outcomes. Recent research has demonstrated the impact of early childhood adversity on the onset of aggression and illegal behavior. However, often those with mental illness diagnoses with comorbid behavioral problems exhibit trajectories that include both arrest and hospitalization. While some are arrested for their criminal behavior, others are hospitalized. This begs the question: are those with mental illness and behavioral problems more likely to be arrested, or hospitalized, for their early behavioral problems? In the current study, it was hypothesized that arrest precedes hospitalization for the majority of these offenders, and that specific diagnoses of a mental illness are related to outcome. It was also hypothesized that early exposure to environmental adversity, as measured by the age of earliest ACE and total ACE score, would significantly predict whether offenders were arrested or hospitalized first. Other socio-ecological factors were also studied. The data for this study were gathered from a sample of 182 adult psychiatric inpatients in a secure forensic facility. Data were archival and retrospective in nature. All participants had been hospitalized following acts of violence or aggression, exhibiting a history of both behavioral problems as well as mental illness. A series of logistic and linear regressions were used to examine the relationship between reason for first admission to a psychiatric facility, diagnosis of a mental disorder, and early childhood adversity to clarify whether early problematic behaviors resulted in initial arrest or psychiatric hospitalization. Results indicate that subjects were much more likely to be hospitalized initially than arrested (33.5% arrested first, 66.5% hospitalized first). A diagnosis of impulse control disorder was significantly related to whether initial incident led to arrest or hospitalization (p=0.030), while the diagnosis of ADHD neared significance (p=0.056). No significant relationship was found between incidence of initial arrest or hospitalization and age that drug/alcohol abuse began. Other findings and implications for future research will be discussed.

Programa de Doctorado de Enfermería: Práctica y Educación.

This study considered whether participation in several out-of-class experiences during high school influenced the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, this study considered whether these experiences, considered together, had a cumulative effect on the odds that a student will aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree, and whether the influence of these high school experiences on college aspirations was moderated by a student’s race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. Results of the study revealed that several high school experiences, including participation in science-related school programs, participation in extracurricular activities, sitting in on or taking a college class, searching the Internet or reading college guides for college options, and talking to a school counselor about going to college, increased the odds that a student would aspire to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree. Additionally, results revealed that participation in four or more of the high school experiences examined in this study had a cumulative, positive influence on students’ eleventh grade college aspirations, and that the relationship between participation in these high school experiences and students’ aspirations to earn at least a Bachelor’s degree was not moderated by race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status.

El presente proyecto pretende contribuir al crecimiento del turismo en el país y a satisfacer a una demanda de viajeros que buscan coincidir con personas con gustos e intereses similares para compartir una divertida y segura experiencia de viaje. Alguna de las causas por la que los planes viajeros se cancelan o quedan sin planificarse es por falta de tiempo e interés similar al de tu acompañante referente al destino, fecha, actividades, etc.; y, si deseas unirte a un grupo y conocer gente nueva, careces de seguridad al no tener validada su información personal y por lo tanto no llegas a viajar, crear amistades ni compartir experiencias fuera de tu zona de confort. A través de “Viajemos”, buscamos que se vuelva real, permitiremos al usuario navegar desde su celular y hacer match con personas que compartan sus mismos intereses y gustos por viajar, pero sobre todo le ofreceremos validar la información de sus contactos con Reniec, de manera que su medio de comunicación y planificación sea más seguro. Para llevar a cabo este proyecto se ha diseñado también un plan operativo y de marketing, el cual será gerenciado por los socios durante el primer año y que, con una proyección de crecimiento de la demanda y las ventas, “viajemos” crezca como compañía y llegue a más personas ofreciendo una variedad de servicios dentro del sector turismo, potenciando cada vez más la seguridad en la interacción entre sus usuarios. / This project aims to contribute to the growth of tourism in the country and to satisfy traveler’s demand that is matching with other travelers who have interest in common in order to get a safe and fun travel experience. Some of the reasons of why the plans are cancel or left unplanned is due to the lack of time and interest about sharing the same activities, preferences and destination. In addition, if you want to join a group and meet new people, you may not feel secure because you do not have their personal information validated and therefore you do not travel, make relationships and do not get out of your comfort zone. App “Viajemos” is being designing to become an experience truth. The user will be able to search from his cellphone and do the match it wants with people of its interest and what we offer here is to validate the personal information of their matches with Reniec, so that communication be safer and easier. To implement this project, we have also designed an operative and marketing plan that it is going to be manage by the partners during the first year and then according to the sales projection and the increase of demand, we expect to grow up as a company and have a variety of services always developing a better way to interact. / Trabajo de investigación

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) accumulates annual data from state department of corrections. The information that the BJS accumulates annually is relevant to this study because it shows the possibility of the many African American women as well as other women in need of assistance while their loved one is incarcerated. The purpose of this study was to explore lived experiences of African American women involved with an incarcerated spouse, partner, or mate. The focal point of interest was how lived experiences affect African American women's physical and psychological well-being. The theoretical framework for this study comprised both the resilience theory and Bandura's self-efficacy theory. The research question that guided this study was: What are the significant experiences acquired during the incarceration process of the spouse, partner, or mate? Data were collected using semi structured interviews conducted with African American women over the age of 18 from a metropolitan city in the northeastern United States with incarcerated spouses, partners, or mates. NVivo software was used to find emergent themes from the data. The conclusions from the research, has endorsed positive social change by enlightening the helping professional. There are psychological implications that these women encountered during their lived experiences such as anxiety disorder, depression, trauma, stigma and shame, as well as criminality by association by staying in the relationship. The community should sustain these anguished women and be a factor in their well-being during the incarceration of their spouses, partners, or mates, as well as guiding them through the penal system via a resource center.

Individuals observe their surroundings and naturally judge others by what they observe or hear. In recent media portrayals, law enforcement officers were scrutinized for use of force and individuals were quick to verbalize their interpretation of events. Bandura's social learning theory served as a focal lens to guide the study. This qualitative phenomenological study examined lived experiences and what factors influence public perception of law enforcement use of force. Interviews were conducted with 10 participants who have encountered or witnessed law enforcement officers utilize use of force during a citizen encounter. NVivo software was used to code and analyze themes from interviews. The findings indicated lived experiences and emotions were high and did influence perception of use of force. Participants explained a variety of emotions when discussing their lived experiences. In addition, social media and mainstream news media played an important role in shaping perception of police officer use of force. This study promotes social change by presenting law enforcement agencies and society insight on how to improve on public perception and understanding of use of force so community relationships with law enforcement can flourish.

Historically, African American lesbians (AALs) experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) have received little or no support from therapists due to stigmas concerning the same-sex relationships of AALs in particular, who have been racially marginalized. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences, attitudes, and perceptions of therapists who provide counseling for AALs who have experienced IPV. The findings of this study may help to better understand the challenges, perceptions, and attitudes of therapists regarding their experiences in working with AALs in domestic violent relationships because existing research was limited on mental health therapists' perceptions of working with AALs who are experiencing IPV in their relationships. Attribution theory provided a framework through which to explore and describe this topic. A phenomenological research design was used to explore the perceptions and lived experiences of 10 mental health professionals who have worked with AALs in IPV relationships. Data collection, using semistructured continued until data saturation was attained. Moustakas' phenomenological steps for data analysis were used to identify 4 themes in the data: challenges, IPV, resources available, and outcomes. Understanding the attitudes and experiences of therapists working with AALs in abusive relationships may result in positive social change through increasing knowledge of the issues involved. This may result in improved counseling and other services to AALs.

Due to a lack of understanding lesbian and gay lived experiences in counseling, the counseling field is also lacking understanding of the lesbian and gay experiences in counseling that lead to premature termination. Without the knowledge of personal understanding of these experiences, it is difficult to also understand how to retain lesbian and gay clients, provide appropriate counselor training, and even explore cultural humility. The term cultural humility represents the implicit and explicit impact that culture has on the counselor and challenges assumptions made by the practitioner as well as assumptions about client culture (Fisher-Borne et al., 2015). The experiences of the lesbian and gay population are not well documented and are lacking in the research. Utilizing Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT) and the hermeneutic phenomenology of Van Manen (2016), this research study explored insight about lesbian and gay adult lived experiences who have terminated counseling prematurely. Hand coding was used to explore the narratives of 6 participants that generated 4 major themes and 11 subordinate themes. Themes included therapeutic alliance, interpersonal interference, ethical boundaries, cultural humility/cultural misunderstanding, and cultural invalidation. The results of this study gave a voice to the participants' challenges in counseling and offered awareness into what helped retain the participants and what might have implicated early termination. A better understanding of these experiences may equip counselors and counselors in training about the lesbian and gay adult population in counseling, how to retain them, and give clues to understanding ongoing cultural dissonance in counseling.

A lack of knowledge about the usefulness of a field experience component within the associate principal preparation program for assistant principals drove this study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the beliefs of system leaders and past participants regarding the usefulness of the field experience component and to examine archival end-of-course survey data from past participants. Constructivism and adult learning theory constituted the conceptual framework. Twelve leaders who were participants or administrators of the program within a large mid-Atlantic school district in the United States were participants. Qualitative data sources included interviews and archival data from the associate principal preparation program. A combination of descriptive and in vivo coding was used to support interpretive analysis. Results indicated the most useful components of the principal preparation program were the experiential nature of the program, opportunity for reflective thinking for participants, benefits of mentoring throughout the field experience, and empowerment felt by participants as they practiced skills learned during the field experience in their first year as principals. Recommendations based on these findings included a lengthened field experience and greater focus on the criteria used to match aspiring principals with mentor principals. Participants also noted fiscal and human capital resources were needed. A related recommendation could be to extend the field experience over 2 years to provide opportunities for associate principals to participate in experiences in the beginning and end of the school year in addition to the middle of the school year experiences provided. This research could provide support for districts interested in assessing the usefulness of their principal preparation programs.