Thèse (M.Sc.)--Université Laval, 2002. / Bibliogr.: f. 112-123. Publié aussi en version électronique.

No description available.

This doctoral dissertation, as part of a large and ongoing CIHR-funded study, used a subset of the total sample to evaluate the contribution of interactive health communication (IHC) as a complement to more traditional means of informational support (Care-as-usual) to optimal adjustment of women newly diagnosed with breast cancer (N = 135). According to the study protocol, participants in the experimental group received an IHC educational intervention for an eight-week period. Measures of psychosocial adjustment and information-related variables were administered in interviews at Time 1 (pre-intervention) within 8 weeks of initial diagnosis, and again 8 weeks post-intervention (Time 2). Psychosocial adjustment variables included: depressive symptoms (CESD), anxiety (STAI-Y), well-being (IWB), and quality of life (SF-36)-mental and physical health components. Information-related variables included: the need for information related to cancer, cancer-specialist, and family or friend's informational support, and overall satisfaction with information. Optimism and Constructed meaning were evaluated at Time 1 and 2, respectively. A GLM MANCOVA model tested overall F-ratios and regression coefficients using difference scores. Predictors in the model were: group (experimental versus control), constructed meaning, and optimism. The overall model (df = 8, 121) was significant for Group, F = 3.66, p < .001, effect size eta2 = .20, Constructed Meaning, F = 3.04, p < .004, effect size eta2 = .17, and Optimism, F = 2.95, p < .005, effect size eta2 = .16. Participants in the dissertation experimental group had significant improvements in QOL-physical health and overall satisfaction with information when compared with the control group. Constructed meaning was significantly associated with beneficial changes in all of the adjustment-related variables. The results of this dissertation clarify the potentially significant roles IHC and constructed meaning pl

The purposes of this study were to assess mental health counselors' knowledge of AIDS and to determine the effect of various independent variables upon knowledge. The variables used were gender, professional contact with PWAs, personal contact with PWAs, age, sexual preference, AIDS training, and personal acquaintance with a person who is homosexual. A sample of 358 mental health counselors was chosen randomly from the current membership of the American Mental Health Counseling Association which is a division of the American Association for Counseling and Development. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire which included a 32-item true-false knowledge test on the transmission, epidemiology, and treatment of AIDS as well as general information about AIDS. Chi-square, t-tests and multiple regression analyses were used at the .05 level of significance to determine the relationship between the variables and degree of knowledge. Mental health counselors scored quite high on most of the knowledge questions with a mean percentage score of 93% had a higher knowledge score on epidemiology than females, yet, when the total knowledge score was examined, there was not a significant difference. Respondents who had provided professional services to persons with AIDS within the past year had higher scores for both the sub-section on transmission and total knowledge. Subjects who had been personally acquainted with someone who had been diagnosed with AIDS showed a higher degre of knowledge, whereas acquaintance with someone who is homosexual seemed to have no direct relationship. Although age did not have an effect on knowledge, homosexual mental health counselors had a greater degree of knowledge about AIDS than heterosexuals, and mental health counselors who have had AIDS training have more knowledge of AIDS then those who have not. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in means between knowledge of AIDS and such factors as religion, work setting, professional degree and geographic area of residence. However, there was a significant relationship between knowledge of community resources and level of knowledge of AIDS. The study results were reviewed in light of the literature on AIDS and knowledge of AIDS among various professional and non-professional groups. Implications and recommendations for counselor education and clinical practice as a result of this study are presented. / Graduation date: 1992

This paper explores the experience of nurses who work both as Primary Health Care Providers and counsellors trained in the narrative model of counselling in primary health care settings. Five focus groups were conducted in both Xhosa and English. Discourse analysis was used as a method of analysing the data. Training nurses in the narrative counselling model introduced an alternative discourse, which was experienced as contradicting their usual way of working. Two dominant discourses were the “not knowing” approach, assumed by the narrative model of counselling, and the “knowing” stance, assumed by health education. The institutionalised construction of counselling by doctors and matrons, and their power versus the power of the nurse counsellors was also cited as sources of conflict. Despite the tensions, narrative model of counselling seems to be offering new positions, which may benefit people living with HIV and improve HIV/AIDS activities in the Primary Health Care (PHC) context.

The purpose of this study was to uncover the methadone counseling process among recovering and non-recovering chemical dependency counselors by examining the concepts and techniques utilized throughout the counseling process. This study examined whether the recovery status of a counselor affected the counselor's theoretical addiction model and the concepts and techniques that were utilized throughout the counseling process.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Educational Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2015. / The aim of this study was to adapt an HIV and AIDS intervention programme that may change the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of adolescents in Mpumalanga high schools. Mixed-method of qualitative and quantitative designs were used to achieve the objectives. The qualitative design consisted of peer mentors (N=141) who were interviewed in the focus group to provide information pertaining to the HIV and AIDS intervention that may change the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of vulnerable adolescents in Mpumalanga high schools. The quantitative design consisted of Grade 8 learners (N=1 085) who were used in the evaluation of the adapted HIV and AIDS intervention. Eeducators (N=11) piloted and monitored the administration of the adapted HIV and AIDS intervention. Results from the qualitative study suggested a four unit HIV and AIDS intervention programme with the following aims: (a) to empower adolescents to respond to risky behaviours, (b) to enable adolescents in Mpumalanga to acquire necessary knowledge, attitudes and skills that will protect adolescents from HIV and AIDS infection, (c) the programme must also aim at the development of self-in-society and (d) an abridged programme that will run for one school term that is more suitable. Results from quantitative evaluation revealed that the adapted HIV and AIDS intervention managed to increase, slightly, the acquisition of the knowledge and behaviour of participants, although the significant tests indicated that the observed rate of increase was statistically not significant at 0.05 levels. No impact was found on attitudes scales. It was recommended that the support of both adolescents and parents is vital for the success of any of any HIV and AIDS intervention programme. Opening of the community youth friendly health clinics with highly trained practitioners was also recommended as an essential element in HIV and AIDS prevention. Key concepts: Adolescents, Attitudes, Behaviour, HIV and AIDS intervention, Knowledge and Knowledge attitudes-behaviour practices.

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become the world's foremost health threat and is the number one killer in Zimbabwe. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome impacts not only the individual who has AIDS, but on nuclear and extended families, and all aspects of society in Zimbabwe. Since studies have indicated that counseling could be an effective tool in preventing the spread of Human Immuno Deficiency Virus (HIV) and helping those who are already impacted by the virus, it would be important for counselors to be knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS and have positive attitudes towards people with HIV/AIDS. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to investigate eight practicing Zimbabwean counselors' attitudes towards and knowledge of HIV/AIDS. Additionally, the study explored the emotions the counselors experienced while counseling HI V/AIDS clients, their beliefs about the origin of HI V/AIDS, and their perceptions about HI V/AIDS counseling in Zimbabwe. Eight practicing counselors in Zimbabwe participated in this study. A mixed method Model III with a sequential exploratory design was used amid phenomenological underpinnings. The counselors provided information through a mailed (electronic mail) questionnaire and telephone interviews. Follow-ups to the interviews were carried out through the electronic mail. Results indicated that the counselors in the study were generally knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS, had positive attitudes toward people with HIV/AIDS, and did not think that the origin of HIV/AIDS was important and that it was better to focus on the solutions to the problem. The counselors experienced a wide variety of feelings while counseling HIV/AIDS clients. The counselors reported more negative than positive feelings, but most of the feelings were not directed toward the client. The counselors revealed that HIV/AIDS counseling was complex and difficult. The counselors thought counselor training in Zimbabwe was too limited and that counselors in Zimbabwe in general lacked both support and supervision services. Despite the difficulties of, and the lack of support and supervision, the counselors found meaning in counseling HIV/AIDS clients. / Graduation date: 2004

Self-help groups have emerged as a system of care for groups of people sharing a common problem or condition. Most of the interest in research came from professionals in mental health and social services. Educators have traditionally viewed self-help groups as outside their domain. The focus of this study is the phenomenon of personal change within self-help groups. This is viewed as “learning with peers.” The subject of the study was HOPE Cancer Health Centre, a non-profit community based self-help organization in Vancouver, B.C. Appropriate to the study of phenomena in their natural surroundings, data collection methods were qualitative in nature. Fourteen in-depth interviews were carried out with members and leaders of the self-help group. Two introductory workshops were attended for participant observation and several pertinent documents were reviewed. A full description of HOPE Cancer Health Centre as a self-help group and as a context for adult learning was developed. To clarify the description of HOPE, a framework of characteristics of self-help groups was developed. It was used to organize data collection and analysis. Compilation and analysis of the findings created a description of HOPE that adds to the understanding of self-help groups as organizations in a larger system of care provision. It also adds to the understanding of HOPE as an organization with the purpose to assist cancer patients who are interested in actively participating in their cancer treatment and recovery. In order to enhance understanding of adult learning in the context of a selfhelp group, three perspectives from the literature on adult learning were selected for their potential to organize and explain the resulting data. Four important themes emerged from the data on the learning experiences of the members of HOPE. First, the ideology of HOPE, “self as participant in healing,” is the framework of learning and within that frame there are four forms of learning, the forms of transformative learning being the most significant. Second, for the learners of HOPE, the basis of knowledge is their personal experience; therefore, processes of experiential learning are important as well as those of perspective transformation. Third, the affective dimension of the experiential learning process was found to be integral in the process of learning. The fourth theme is “learning with peers,” the innate characteristic of self-help groups. All members interviewed placed high value on their experiences of learning with peers and of learning at HOPE. Meaningful interpretation of the data resulted from application of concepts and theoretical propositions from three perspectives on adult learning: experiential learning, transformative learning and situated learning.

People who have been diagnosed HIV positive often experience distress and anxiety due to uncertainties pertaining to the implications of an HIV positive status. Research has shown that support groups have always been a way for people to cope with the distress and stressful circumstances associated with health conditions such as HIV. This research investigated the role of face to face support groups in the lives of those living with HIV. The primary focus of this research project is to provide an in-depth exploration of HIV positive individuals‟ experiences of being in a support group. The study aims to explore the positive and negative experiences of being in an HIV support group and aims to gain an understanding of the role support plays in the lives of those living with HIV. A qualitative research design was used to explore the above mentioned aim. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five individuals, (three women and two men) who had experienced HIV support groups. The interviews were transcribed and then analysed according to the principles of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The findings of this study revealed five super-ordinate themes, which revealed not only the positive and negative experiences of being in a support group, but also the challenges that the participants‟ experienced before joining the group. Getting a sense of the participants‟ experience before joining the group allowed the researcher to get a better understanding of how useful or not the support group has been in helping them deal with the challenges of living with HIV. The themes included: „struggling to survive after diagnosis‟, „struggling to cope: adopting negative coping skills‟, „experiencing a turning-point: a will to survive‟, „attending support group: a sweet experience‟ and lastly, „attending support groups: a bitter experience‟. Findings suggest that for these participants, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages of being in a support group. Therefore this study suggests that face to face support groups are a viable and even necessary option for support. These findings support previous research and literature in regards to the importance of social support in the form of support groups in effectively assisting HIV positive people in their journey to adjust to the consequence of living with HIV.