The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of the newly qualified professional nurses in midwifery section doing community service. A qualitative descriptive, interpretative phenomenological research was conducted to determine the experiences. The sample included newly qualified professional nurses doing community service. Data collection was conducted by means of unstructured interviews from ten (n=10) informants. Each interview was approximately 45 minutes. Ethical issues were considered. Hussel and Heidergadian’s data analysis steps were followed. Four (4) themes and eleven (11) sub-themes emerged from the data collected. The findings revealed that the newly qualified professional nurses were in a state of reality shock, demonstrated by challenges such as shortage of human and material resources; overcrowding; lack of support; and the placement of Midwifery Nursing Science in the curriculum has impacted negatively on midwives’ registration as professional nurses. Based on the current practical nursing education environment and further research, this study concludes by presenting its recommendations and limitations. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health Studies)

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

Text in English / The purpose of the study was to describe and explore the experiences of student nurses in caring for mental health users with profound intellectual disabilities in one of the care and rehabilitation centre at Gauteng province incorporating the Common Sense Model. Qualitative descriptive and explorative research was conducted to explore the experiences of student caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities and to recommend the best practices in caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Data collection was done using reflective diaries and in depth interviews. Twelve participants participated in the study. The study composed of student nurses (n=12) caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Five themes emerged from the study i.e. emotionally challenging, communication difficulties, lack of knowledge on the nature of intellectual disability, burden of care and mixed feelings. Findings of the study revealed that completing nurses find working with profound intellectual disabilities to be emotionally challenging and that negative experiences outweigh the positive experiences, resulting in their reluctance to want to work with profound intellectual disability users. It is therefore incumbent upon policy makers and hospital administrators to take cognisance of these negative feelings so that ways of minimising these frustrations and promoting the wellbeing of nurses caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities are promoted. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The early professional history of black South African nurses has not been the principal focus of local historians. Consequently, a qualitative historical inquiry was conducted into the available literature on the economic, social, political and cultural factors that influenced the professional development of black South African nurses from 1908–1994. Non-probability, purposive sampling assisted in assembling a corpus of historically rich data for analysis using time-specific a priori codes. The findings revealed that; culturally, black South African nurses had to adapt to a Western-dominated scientific health view; educationally, they had to master specialised formal Western terminology presented in a ‘foreign’ language (English) and, socio-politically, they had to adapt to being regarded as an elitist middle-class in the black community while remaining marginalised in the white-dominated workplace. Recommendations include expanding the historical research base, designing more effective strategies for promoting cultural sensitivity, and prioritising the focus on teaching and student retention. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Text in English / The purpose of the study was to describe and explore the experiences of student nurses in caring for mental health users with profound intellectual disabilities in one of the care and rehabilitation centre at Gauteng province incorporating the Common Sense Model. Qualitative descriptive and explorative research was conducted to explore the experiences of student caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities and to recommend the best practices in caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Data collection was done using reflective diaries and in depth interviews. Twelve participants participated in the study. The study composed of student nurses (n=12) caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Five themes emerged from the study i.e. emotionally challenging, communication difficulties, lack of knowledge on the nature of intellectual disability, burden of care and mixed feelings. Findings of the study revealed that completing nurses find working with profound intellectual disabilities to be emotionally challenging and that negative experiences outweigh the positive experiences, resulting in their reluctance to want to work with profound intellectual disability users. It is therefore incumbent upon policy makers and hospital administrators to take cognisance of these negative feelings so that ways of minimising these frustrations and promoting the wellbeing of nurses caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities are promoted. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The aim of this study was to determine the ability and proficiency of the newly qualified professional nurses in utilising psychiatric nursing skills at Chris Hani District Psychiatric Health Care Services in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The research method was a qualitative, phenomenological approach. A purposive sample of newly qualified professional nurses and supervisors participated in the study. The data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions, using semi – structured interview guides. Interviews responses were recorded on the interview guide. Data were analysed using the computer software Atlas ti and manually. Positive and negative themes were identified. Ethical considerations were ensured by means of privacy, anonymity and confidentiality. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Fort Hare and permission from the Provincial Department of Health and Chris Hani District Health and Mental Health Institution at Queenstown was sought. The findings revealed that newly qualified professional nurses performed well, according to the perception of their supervisors. Newly qualified professional nurses were faced with challenges such as shortage of resources, mental illness not considered as a priority and lack of skills development. The study also revealed that newly qualified professional nurses focussed on the curative aspect of ailments, rather than preventive care. However community health workers (CHW) focussed on the preventive aspect of care. Limitations and recommendations based on the findings of the study are presented.

Department of Advanced Nursing Science / MCur

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies / See the attached abstract below

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / Background: The Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative (MBFI) promotes and supports breastfeeding in environments such as clinics, community health centres and hospitals that have fully-functioning maternity units. The implementation of the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative in hospitals is associated with significant increases in the initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF). The Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative also leads to improved healthcare for infants, children and provides improved maternal health to all mothers. The main aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of nurses regarding the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative in non-accredited primary healthcare (PHC) facilities of Makhuduthamaga Sub-district. Method: Descriptive, cross-sectional and correlational study designs were used with the quantitative method. All the 18 non-accredited primary healthcare facilities were purposively selected and a total sampling method was used to select all the nurses working in these non-accredited primary healthcare facilities. Permission to conduct the study was sought from the University of Venda Research Ethics Committee and the Limpopo Department of Health Research Committee. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Content and face validity were enhanced before the actual data collection process. One hundred and ninety questionnaires were distributed and 164 responded, giving a response rate of 86.3%. Cronbach’s alpha test determined the reliability and reflected 0.981, indicating high reliability. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 23.0 and the Pearson coefficient of correlation established the relationship between variables. The study followed ethical considerations such as privacy, autonomy, confidentiality, fair treatment and right to self-determination. Results: In this study, 50.6% were professional nurses (PNs), 6.7% were nursing managers (NMs), 15.2% were enrolled nurses (ENs) and 27.4% were enrolled nursing assistants (ENAs). This study found that 100% of NMs, 65.1% of PNs, 54.2% of ENs and 26.7% of ENAs had received formal training on lactation management. Seventy-two percent (72%) of NMs, 90.4% of PNs, 72% of ENs vii and 66.7% of ENAs were knowledgeable about the duration of exclusive breastfeeding. This analysis found that the majority of nurses agreed that MBFI increases breastfeeding rates. Results showed that 63.6% of NMs, 69.6% of PNs, 56% of ENs and 46.7% of ENAs teach and demonstrate hand-milk expression to breastfeeding mothers. Furthermore, this research revealed that there was a significant relationship between the knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses with a p-value of (p-00.01). Recommendations and Conclusion: This study recommends that all nurses should receive formal training on MBFI implementation and this should be conducted to improve ENs and ENAs’ awareness about MBFI. MBFI should be integrated into the training curriculum for all nursing categories. This study further recommends that a support model for implementation of MBFI be developed and implemented.

Recognising the enormous challenges in South Africa confronting the nursing of the mentally ill, the project was conducted in a public hospital in Gauteng. The purpose of the research was to describe professional nurses' perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital setting and was carried out amongst a sample size of 124 professional nursing staff using a self-administered tool. The study looked at four different types of perceptions guided by categories of conceptual framework proposed by Mavundla (2000:1569-1570), namely perception of self, perception of patients, perception of environment and perceived feelings. The study found that the majority of professional nurses have a predominantly positive self- perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital, although a significant number have a negative perception of patients, the nursing environment and perceived feelings. Lack of knowledge, skill and experience affect the nursing care of mentally ill people in the general hospital. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)