The young people of South Africa hold the future of society in their hands. They will become the new leaders who will make or break South Africa's fledgling democracy. Of course, it is impossible to know how society will fare in the millennium; but knowledge of where the youth think their lives and their country are heading will provide some clues to what the future holds. The research for this book was inspired by the "Monitoring the future" project, a regular survey of young people's values and aspirations by the Institute of Social Research at the University of Michigan. Our research was informed by recent comprehensive inquiries on the youth conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Co-operative Research Programme on South African Youth and the research by the Joint Enrichment Programme and the Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE). The present study also builds on more focused research on leisure, educational aspirations and quality of life conducted by researchers attached to the University of Natal's Quality of Life Research Unit. The evidence for the two large-scale inquiries and the quality of life studies was collected before South Africa's first open general elections. The material presented in this book is about young people who have experience of living under the new democracy. This report may be among the first to inform the newly formed National Youth Commission of young people's needs and aspirations. Urgently needed for planning and policy formation is a systematic programme of research into the evolving situation of South African youth under the new political dispensation. Until such time as the values and lifestyles of young people are monitored at regular intervals, ad hoc studies such as the one reported here may help to fill the gap. It is hoped that the views of young people expressed in this book will deepen our understanding of young people's expectations and aspirations for the future. My life in the New South Africa provides a snapshot of society two years after the first open general elections as seen through the lenses of the youth. The book, which was written by the young people themselves, documents contemporary everyday life and hopes and fears for the future as envisaged by the youth. The material was gathered through an innovative research project which aimed to learn how young people see themselves and their society two years into the new democracy. Over 900 of the youth gave descriptions of "my life in the New South Africa" in the first half of 1996 in response to a letter writing competition designed by the Quality of Life Research Unit at the University of Natal. The competition fits the currently fashionable genre of "participatory" research, in which subjects double as analysts of their life situation. Although a fairly recent addition to the South African research repertoire, the participatory method is not unfamiliar to quality of life researchers. For many years, students of quality of life have advocated that ordinary people and not the external experts are the best judges of what makes people's lives satisfactory or not. Working in this research tradition, the Quality of Life research team at the University of Natal took on the task of shaping a book around the issues addressed by the youth in their letters. The material produced by the letter writing competition was content-analysed by a team of experts and organised in a number of thematic chapters which cover many of the dominant concerns of contemporary youth. Essentially, the youth wrote the script and the researchers did the editing. The mood of the letters is overwhelmingly positive and inspiring for a new democracy intent on overcoming the shortcomings of the past. Energy, youthful optimism and good intentions radiate from the letters. There is no doubt that My life in the New South Africa will provide useful pointers for current policy formation. It is hoped that the contents of this book will also serve as benchmark information against which South African society will be able to measure itself in years to come. The majority of the young people who entered the competition fervently believe, or at least wish to believe, that their hopes for an ideal society in which all South Africans live in harmony will be realised. Their idealism is as refreshing and touching in its naivetέ as it is sobering. The youth who wrote to the Quality of Life research team, boldly outline the challenges that lie ahead for a new democracy. Time will tell if the hopes and fears of contemporary youth can be laid to rest and their dreams for the future fulfilled. South Africa owes it to the next generation that its young people not be disappointed.

Orientador: Marcelo de Castro Meneghim / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Esdual de Campinas, Instituto de Odontologia de Piracaba. / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-15T11:08:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Esmeriz_ClaudiaElisadeCampos_M.pdf: 1195582 bytes, checksum: fb3a246174c40a436230f039f24896eb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: O presente trabalho é composto por dois estudos, realizados com uma amostra de 371 idosos vinculados a Unidades de Saúde da Família, tendo como principal objetivo verificar se há associação entre a autopercepção de saúde bucal do idoso e variáveis clínicas, sociodemográficas, domínios de qualidade de vida e epressão geriátrica, e como sua saúde bucal pode interferir em sua autoavaliação e qualidade de vida. Em ambos, a amostra apresentou média (desvio-padrão) de idade de 67,4 anos (2,8), com maioria na faixa etária entre 60 a 70 anos, predomínio do gênero feminino (63,3%), casados (60,5%) e que cursaram o ensino fundamental (75%). Apresentaram alto índice CPO-D em 28,5 (4,8), quando comparado a outras faixas etárias e alta pocentagem de uso de próteses removíveis (parciais ou totais) 80,6%. O primeiro estudo teve como variável dependente a autopercepção de saúde bucal. Foram realizadas avaliações clínicas (OMS 1999) para índice CPO-D, CPI e Uso/Necessidade de prótese, e utilizados três instrumentos de avaliações não clínicas: 1 - Qualidade de Vida (SF-36); 2 - Autopercepção de saúde bucal (Índice GOHAI) e 3 - Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (Yesavage). Os dados foram avaliados pelos testes de Kruskal-Wallis, Qui-Quadrado e Exato de Fisher (freqüência de respostas menores que 5), utilizando um nível de significância de 95% (a=0,05). A autopercepção de saúde bucal apresentou como resultados, uma autovaliação, pelos examinados, considerada positiva (Gohai>30), apesar dos resultados das avaliações clínicas terem sido contrários a essa autopercepção. Em função da autopercepção, a característica sociodemográfica escolaridade apresentou resultados significativos estatisticamente (p<0,05). Associada aos domínios de qualidade de vida, apresentaram resultados estatisticamente significativos dois (aspectos físicos e emocionais) dos oito domínios, bem como, depressão geriátrica (p<0,05). A metodologia do segundo estudo procurou avaliar aspectos epidemiológicos e a qualidade de vida (por meio de seus oito domínios) do examinado, na qual foram realizadas avaliações clínicas (OMS 1999) para índice CPO-D, CPI e Uso/Necessidade de prótese, e utilizados dois instrumentos de avaliações não clínicas: 1 - Qualidade de Vida (SF-36); 2 - Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (Yesavage). Todas características sociodemográficas apresentaram resultados estatisticamente significativos (p<0.05), associados ao CPO-D, e, gênero e estado civil apresentaram para necessidade de prótese. O uso de prótese apresentou diferença estatisticamente significativa, em função dos domínios capacidade funcional, aspectos físicos, dor e aspectos emocionais. Destes trabalhos, depreende-se que a saúde geral e fatores psicológicos podem ser significativos para o paciente idoso e interferir em suas condições clínicas de saúde bucal, inclusive na progressão de doenças bucais e tratamentos. Observa-se, então, a necessidade de o idoso conhecer-se e autoavaliar-se, segundo suas reais condições de saúde bucal, procurando auxílio profissional e, consequentemente, adquirindo melhor qualidade de vida associada à saúde bucal. / Abstract: This work consists of two studies with the main objective to verify whether a relationship exists between self-rated oral health of the elderly and clinical variables, sociodemographic, domains of quality of life and geriatric depression, and how the oral health can interfere in their self-assessment and quality of life. In both, the sample had a mean (standard deviation) age of 67.4 years (2.8), most aged between 60 to 70 years, predominantly female (63.3%), married (60.5%) and with only elementary education (75%). The mean DMFT index was 28.5 (4.8) and high use of removable dentures (partial or total), approximately 80.6%. In the first study, the dependent variable was the self-rated oral health. Were conducted clinical evaluations (OMS 1999) for DMFT index, IPC index and Use / Need for prosthesis, and used three instruments of non-clinical evaluations: 1 - Quality of Life (SF-36); 2 - Self-perception of oral health (Index GOHAI) and 3 - the Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage). The data were evaluated using the Kruskal-Wallis, chi-square and Fisher's exact or G-Test (frequency of responses below 5), using a confidence interval of 95% (a=0.05). The self-perceived oral health, showed as a result, a self-assessment, considered positive (Gohai > 30), although the findings of the clinical evaluations, have been contrary to this positive self-perception. When associated with self-perception, of socio-demographic characteristics, education been that presented statistically significant results (p<0.05). Associated with the domains of quality of life, shown statistically significants two of eight domains, as well as geriatric depression (p<0.05). The methodology of the second study sought to evaluate the epidemiological and quality of life (through the eight domains) of each individual, in which clinical evaluations were performed (OMS 1999) for DMFT index, IPC index and Use/Need for prosthesis, and used two instruments of non-clinical evaluations: 1 - Quality of Life (SF-36) 2 - Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage). Data were evaluated using Kruskal-Wallis, chisquare and Fisher's exact (frequency of responses below 5) and used a confidence interval of 95% (a = 0.05). All socio-demographic characteristics showed significant results (p<0.05) associated to the DMFT and, gender and marital status showed p<0.05 for need of prosthesis. The use of prosthesis showed p<0.05 associated to the domains: capacity functional, physical aspects, bodily pain, and emotional aspects. Of these studies, we concluded that general health and psychological factors may be significant for the elderly patient and interfere in their clinical conditions of oral health, including the progression of oral diseases and treatments. It is observed, then, the need of the elderly know self-assess his oral health, according to the his actual oral health status, seeking professional help, and thus achieving better quality of life associated with oral health. / Mestrado / Saude Coletiva / Mestre em Odontologia

M.Tech. / The purpose of this study is to determine whether chiropractic care has an effect on a patient's quality of life using the endpoints of: "the ability to perform general activities of daily living" (patient's level of disability, and restored function) and their "general emotional state" (energy level, depression, interference from emotional problems and feeling of wellness), also how these endpoints affect quality of life. Two hundred and fifty-three subjects participated in this study. The inclusion requirements were that subjects had to be aged 20 — 60, having been under chiropractic care previously. The subjects were recruited from 14 private practices from the whole of South Africa. All subjects were required to complete a self administered quality of life questionnaire. The quality of life questionnaire was developed to suit the South African population. Each questionnaire took about 5 minutes to complete. Domains used to calculate the results were changes in aerobic activity, physical activity, hygiene, activities of daily living and emotional state, after chiropractic care compared to before chiropractic care. The results overall showed that subjects experienced an improvement in their quality of life after chiropractic care. Chiropractic care therefore, had a beneficial effect on patients' quality of life. The overall results were statistically significant. The researcher therefore concludes that chiropractic care has an effect on patients' quality of life. It is recommended that future studies / research utilize a more comprehensively developed research questionnaire

M.Phil. / This is a descriptive, literature based study that examines retirement from a Personal and Professional Leadership(PPL) perspective. The aim of this study is to determine whether a PPL perspective can contribute towards better quality of life with retirement. Retirement should be a golden period. This is, however, often not the case and quality of life often deteriorates with retirement. Retirement is described and the various phases of retiryment are discussed; planning, opportunity, the honeymoon phase, the disillusionment phase, reorientation and finally stability. This study identifies the potential problematic life domains that can affect quality of life during retirement. Each life dimension is discussed comprehensively and the conclusion is reached that all life dimensions remain vitally important during retirement: -Physical needs: This includes the health of the person including the need for food; clothing and a place to stay. -Intellectual needs: Here the need for stimulation and the ability of the person to respond intellectually new situations is examined. -Social needs: The need to love and be loved is explored as well as the importance of relationships. -Emotional needs: The influence of emotions is noted and emotional management is discussed. -Spiritual needs: Spiritual intelligence is discussed and this domain is identified as one of the most important. -Financial needs: Sufficient planning and management of finances is essential. The relationships between attitude, meaning of life and quality of life are explored. A positive attitude is found to positively influence a person's quality of life, Similarly, a person who experiences life as valuable and meaningful will experience better quality of life as opposed to someone to whom life is meaningless. The conclusion is drawn that it depends largely on the individual(inside outmodel) what quality of life is experienced after retirement. The most salient results of this study are: -That the quality of life experienced after retirement is a complex matter. -The various life dimensions-physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual and financial-all impact the quality of life experience dafter retirement. -It is noted that the physical dimension is very important after retirement and that the pro-active management of the physical is vital to quality of life. -The spiritual domain is identified as the core dimension which influences all other dimensions and it must be imbalance. -Attitude is important. A positive attitude can improve quality of life. -Meaningful life can clearly affect quality of life. In essence each person must find the meaning for their existence, Once meaning is found,quality of life improves. -PPL can assist retired people to improve their quality of life. -Quality of life after retirement can be achieved through planning and pro-active management. Often lack of management and planning results in fear and anxiety. The author of this study recommends..that: -PPL courses be developed that are specifically aimed at people who want to retire. -People who have already retired can be assisted to experience better quality of life. -Further empirical research be done regarding the quality of life after retirement, especially in the South African-context,

A descriptive study was undertaken on mothers who have children with non-syndromic cleft lip and palate. It involved 42 mothers from one public and one private hospital in Johannesburg during the period starting January 2009 and finishing in December 2009. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine the Impact on the Quality of Life exerted by these children on their mother’s lives. The majority of the mothers in the study are African or White, comprising 11 African, 17 White, seven Indian and four Coloured mothers. Thirty-five (35) were married, one was single, and five chose not to respond. Twenty-one (21) of the mothers interviewed had high school education and 19 tertiary education. Thirty-one (31) were employed; seven unemployed and two gave no response. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the children are male and 35% are female of whom 48.8% were diagnosed prenatally and 51.2% postnatally. Only forty-seven percent (47%) of participants received adequate counselling during prenatal and postnatal care while 53% did not. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of the women in the study said they would attend prenatal care for their subsequent children. Impact on Family Scale This study examined the difference in quality of life for the family after the birth of the affected child as compared to before the birth assuming that parents lived a near normal life before the birth of their child. It can be seen that the majority of the women identified the following five items: being overtired and exhausted; managing to cope with the condition; family becoming closer as a result of the illness; partners analysing problems together; and treating the child as normally as possible as affecting their quality of life. There is no significant difference in most of the items across the four races. That is, African, White, Indian and Coloured mothers assessed the items similarly, except when considering the question of additional income being required to cover medical expenses: here African and Coloured mothers found that more income was required to cover medical expenses while Indian and White mothers disagreed. When comparing the relationship between the level of education of mothers and the impact on the family there is a similar trend as regards race. There is no significant difference in the items between the two levels of education, except for the need to reduce time spent at work to care for the sick child, and travelling to hospital which both add to the mental and a physical strain. Mothers with a tertiary education found that this was not a problem; however those with a high school education found that it impacted badly on their lives. Most parents said they would have preferred an antenatal diagnosis and adequate counselling prior to the birth as well as post-delivery, and they will access this service for subsequent children. The research highlights important factors affecting parents whose children have cleft lip and palate. Among the most important of these are that a prenatal diagnosis is preferred in most cases, also that counselling—both in the prenatal and postnatal period—plays a vital part in managing the sick infant. Other important findings highlighted were that mothers with a tertiary education had lower-impact scores than mothers with a high school education; also that families found themselves drawn together and helping one another manage circumstances better.

Quality of life is an important yet often unmeasured variable in assessing places to live. Maintaining and promoting a high quality of life is critical for communities striving to sustain and expand their current economic bases. This study presents a format for measuring quality of life and an adaptation of the importance-performance analytical technique for evaluating results. Using results from a quality of life survey, the study demonstrates how policy implications may be suggested from the analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between menopausal status and female sexual function among mid-aged women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional study of 221 sexually active HIV-infected women ages 40 to 59 years, based on a secondary analysis of a three-hospital survey in Lima, Perú. We classified menopausal status according to Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop criteria (STRAW+10); this exposure variable was categorized as binary (non-postmenopausal and postmenopausal) and-for exploratory analysis-as multinomial (pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal). We defined low sexual function (LSF) using the 6-item Female Sexual Function Index (total score ≤19). Socio-demographic and clinical variables were assessed, including age, used highly active antiretroviral therapy scheme, disease duration, depressive symptoms, and co-morbidities. We performed Poisson generalized linear models with a robust variance to estimate 95% confidence interval (CI), crude prevalence ratios (cPRs), and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) by epidemiological and statistical approaches using nonparametric method of bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap resampling with 1,000 repetitions. RESULTS: Studied women had a median age of 47.0 years (interquartile range: 7.5); 25.3% were premenopausal, 25.8% were perimenopausal, and 48.9% were postmenopausal. Also, 64.3% had LSF. The frequency of LSF was 53.6% in non-postmenopausal and 75.0% in postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal status was associated with LSF in both the crude (cPR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.13-1.71) and the adjusted regression models (aPR = 1.38; 95% CI: 1.12-1.71). CONCLUSIONS: HIV-infected postmenopausal women have a higher prevalence of LSF than those non-postmenopausal ones, even when adjusting for multiple potential confounders. / Revisión por pares

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Nursing Johannesburg, 2017 / Quality of life is a multidimensional, subjective and individualized concept influenced by culture and value systems. Cancer as a disease remains a major health problem globally and it’s estimated that 528 000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually whilst 266 000 will die each year. In Africa cervical cancer statistics indicate that there are 99 038 incidences and 60,098 cervical cancer related deaths (International Agency for Research in Cancer and World Health Organization, 2012). Women with cervical cancer experience physical, psychological and sex-related problems as the consequences of both the disease and treatment and this affects their quality of life. Research Question: What is the quality of life of women treated for cervical cancer at an academic hospital in Gauteng? Purpose of the study was to explore the quality of life in cervical cancer during treatment, at six months and twelve months post treatment at an academic hospital in Gauteng. Aims of the study: The objectives of the study were (1) to explore the quality of life in cervical cancer patients treated with radiation therapy and (2) to compare with the quality of life of women at six months and twelve months after completion of treatment at an academic hospital in Gauteng. Research Design: This is a cross sectional and explorative study. A sample of 153 women was recruited using a convenience sampling for the three groups and data were collected using the EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CX24 questionnaires. The data were captured on an excel spreadsheet and analysed using SPSS IBM 22.0. Results: The overall quality of life of the respondents was affected by the acute side effects experienced during treatment. Cancer related symptoms improved with radiotherapy treatment. Physical functioning was reported as the most affected domain while social functioning was the least affected. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in the branch of Dermatology. Johannesburg 2017 / Atopic dermatitis is a chronic, debilitating disease affecting children worldwide, with increasing prevalence. It has been shown to be a significant problem leading to a diminished quality of life, for both the affected patient and their families. Quality of life in Atopic Dermatitis is poorly researched. Few studies have been conducted worldwide. There have been no published reports on QOL in children with atopic dermatitis from South Africa. This study aims to assess and evaluate the clinical severity of atopic dermatitis in children less than 6 years of age and the Quality of Life in these patients and their families, as well as to determine the socioeconomic and clinical factors that predict quality of life in children with atopic dermatitis at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (the busiest paediatric dermatology clinic in South Africa). The Childhood Atopic Dermatitis Impact Scale (CADIS) and Patient Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) were given to the primary caregiver and the SCORAD was performed on each child during a single visit to the Paediatric Dermatology Outpatient Clinic at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) in Soweto. The study parameters show that atopic dermatitis has a negative impact on the quality of life of affected children and their families, in keeping with similar studies internationally. The severity of atopic dermatitis was a significant predictor of quality of life. The poor socioeconomic status was evident in the demographic details of the sample. A significant predictor of quality of life was the age of the affected child, with a higher impairment in child and family QOL experienced for children less than 1 year of age. The QOL measure showed a higher correlation to the caregiver assessment of severity than to the physician’s assessment, suggesting that patient derived outcome measures should be of most importance in adequately assessing disease severity. There is a need for further research of children in South Africa with atopic dermatitis. This is essential to identify effective interventions to improve disease severity and Q.O.L in these children. This would result in the development of children into healthy adults capable of effective family, community and social interaction. / MT2017

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in Psychiatry Johannesburg, 2017 / Introduction: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness, which is often characterized by a relapsing course with resultant effects on most areas of functioning due to the disability associated with it. The presence of any of the symptoms of schizophrenia can be extremely distressing for the families or caregivers who care for the patient. The term caregiver burden arose following the deinstitutionalization of mental health patients that was associated with integration of patients with severe mental illnesses into the community. Limited data of caregiver burden and its relationship with quality of life (QOL) is available in South Africa. The aim of the present study is to describe the nature of caregiver burden and to describe the relationship between caregiver burden and QOL. Methods: The study is descriptive and cross-sectional in nature and was conducted at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital from February 2014 to October 2014. Data was collected from caregivers of patients with schizophrenia in the form of questionnaires. Caregiver burden was assessed by the use of a Caregiver Strain Index questionnaire with a score greater than 7 suggesting a high caregiver burden. Quality of life was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life brief questionnaire; it is scored on six domains each of which contributes to the caregiver’s overall impression of their quality of life. Results: Of the 127 participants identified for the study, eight six participated. Significant factors associated with higher caregiver burden were as follows: increased number of admissions per year, caring for adults less within the ages of 46-55 years, caring for patients with psychosocial stressors and living in a household with 3 to 4 people. Conclusion: The relationship between caregiver burden and caregiver QOL suggested that as caregiver burden increases, QOL decreases. / MT2017