<p>A survey of the literature revealed that althougth a great deal of research has been carried out relating to stress and coping internationally, little has been written about nurses in South Africa. The aim of this study was to identify the possible causes and frequency of stress experienced by registered nurses working in a hospital, to identify the coping strategies used, to assess the relationship between stress and coping mechanisms of registered nurses, to compare stress and adopted coping strategies among registered nurses in the different units/wards, to identify the support systems that minimize stress and to address stress amongst nurses in South Africa.</p>

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree in Master of Health Sciences in Nursing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Introduction Moral distress is a widely recorded phenomenon in the nursing profession. It can be described as a form of distress that occurs when one knows the ethically correct thing to do, but is prevented from acting on that perceived obligation. Moral distress impacts patients, nurses and the organization. If the nurse is unable to advocate for her or his patient and avoidance behaviour occurs, increased patient suffering result. Moral distress results in high staff turnover, decreased quality patient care and low patient satisfaction. Unrelieved moral distress jeopardizes nurse’s sense of self-worth and threatens their integrity. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to determine the impact of moral distress on the provision of nursing care amongst critical care nurses. Methodology A quantitative descriptive design was used to determine the intensity and frequency of moral distress amongst critical care nurses, to assess the impact of moral distress on the provision of nursing care to the patient as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of organisational strategies implemented to reduce moral distress. Critical care nurses from both private and public hospitals were selected to participate in the study. Data was collected by means of a survey using the moral distress scale which was revised to meet the objectives of the study. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was utilised to gather data from a sample size of 100 critical care nurses currently working in the critical care environment. Results The study indicates that the frequency and intensity of moral distress is related to specific clinical situations in the critical care environment. The study also specifies that moral distress continues to have a negative effect on the provision of nursing care. Critical care nurses feel that some strategies are effective whereas others are not at all effective. Impact of the research study This study reveals that there is a significant negative effect of moral distress on the provision of nursing care. Nurses experience challenges in the clinical environment that result in them experiencing moral distress. Nurses more attuned to the ethical dimensions of care may be more at risk for moral distress since these nurses see the moral dimensions of nursing being neglected. Nurses may find themselves distancing themselves from patient care, resulting in a perceived lack of care and concern for the patient. / M

M.Cur. (Curriculum Studies) / The aim of this study is to determine whether training in stress management through primary mental health education has a positive effect on the learning of effective stress management techniques. This study was carried out on a group of police officers. In an experimental investigation the following method of stress management was used, namely a primary mental health education programme. An at-risk population in the society was identified namely the South African Police Force, and sixty four people from the target population of one hundred and twenty eight candicate-officers 'were selected for this study. A survey of the target population was done and these sampling units met the following criteria: they were all white warrant officers in training in the South.African Police Force from the same level of training, who had all obtained a national diploma in police administration. These members were representatives from throughout South-Africa making it a national study. Their ages ranged from twenty to fifty years of age....

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Work in the field of Occupational Social Work, September 2017 / School violence over the years has been on an increase. It has been particularly known and researched that learners have been affected by such a persistent phenomenon (Burton & Leoschut, 2013). Notably, teachers themselves are increasingly becoming victims of school violence. It has been said that much of the school violence stems from the violent nature of society; violence in society being complex in nature (Mncube & Harber, 2012). Limited research has been directed towards exploring victimisation of teachers by their learners, hence the interest in the topic. In order for one to gain knowledge and insight in this topic, the qualitative approach and a case study design was used. The unit of analysis consisted of 5 high school teachers within the Johannesburg South Region. Snowballing, which is a type of non – probability sampling was used to identify participants. A semi – structured interview scheduled was used as a data gathering tool, during the face – to face interviews. The thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data collected, so as to find common themes and topics relevant to the study. As predicted, the study helped in gaining insights in understanding the consequences of school violence and bullying on teachers. It helped in understanding teachers’ experiences of school violence and the consequences it has in the workplace. Additionally, it assisted in gaining insight on what may contribute towards the creation of a healthier work environment. / XL2018

A research report in partial fulfilment of Masters of Arts in Social and Psychological Research, School of Human and Community Development, University of Witwatersrand, 2018 / Caregiving is reported in numerous studies to have adverse effects on caregivers, including caregiver stress; mental and emotional strain; feelings of burden; and even the risk of mortality. Specifically for caregivers of adults with physical disabilities (AWPD), it is appreciated that caregiving is a life-changing experience as major modifications have to be made. These numerous changes have been reported to expedite the manifestation of stress that is differently perceived by the caregivers. Caregivers of AWPD are therefore anticipated to be at high risk of stress as this type of caregiving has been reported to be burdensome. In South Africa, researchers seem to have overlooked caregivers of adults with physical disabilities as a group that potentially have specific and unique perceptions in the role of caregiving. Most importantly the literature seemed limited in presenting how caregivers of AWPD qualify stress levels. Another paucity observed in the existing literature is that there are no accounts by caregivers on how the qualified stress levels impact on the relationship between the caregiver and care recipient. The aim of the current research was to explore perceived stress levels of caregivers of AWPDs. A second aim was to establish how caregivers of AWPD perceive stress levels to impact on the caregiver-care recipient relationship. The results highlighted that caregivers perceived stress levels to be fluctuating with time and affecting their health. According to the perspectives of the caregivers of AWPD, stress has either positive or negative impacts on the caregiver-care recipient communication, cooperation and closeness, differing amongst caregivers. / XL2018

This study was concerned with investigating the perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment on the psychological and physical wellbeing of employees at Nedbank. This was an important study to carry out due to the fact that people are increasingly spending time indoors more especially in the offices in which they work. Thus it becomes important to investigate the effects that the physical work environment in which people work has on their psychological and physical wellbeing. The buildings investigated in this study were green buildings, as they were concerned with limiting the negative impact of the physical work environment on the wellbeing of employees and the environment. The sample utilised in this study consisted of three hundred and forty nine (n=349) participants of Nedbank from two recently refurbished buildings known as Phase II and Ridgeside, the sampling technique utilised in order to obtain this sample was purposive sampling. The statistical analysis which were utilised was the multiple regression analysis which was used in order to find out which building conditions influenced psychological and physical wellbeing, whilst a partial correlation analyses was performed to investigate the moderating effect of time spent in building. From these analyses it was found that perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment had a greater influence on the physical wellbeing of employees. Perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment were found to have a lesser influence on the psychological wellbeing of employees at Nedbank. Results also revealed that time spent in building was not a moderator of the relationships between the perceptions of the conditions of the physical work environment with psychological and physical wellbeing respectively.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. February 2016 / South Africa is regarded as one of the most violent countries in the world. Colonialism and apartheid laid the foundations for a divided and segregated society where violence was accepted as a legitimate means of conflict resolution in order to ensure the domination of one racial group over all other groups. As social and economic inequalities have become more entrenched in South African society, criminal violence has escalated. However, the nature of violence in the country has changed from political violence to criminal violence. Against this backdrop of violence and associated trauma, the South African Police have the insurmountable task of trying to maintain law and order. The science of traumatology is a burgeoning field; traditionally empirical research has focused on the responses of primary trauma victims. However, in recent decades the secondary effects of traumatisation on those who counsel the victims of primary trauma, has received significant attention. Located within the South African Police Service, is an often forgotten secondary group of professionals who assist the police officials through assuming the roles of occupational and forensic social work. The profession of social work is inherently stressful and demanding, especially in a country like South Africa, where social problems are ubiquitous and pervade every facet of South African society. Furthermore, a particular occupational stressor significantly impacting on these social workers as they investigate child abuse or provide counselling for a police officer, is secondary traumatisation. The questions arise: firstly, how these social workers are affected by the amount of traumatic material to which they are exposed by the very nature of their work, and secondly, what coping strategies they employ. It was therefore deemed imperative to explore the effects of secondary traumatisation experienced by these social workers in the South African Police Service in order to understand and ameliorate the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress. Furthermore, social work supervisors can enhance the quality of care their social workers provide to clients if they are adequately supported. It was therefore also considered necessary to explore the stressors these social workers experience and to identify the necessary support mechanisms appropriate to such therapeutic endeavors. The primary aim of this study was therefore to explore the nature and extent of secondary traumatic stress experienced by social workers employed by the South African Police Service. The research design adopted for this study was exploratory, descriptive and correlational, while the research methodology employed was a hybrid of both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. As this study involved an in-depth analysis of a bounded system comprising social workers employed at SAPS, the research was considered a case study. The study comprised two phases: In the first phase questionnaire booklets containing seven standardised research tools and open-ended questions, were administered in group settings. In addition, questionnaires were posted to social workers who were not able to attend the group meetings along with a self-addressed envelope. The research tools measured the nature of secondary trauma exposure, levels of secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, compassion satisfaction, burnout, coping resources and dimensions of the work environment. Two hundred questionnaire booklets were distributed and 128 usable questionnaires were returned. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the quantitative data, through the use of statistical programmes, SAS and SPSS. In the second stage of the study, 30 participants who participated in the first part of the study and who indicated that they were willing to be interviewed, were purposively selected. A structured research tool was used to guide the interview in order to explore the participants’ perceptions and experiences of secondary trauma while working for SAPS. The interviews were conducted either face-to face, telephonically or through Skype. The qualitative data that emerged from the interviews were analysed through the use of Atlasti, a qualitative computer programme, which assisted the researcher in the thematic analysis. Through the process of incorporating qualitative techniques, the researcher also made use of reflexivity when analysing the qualitative data. In total 128 social workers participated in the study, of whom 102 were occupational social workers while 26 were forensic social workers, all located within South Africa. The extent of exposure to secondary trauma varied substantially between both occupational and forensic social work when considered as separate divisions, as well as within each discipline. This variation manifested in frequencies and duration of cases. In the interviews forensic social workers identified particularly traumatic cases as those where the sexual abuse was severe or the child had died as a result of extreme abuse. In comparison, occupational social workers identified some of the worst cases they had dealt with as cases where the police officers became disabled; and where they were required to deal with police suicides and police family murders or femicide-suicides. Most participants presented with high or average levels of secondary traumatic stress and vicarious trauma as well as with moderate and low levels of burnout. Furthermore, there was a strong positive correlation between levels of secondary traumatic stress and burnout. The majority of participants experienced average levels of compassion satisfaction from their work. Participants identified various coping strategies and resources incorporating different individual dimensions, namely, physical, emotional, cognitive, social and spiritual. Participants showed high levels of resilience and findings indicated that resilience was negatively correlated with vicarious trauma. There were numerous significant differences between the different ranks of the participants. Participants of higher rank reported greater trauma exposure and had significantly higher secondary traumatic scores. Coloured participants experienced significantly lower levels of vicarious traumatisation than Black participants. Furthermore, there were numerous statistically significant differences apparent between the forensic and occupational social workers. Forensic social workers manifested significantly higher levels of vicarious trauma than occupational social workers, and forensic social workers had greater distortions regarding self-intimacy than occupational social workers. In addition, forensic social workers presented with lower coping resources and lower levels of resilience than occupational social workers. Participants also experienced below average levels of satisfaction within the work environment at SAPS. The results from the work environment scale showed that in particular the relationship aspects in the work environment were problematic and that colleague support levels were below average. There were also significant differences in work satisfaction levels between Black and White participants. These findings enhance understanding of trauma in racially polarised societies. Multivariate analysis revealed the complex relationships existing between the numerous variables in the study, further contributing to the theory of trauma in divided societies. Two structural equation models were developed to show the relationships of the variables measured in the study which were identical apart from the vicarious trauma variable which was separated to incorporate beliefs about self and beliefs about others. The models revealed that coping mechanisms moderated the relationship between traumatic stress exposure and vicarious trauma (self) and that such mechanisms moderated the resilience and burnout relationship. These findings of the study highlight the need to involve social workers at SAPS in the drafting and implementation of a self-care policy which would help to promote empowerment and responsibility of social workers for their own mental health. Recommendations for social work policy, education, practice, supervision and support as well as future research are also provided. / MT2017

Thesis (M.A. (Clinical Psychology) --University of Limpopo, 2008 / Police members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) work under constant physical, emotional and psychological stress due to the demands of their work. It is possible to assume that this profession could be more susceptible to trauma, depression and suicide ideation than a less demanding profession. The increase in suicides within the SAPS in the past years has created great concern worldwide. The literature review contributes to the understanding of vicarious trauma by providing evidence of its widespread existence and the impact on all professions that deal with trauma victims, as do the SAPS. A need for further research was highlighted. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of vicarious trauma within the SAPS; how rank, marital status, education, duration of service and workload affect the existence of vicarious trauma; and how the experience of vicarious trauma affects the lives of the SAPS member . A quantitative study was done with a sample comprising of 60 SAPS members from the Limpopo Province (Lebowakgomo and Mankweng stations). The inclusion criteria included: participants (both permanent and voluntary) had to be active, field working members of the SAPS and had to be in direct association with trauma victims. The conceptual framework: T rauma Theory guided the description and interpretation of the data. Findings revealed that there exist, at present, high levels of vicarious trauma within the SAPS. The duration of service and the marital status of the individual were found to have an influence on the existence of compassion fatigue, while rank, workload, education level and gender were found to have no direct relationship to the presence of vicarious trauma. Finally , this study concludes with recommendations for future studies into vicarious trauma within the SAPS.

M. Tech Business Administration / During the 2010/2011 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements embarked on its second organisational restructuring effort, in an attempt to align and improve internal departmental performance. It is documented in the academic literature that when organisational change occurs, it impacts on employees. There are, however, few public sector studies of how change affects the psychological contracts of employees. The aim of this research is therefore to add to existing public sector literature by determining whether changes in the National Department of Human Settlements have impacted on employees' psychological contracts in a negative or a positive way. The research seeks to investigate whether the changes have affected employees' trust of their employer, their commitment, dedication, loyalty and career development opportunities.

M. Tech. Business Administration / During the 2010/2011 financial year, the National Department of Human Settlements embarked on its second organisational restructuring effort, in an attempt to align and improve internal departmental performance. It is documented in the academic literature that when organisational change occurs, it impacts on employees. There are, however, few public sector studies of how change affects the psychological contracts of employees. The aim of this research is therefore to add to existing public sector literature by determining whether changes in the National Department of Human Settlements have impacted on employees' psychological contracts in a negative or a positive way. The research seeks to investigate whether the changes have affected employees' trust of their employer, their commitment, dedication, loyalty and career development opportunities.