The case study examined physical and social privacy for nine residents residing in personal care homes in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The study explored how residents’ well-being and quality of life was affected by the privacy afforded to them in various room accommodations. The case study explored residents’ social location, room preference, safety and security, communication with family, interaction with staff, and interaction with roommates. The study found that residents benefit from having access to locks for doors; specialized units for cognitively impaired residents; private health assessment rooms; phasing out multi-bed room; use of room barriers; privacy for intimacy; access to private lounges for visiting; and private room with a public telephone. The study assists health care providers and students in health fields in becoming aware of privacy issues. The study may be useful in assisting residents to prepare for adjustment to a personal care home.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that affects movement, muscle control and balance. Second only to Alzheimer's disease, PD is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in the United States (Lai & Tsui, 2001:135), affecting approximately one million people in the U.S. alone (Parkinson's disease Foundation [PDF], 2009). While the cause of Parkinson's disease remains unknown, there are certain known risk factors associated with the disease. One of the risk factors is increasing age. PD is most frequently associated with older adulthood, affecting one in 100 Americans 60 years and older (PDF). Over the next five decades, the incidence of PD is expected to triple, as the average age of the population increases (Lai & Tsui, 2001:135). Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder, with no known cause or promising cure. While substantial information is known about the medical aspect of Parkinson's disease, little is known about the illness experience of living with the disease. The goal of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease. The guiding research question was: What are the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease? A qualitative research approach was followed, with a collective case study research design. The population for this study included people who are in the late stage of Parkinson's disease, thus being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease before 2012 and who are receiving support services from Parkinson's Association of South Africa (PASA). Non-probability purposive sampling was utilized to generate a sample. Ten participants who met the criteria were selected for this study. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants. Interviews were voice recorded with the permission of the participants and were transcribed. The data gathered were analysed by the researcher and themes and sub-themes were identified. The research findings were presented and critically discussed. Literature control and verbatim quotes were used to support the findings. The conclusions of this study reflected that the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease are complex. Throughout the study it was found that Parkinson's disease impacts significantly on the physical, psychological and social well-being of people living with this disease in a number of ways. The recommendations offered by this study can be used by professionals working in the field of chronic, geriatric and neurodegenerative illnesses to understand the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease. / Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

The goal of the study was to evaluate the content, implementation and applicability of the Soul City social intervention programme (SCI programme) about HIV and AIDS targeted at the youth in the Northern Cape from an ecosystems perspective. The goal of this study was achieved through the realisation of the objectives of the study. The objectives of the study were: To describe the phenomenon of HIV and AIDS among the youth in the Northern Cape, South Africa from an ecosystems perspective; to describe the NSP 2012-2016 and the Provincial Strategic Plan (PSP) for HIV and AIDS in South Africa; to describe and critically analyse the SCI programme's focus on the youth from the ecosystems perspective; to evaluate the content of the SCI programme for the youth with regard to HIV and AIDS in the Northern Cape in the context of the NSP 2012-2016 on HIV and AIDS from the field workers' perspective; to evaluate the implementation of the SCI programme for the youth on HIV and AIDS in the Northern Cape in the context of the NSP 2012-2016 on HIV and AIDS from the perspective of the youth as service users, and lastly, to provide guidelines for the content, applicability, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the SCI programme for the youth with regard to HIV and AIDS in the context of the NSP 2012-2016, in order to enhance efforts to mitigate the impact of HIV and AIDS among the youth in the Northern Cape. Furthermore, a mixed-methods research approach was adopted to achieve the research goal. The quantitative and qualitative findings are described in Chapters 6 and 7 respectively. Triangulation, as mixed-method design, was utilised in this study. This enabled the researcher to produce complete and well-validated conclusions. The method of data collection for the part of the study about the youth was a group-administered questionnaire. For the qualitative part of this study, semi-structured interviews, with an interview schedule, were utilised to collect data related to the contents, applicability, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the SCI programme from trained field workers working in the youth sector and specialising in HIV and AIDS. The quantitative data was analysed using both descriptive and association statistical analyses. In the present study, the researcher strived to ensure a high degree of face validity by allowing experts in the field, for example, social workers practising in the field of HIV and AIDS, to scrutinise the research instrument as part of the pilot test. The questionnaire was piloted with 20 youths to enhance both face and content validity further. In the current study, an acceptable degree of reliability was prioritised and therefore a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.70 for all categories of the questionnaire was sought. The qualitative data of the semi-structured interviews with Soul City programme implementers was analysed using thematic analysis. An independent reviewer reviewed the theme generation and analysis to ensure consistency or the interrater reliability of the findings. This aided the researcher to identify patterns or themes from direct quotations and to provide rich data representation. Verbatim quotations from the interviews were used to support the themes. To ensure data trustworthiness, a high premium was placed on credibility, transferability, conformability and dependability. Analyses of three different sources of data, namely the literature review, the youth programme attendees/recipients and interviews with Soul City field workers were undertaken to answer the following research question. "To what extent is the content and implementation of the Soul City social intervention programme applicable to the youth in the Northern Cape?" Subsequently, the sub-question of the study was: "Does the Soul City social intervention programme take the different levels of the ecosystems perspective into account regarding programme content and implementation?" Several key findings were made in the quantitative part of the study, with nine sections of the questionnaire which focussed on: the Biographic details of respondents; Objectives of the Soul City programme for the youth in the Northern Cape; Applicability and relevance of the content of the Soul City Programme; Knowledge gained through attending Soul City; Attitudinal change; Programme delivery; Programme content; Programme facilitation methods and general aspects. Key findings were that there was no statistical association found between any of the variables in most sections of the questionnaire except for combinations of five questions in sections D and G. There was a statistical association found with regard to age where the respondents indicated that the SCP contributed to them achieving their personal life goals. Also in Section D there was a statistical association found where the respondents could see the impact of the SCP on their lives. There was a statistical association found between where respondents indicated that the SCP should focus on ways/strategies to fight poverty in their communities and also when they indicated that the SCP should focus on involving important people/stakeholders such as youth leaders. Lastly, there was a statistical association found between where the respondents indicated that the capacity of the youth in the community to fight the further spread of HIV and AIDS could be built by visiting the community. From an ecosystems perspective, the SCP programme appeared to be influenced by or aligned to micro-, meso-, exo- and macrolevel factors with varying degrees of success and focus areas. The programme's exolevel focus appeared to be more prominent and to a lesser degree the macro- and microlevels. The research found that the SCP is relatively effective regarding programme content and facilitation methods albeit to a limited degree. Furthermore, what was repeatedly clear was a need for the SCP's programme continuation and sustainability, because adequate effort had not been made for this despite the programmes' apparent value when it was operational. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Social Work and Criminology / DPhil / Unrestricted

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The worldwide ageing of the population, with an increase in associated chronic diseases, will inevitably escalate the demand for social work services at individual, group and community level. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the conditions associated with a population that is growing older. The disease was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and is characterised by progressive declines in cognitive and body functions, eventually resulting in death. It is estimated that 25 to 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and that in 2050, 106.2 million people will be living with the disease, causing a looming global epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease (Brookmeyer, Johnson, Ziegler-Graham & Arrighi, 2007:186). At some stage in the disease’s process, most, if not all people with Alzheimer’s, require some form of care. This care is generally provided by informal (family) caregivers in the community. Providing care to an older person with Alzheimer’s disease present multiple challenges with many factors influencing the caregiving experience. When the needs of caregivers are not met, caregiver burden may result. For the many families living in rural and impoverished areas, this additional responsibility may come as an extraordinary burden and cause unwarranted stress. The goal of the study was to explore the needs and experiences of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in black rural communities in Mpumalanga. The guiding research question was: What are the needs and experiences of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in black rural communities in Mpumalanga? A qualitative research approach was followed with a collective case study research design. The population for this study was caregivers providing care to persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease living within the Ehlanzeni and Nkangala Rural Districts Municipalities of Mpumalanga. Non-probability purposive sampling was utilised to generate a sample. Eleven participants who were caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in communities within the above-mentioned municipalities were selected. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants. Interviews were voice recorded with the permission of the participants, and were transcribed by a contracted transcriber. The data gathered were analysed by the researcher and themes and sub-themes were identified. The research findings were presented by providing a profile of research participants followed by a thematic analysis of the themes and sub-themes from the transcriptions. Literature control and verbatim quotes were used to support the findings. The themes include the following: Theme One – The Alzheimer’s disease caregiver; Theme Two – Indigenous issues with regards to Alzheimer’s disease; Theme Three – Caregivers’ understanding of Alzheimer’s disease; Theme Four – The impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the caregiver and Theme Five – Support services in the community. The conclusions of this study reflect that caregivers in black rural communities in Mpumalanga have a number of needs and challenges in providing care to a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Some of the challenges include the absence of caregiving training, stigmatisation due to indigenous beliefs, traditional healers’ diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, limited knowledge of caregivers about Alzheimer’s disease, adverse physical, social and psychological outcomes associated with caregiving, negative experiences with the public health care system, and the limited availability and accessibility of support services in the community. The recommendations offered by this study can be used by professionals working in the field of gerontology to understand the needs and experiences of Alzheimer’s caregivers. Social workers can use the recommendations to find ways to make their services known to the communities, and improve their intervention and support to these caregivers. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted