D.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing Science) / Living with chronic mental illness in Namibia is a challenge. It often means a permanent fight against stigma and a daily struggle to make ends meet. The impact of living with the illness produces enormous subjective sufferings for the individuals, as well as untold psychological and financial burdens for many families. Through the researcher‟s interactions with individuals living with chronic mental illness, it became clear that they are not adequately supported by relatives and other members of the communities in which they live. Sometimes they are deprived access to basic needs namely, shelter, medications, freedom of movement and of expression. There is an exaggerated fear of, as well as a negative attitude towards those living with mental illness. In the Northwest Health Directorate of Namibia, there are no community care facilities for individuals living with chronic mental illness. There are no alternative community aftercare modes for discharged individuals living with chronic mental illness. Post-discharge of the patient from the hospital, there are no follow-ups regarding the social circumstances they find themselves in. As a result, the home-care for someone living with chronic mental illness after hospitalization remains the sole responsibility of the relatives who rarely know how to look after the patient. On many occasions the public has been very ignorant about mental illness, resulting in them having a very negative attitude towards persons living with chronic mental illness. The main purpose of this research was to explore and describe the lived experiences of individuals living with chronic mental illness, and the experience of the family members, community members, and health care workers dealing with individuals living with chronic mental illness. Thereafter, the researcher developed a mental health nursing model, which provides a theoretical frame of reference for the advanced psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner to facilitate constructive interactions through communicating, relating and sharing by discharged individuals living with chronic mental illness in Namibia...

D.Cur. / Like in many countries, Namibia is experiencing social and economic health care problems related to care provision at state health facilities. The Namibian State has acknowledged that it can no more afford to provide care for all the sick people alone, especially at its health facilities. It is now calling upon the society to take up the responsibility of caring for their sick people at home. Although this call is genuine and necessary, one cannot help to always wonder about the expectations of stakeholders involved in home care provision in rural Namibia. The purpose of the study was to develop and describe a model for capacity building to facilitate quality home care in rural Namibia. To achieve this the following specific objectives were formulated: 1) to explore and describe the expectations of the stakeholders involved in home care situation in rural Northern Namibia; 2) to assess the status of available resources in relation to quality home care; 3) to analyse the concept capacity as a management process and conceptualise the whole study into existing theoretical frameworks to facilitate home care in rural Namibia and 4) to develop and describe practical guidelines for the implementation of the model. A qualitative case study design was used to carry out the study. Explorative, descriptive, theory generative and inductive strategies were utilised. Face to face interviews were conducted with thirty stakeholders in home care using an interview guide. Purposive and Snowballing/networking sampling were used to identify the stakeholders involved with home care. Observations were also made with regard to the status of the resources, its availability and accessibility to the stakeholders. From the empirical phase, various expectations were expressed related to resources, namely, physical structures, knowledgeable human resources, financial and logistics, information, safe water supply, transport and communication means, support systems and mechanisms at home and community levels, food and nutrition. It was clear that resources were lacking as well as the support systems for home care.

Studies on the impact of HIV/AIDS on health workers conducted in the health sector in different countries in Southern Africa have shown that health workers are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. This has affected the provision of care rendered by nurses negatively. The high workload emanating from increased numbers of patients contributed to the situation. As a result, a number of nurses suffer from stress related illnesses caused by many factors such as fear of contracting the HIV virus. Low staff morale has also been observed among nurses. The aim of this study was to study nurses perceptions, views and suggestions on the impacts of HIV/AIDS on the provision of health care in terms of increased workload, stress, low morale and fear of contracting HIV/AIDS in two medical wards and a TB ward in one regional hospital in Namibia.

Studies on the impact of HIV/AIDS on health workers conducted in the health sector in different countries in Southern Africa have shown that health workers are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. This has affected the provision of care rendered by nurses negatively. The high workload emanating from increased numbers of patients contributed to the situation. As a result, a number of nurses suffer from stress related illnesses caused by many factors such as fear of contracting the HIV virus. Low staff morale has also been observed among nurses. The aim of this study was to study nurses perceptions, views and suggestions on the impacts of HIV/AIDS on the provision of health care in terms of increased workload, stress, low morale and fear of contracting HIV/AIDS in two medical wards and a TB ward in one regional hospital in Namibia.

Thesis (Mcur)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The researcher has identified several problems in the North West Health Directorate community of Namibia regarding malaria and malaria related deaths. Against this background the study was undertaken to: • Identify the attitude(s) of the community towards malaria. • Determine the community's knowledge of malaria. • Determine the prevention strategies the community employed to guard against malaria. • Make recommendations. Methodological triangulation was used to obtain data and the findings reflected the following: • Lack of knowledge about malaria, its causes, management and prevention due to lack of adequate health information. • Socio-cultural factors have an influence on the community's knowledge of malaria, their attitudes towards malaria and on strategies employed by the community to prevent malaria. Recommendations included provision of proper and adequate health information to the community by health workers, increasing community participation in order to enhance attitude change and co-ordination and collaboration between traditional healers and the Ministry of Health and Social Services. Keywords: malaria I community I prevention I knowledge I attitudes / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die navorser het verskeie probleme rakende malaria en malaria verwante sterftes in die gemeenskap van die Noordwes Gesondheidsdirektoraat van Namibië geïdentifiseer. Teen hierdie agtergrond is die studie gedoen om: • Die houding van die gemeenskap teenoor malaria te identifiseer. • Die gemeenskap se kennis omtrent malaria te bepaal. • Die voorkomende strategieë wat die gemeenskap toepas om malaria te voorkom te bepaal. • Aanbevelings te maak. Metodologiese triangulasie is gebruik om data te verkry en die bevindinge het die volgende gereflekteer: • Gebrek aan kennis aangaande malaria, die oorsake, hantering en voorkoming van malaria as gevolg van 'n gebrek aan voldoende gesondheidsinligting. • Sosio-kulturele faktore beïnvloed die gemeenskap se kennis van malaria, hul houding teenoor malaria en die strategieë wat hul toepas om malaria te voorkom. Aanbevelings sluit in die voorsiening van korrekte en voldoende gesondheidsinligting aan die gemeenskap deur gesondheidswerkers, verhoging van gemeenskapsdeelname om houdingsveranderinge teweeg te bring asook om die koërdinasie en samewerking tussen tradisionele helers in die Ministerie van Gesondheid en Welsyn te verbeter. Sleutelwoorde: malaria I gemeenskap I voorkoming I kennis I houding.

It is important for nurses to show acceptable behaviour when interacting with the patients. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the factors that contribute to nurses’ negative behaviour when rendering patient care and to determine the effects of nurses’ behaviour on patient outcomes. The study used a non-experimental explorative and descriptive quantitative design. Data collection was done using a structured questionnaire. The sample comprised of 64 respondents which consisted of 25 registered nurses and 39 enrolled nurses. The study found that besides the known contributing factor, that is, the shortage of nurses, further identified contributing factors to nurses’ negative behaviour when rendering patient care are failure to retrain nurses identified with negative behaviours, poor condition of employment and patients’ behaviours and cultural beliefs. These results suggested a need to train more nurses, improve conditions of employment, as well as support and retrain nurses identified with negative behaviours. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)