Many families have been deprived access to basic human needs like food, clothing, shelter, protection, education and health services because of poverty. In South Africa poverty remains a challenge, resulting from economic and social inequalities, where 40% of its population still live in poverty (Landman, Bhorat, Van der Berg & Van Aardt 2003). The study aimed at ascertaining and describing the needs identified by adult members living in poverty, in the Lukhanji Municipality. The researcher used a probability, systematic, random sampling method to obtain respondents for the study. A non-experimental, descriptive, quantitative research approach was adopted. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 150 respondents, after which a numerical data analysis was done with the assistance of a statistician. Unemployment could be ascribed to lack of education and skills, which exposed families to poor living conditions, ill-health, insecurity and other social ills. Recommendations were made to solve these problems. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Young women working in SMEs are increasingly being affected by HIV and AIDS, and SMEs are expected to respond to HIV and AIDS through workplace policies and programmes. This requires commitment from SMEs to help young women who face various gendered vulnerabilities to HIV and AIDs. The study, whose purpose was to investigate young women workers’ experiences of the HIV and AIDS response of small and medium enterprises in a semi urban area in KwaZulu-Natal, used a qualitative approach and collected data from three SMEs in Pietermaritzburg during the period of the study. Findings of the study indicate that the majority of respondents from all three SMEs agree on experiencing limited or no HIV and AIDS policies and programmes in SMEs. With reference to incomplete or limited responses, two SMEs provide financial assistance for funerals. However, some aspects such as education and awareness, monitoring, management commitment, provision of medical aid, facilitation of peer education, appointment of an HIV officer and more were not evident. Thus recommendations were made on how SMEs should respond, and future research ideas were outlined. / Health Studies / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

In English / The purpose of this study was to establish factors affecting the participation of men working in the informal sector economy of South Africa in HIV counselling and testing (HCT) or voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). This includes the exploration of reasons for acceptance and non-acceptance of HIV testing, knowledge and perceptions about HIV testing and behaviours and attitudes towards HIV testing. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and a sample of fifty (50) men was purposively selected. It was found that the reasons for acceptance of HIV testing are satisfactory and reasons for non-acceptance are still a concern, and that several issues such as education about HIV testing and HIV in general still need to be addressed. Most of the respondents had undergone testing for HIV, but there is still a stigma attached to HIV testing. / Sociology / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

This study involves an analysis of accounts of first and subsequent early sexual experiences in a deep rural area of the Eastern Cape in South Africa over the last forty years. Through interviews and focus group discussions, the enculturation of youth into sexual activity in the community of interest is explored. The study looks into sexual experiences from childhood, through early adolescence to adults of up to sixty five years old, allowing an analysis of the changing forms of sexual experimentation and sexual debut in this context. Contextual factors mediating these changes are explored, with special emphasis on the changing regulatory practices around early sexual experiences and the effect thereof on behaviors connected to HIV infection risk. Practices that were previously important mediators of sexual behavior were: anxiety about the social consequences of pregnancy, which was previously a significant disincentive to sexual intercourse; men's previous acceptance of the need to practice non-penetrative forms of sex and girls postponing sexual debut for as long as possible. All these were culturally endorsed, but are now noted to have changed due to changes in the regulatory practices surrounding youth sexuality. The context of early sexual experiences and the surrounding cultural practices have also changed significantly, and this needs to be taken into account in understanding receptivity to condom use messages. Implications for HIV/AIDS prevention are discussed. Among other interventions, the study describes a participatory, community-based, multi-sectoral approach that takes social conditions into account as a way of empowering the community to strengthen its response to the pandemic. This incorporates different sectors of the community, including youth, parents, religious and traditional leaders, and various other structures, services and institutions that make up the community.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profile of black African females in the Makana region, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Baseline measures from 40 participants, who met the criteria, were compared against the 2003 South African Demographic and Health Survey (SADHS) and the 2013 South African National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (SANHANES-1). The risk factors measured were anthropometric (stature, body mass and body mass index (BMI)), morphological (waist circumference (WC), fat mass and lean mass), cardiovascular (heart rate and blood pressure (BP)), physical activity (step count and energy expenditure), biochemical (glycated haemoglobin and full blood lipid profile) and behavioural (alcohol and tobacco use). Results showed significantly higher (p≤0.05) values for overweight/obesity (BMI 37.60 kg.m⁻²; WC 1130.58 mm; fat mass 45.23%) and high BP (130/88 mmHg) compared to the previous national surveys, highlighting these CVD risk factors as problematic. The subsequent sub-study aimed to assess the efficacy of a pedometer-based walking intervention on high BP. The walking programme (n=25) was based on individual step goals to be completed at a moderate-intensity on five days.week⁻¹ for 12 weeks. The same measurements were taken at monthly intervals, Week 0, Week 4, Week 8 and Week 12, with the addition of dietary intake and fitness level, and the exclusion of the behavioural variables. There were no significant differences (p≤0.05) in systolic and diastolic BP with the exercise intervention, although there was a strong, negative relationship with time for diastolic BP (r²=0.9857). This trend suggests that the lack of significance may be a result of poor compliance and/or the small sample size. Individual results, however, showed no compliance-result relationship for the two risk factors of interest: overweight/obesity and high BP. Future recommendations include supervised or group-based exercise interventions to improve compliance, and the addition of resistance training to the aerobic programme.

Basic Antenatal Care (BANC) is a way of training or upgrading the knowledge and skills of all nurses, midwives and doctors involved in antenatal care at the primary health care level so that the minimum care can be provided effectively. This study was conducted to investigate the implementation of the BANC program by midwives in the Mdantsane clinics during February 2009. Methods: A descriptive study design was undertaken targeting midwives providing antenatal care to pregnant women, in 14 clinics of Mdantsane. Data was collected from 25 midwives in the clinics, and from 140 ANC cards of women attending ANC on the day of their visit to the clinic. Results: The majority of midwives providing BANC in Mdantsane clinics were not trained in BANC. There were 10 trained midwives and 15 not yet trained. A total of twenty five midwives were involved in the study. The number of visits according to the BANC schedule was well known by the midwives in the study. The content of the visits was well known for the first visit, but for subsequent visits, the participating midwives could not state exactly what they do on these visits. They perceived BANC as something beneficial for both midwives and pregnant women with 24 of the participating midwives rating BANC as advantageous. In completing an ANC card, the midwives scored between 48 percent and 100 percent. Under examination, they scored between 52 percent and 100 percent. Lastly on interpretation and decision making, they scored between 0 percent and 92 percent. This could have troubling consequences for the health status of the mother and baby. Weaknesses in providing antenatal care identified in the study included participating midwives failing to fill in the last normal menstrual period (LNMP) and the estimated date of delivery (EDD), which was a worrying observation. Plotting of the gestational age at first visit was also not carried out well as only 47 percent of the midwives in the study did this, meaning that there would be a miscalculation of the gestational age thereafter throughout the pregnancies. The body mass index (BMI) was not calculated as the maternal height and weight were not written on the ANC card. This should be completed in order to check the nutritional status of the pregnant woman to help supplement, if malnourished, and educate on diet, if overweight. Only 17 percent of the midwives in the study plotted the foetal presentation. Failure to plot foetal presentation could lead to complications during delivery because women with abnormal presentations could end up delivering in a clinic instead of the hospital.Conclusion: This study showed that even though midwives are implementing BANC among pregnant women, it is not being carried out correctly. Therefore the programme will not be as beneficial as it would be if put into practice correctly. This is highlighted by the lack of knowledge from the untrained midwives regarding the content of care on subsequent visits. Thus there is an urgent need for BANC training to be conducted and monitored at various sites.

The purpose of this study was to explore the views of adults with disabilities and their care providers with regard to extent to which health promotion implementation was facilitated within Protective Workshops across several service areas in South Africa. Quantitative and Qualitative Data was collected via a combination of data collection approaches that included the use of a descriptive survey, a self-administered questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. Structured questionnaires and an interview schedule were used to generate data from both the patient and care provider participants in each of the selected facilities. Participants with disabilities and care providers working in the Protective Workshops were identified and sampled through a multi-stage sampling procedure. Participants from 48 facilities participated in the study. The findings revealed that health promotion in Protective Workshops was cursory and informal. Even though health education was provided whenever the need arose, it was neither individualized nor customized in accordance with reasonable accommodation of people with disabilities. There were provincial differences in terms of the levels of participation and organizational support for people with disabilities. In certain cases bureaucratic obstacles were identified during field work. Results show inconsistency regarding access to equal opportunities for people with disabilities, albeit some agreed to a lesser extent (30.5%), others moderately (21.5%) compared to only 22.6% who agreed, were exceeded by 25% of respondents who completely disagreed to the notion that equal opportunities existed for people with disabilities. The latter was confirmed by care providers. The study recommended an urgent need for the development of inclusive health promotion, the enforcement of the requirements for reasonable accommodation and adherence to policy and legal imperatives. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

This study aimed to evaluate the benefits of life skills training as a preventive strategy for HIV and AIDS, for secondary school learners in one secondary school in the Moretele District of Mpumalanga. The objectives of this study were to determine the levels of learners’ knowledge about HIV and AIDS, and levels of teacher training in life skills, to assess how teachers’ and learners’ attitudes affect life skills training, to explore the perceptions of teachers and learners regarding the usefulness of life skills training in the prevention of HIV transmission and to assess the usefulness of the learning and teaching support materials (LTSM) used in life skills training. The study also investigated the challenges encountered by learners and teachers in life skills training in order to make recommendations for improvements. This is a qualitative evaluation study that involved qualitative focus group interviews, qualitative semi-structured interviews and qualitative observation. Sampling was purposive and it entailed 30 grade 9 learners and 2 grade 9 Life Orientation teachers. The Health Belief Model and Social Cognitive Theory formed the theoretical framework for this study. The results of the study showed that the aspects which significantly benefited learners were: sufficiently acceptable levels of knowledge about HIV and AIDS, the use of other resources from the library, and development of positive attitudes of learners and teachers involved in life skills. Aspects of life skills training which demonstrated partial benefits for the learners were teacher training and involvement of parents and other health care professionals. However, aspects which were less developed were the learners’ and teachers’ knowledge and application regarding some skills needed for prevention of HIV infection / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV-AIDS)

DCur / Departmet of Public Health / See the attached abstract below

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Background: Perinatal and neonatal mortality rates remain high in South Africa especially in rural areas and townships where the majority of poor people live. With regard to perinatal and neonatal mortality, South Africa like many other developing countries has failed to achieve MDG 4 and 5 by 2015 regardless of many efforts by the governments. To achieve the SDG which replaced MDGs for child health, it is necessary for the South African public and private health care to reduce substantially perinatal and new born deaths, particularly in rural areas. There are many factors that contribute to a high perinatal mortality rate in public hospitals in rural areas. To understand these factors, a study was conducted with midwives from selected public hospitals in Limpopo, Vhembe district which experiences the highest perinatal mortality rates in South Africa. Purpose and methodology: The purpose of this research study was to assess factors contributing to high perinatal mortality rates in the selected public hospitals in Vhembe district. A quantitative, descriptive, exploratory and cross-sectional design was used to collect data from the sampled hospitals in the Vhembe district. Hospitals were purposively sampled based on the statistics of monthly deliveries. The target population consisted of all registered midwives who had been working in the maternity units for at least two years. Cochrane's formula was used to determine the sample from the target population for each hospital. A random sample of 110 respondents was selected upon which a questionnaire was administered to each by the researcher. Responses from the close-ended and open-ended questions was grouped and analysed quantitatively by means of Statistical Package for Social Sciences 23.0 (SPSS). Results and findings: Results were presented in frequency tables and graphs revealed that most of the midwives lacked knowledge and skills in a number of key areas needed for them to operate efficiently in the maternity wards. There was also high staff turnover which led to a few midwives being overworked. The utilisation of guidelines and protocols in maternity was left to individual midwives as the hospitals did not evaluate the use of it. Conclusions: Lack of key skills in assisting women in labour, and poor use of guidelines and understaffing were the main contributing factors to high perinatal mortality rates in the selected public hospitals of Vhembe district. Midwife attitudes were not a contributory factor. / NRF