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"Children's campus” as paradigm in community of faith. The purpose of this research is to examine the possibility of a structure (outside of the current, secularised school system) where the child, in context of his family, can experience socialising in relation to his or her faith so as to experience Christian values and norms, as well as gaining knowledge of God and being allowed to live according to this knowledge. The current situation of South African children belonging to Reformed churches has been explored, in context of their participation in their community of faith. Specific problems these children have to cope with in their society were looked at. It is obvious that a lot of factors influence spiritual growth in children, and that the church is not capable of handling these factors effectively at the moment. This study shows that the way of life prescribed by the Benedictine Rule is compatible with both the Word of God and Reformed Theology, and can as such fulfil a need in the spiritual life of modern people. This study shows ways in which the problems currently being experienced by children can be handled using the Rule of Benedict in a children's campus functioning under the supervision of the community of faith. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

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Introduction: Symptom prevalence and management have important implications for the use of healthcare services, as well as the health of individuals. Aim: To describe symptom prevalence and management in the UK and to investigate decision-making and preferences for care. Methods: Two questionnaire surveys were undertaken: 1) a symptom survey of 8,000 working-age adults in the UK, 2) a discrete choice experiment (DCE) with 1,370 respondents to the symptom survey. Results: Symptom survey - Over 75% of respondents experienced at least one symptom in the last two weeks (mean 3.7). The two-week prevalence of symptoms varied from 0.2% for coughing-up blood to 41.3% for feeling tired/run down. Prevalence of specific symptoms was associated with a number of participant characteristics. The most common response to symptoms was doing nothing at all (49%) followed by over-the-counter medicine use (25%). Approximately 8% consulted a GP, while use of other members of the primary-care team (pharmacist, nurse, complementary practitioner and NHS24/NHSDirect) was very small (<2%). Symptom characteristics were more commonly associated with actions taken than participant characteristics. DCE - Significant differences were found for three symptom scenarios of increasing seriousness (diarrhoea, dizziness and chest pain). Self-care was the preferred option for diarrhoea. Consulting a GP was the preferred option for dizziness and chest pain. For all symptom scenarios there was a preference for less waiting time, less cost, greater convenience/availability and a very good chance of a satisfactory outcome. These preferences were valued more highly as the seriousness of the symptom scenario increased. Respondents were willing to trade between different attributes, with waiting time and chance of a satisfactory outcome being the attributes most likely to influence preferences for different actions. Conclusion: Further research is required to examine the public’s knowledge and perceptions of the services offered by different members of the primary care team for managing symptoms.

Antenatal care (ANC) has been recognised as a way to improve health outcomes for pregnant women and their babies. Only 29% of pregnant women receive the recommended four antenatal visits in Nepal and reasons for such low utilisation of ANC are poorly understood. The main aim of this thesis is to explore opportunities and barriers in ANC uptake and the family’s role in decision-making in Nepal. In-depth interviews were conducted with 30 purposively selected prenatal or postnatal mothers (half users, half non-users of ANC), 10 husbands and 10 mothers-in-law in two communities (one semi-urban, one rural). There is no single factor that determines the use of ANC in the study area. Use of ANC is influenced by cultural norms and values. Culturally women have low status in the household and this contributes to the low uptake of ANC. Heavy workloads (inside and outside the home) are expected of all young women and challenge ANC uptake in rural areas. The findings suggest that husbands and mothers-in-law have a strong influence in the use of ANC. Mostly the mothers-in-law are pivotal family members who make decisions about ANC for their daughters-in-law. Educated husbands are reported to be positive towards ANC. Husbands’ lack of support in ANC is mostly related to alcoholic habit. Education had a positive effect on ANC uptake due to improved knowledge of its function. Perceptions regarding the need for ANC are shaped by previous experiences and severity of the condition of pregnancy. Some women did not go for ANC as pregnancy was seen as a normal condition. Similarly, perceived quality of care such as satisfaction towards the services, privacy and confidentiality, communication skills of the health worker are highlighted as important issues in ANC uptake. Factors related to affordability of care such as poverty and cost of the services are discouraging to some, especially poor families. Similarly, availability and accessibility of the services were highlighted as important issues in ANC uptake. Comprehensive health promotion and educational interventions could be positive actions but should target both women and their family members, particularly mothers-in-law and husbands.

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