This study examined whether the concept of desired outcome in community programs serving adults with psychiatric disorders was a unitary or multifaceted concept and whether, if multifaceted, subject stakeholder group membership or variables of sex, education, age or attitudes were related to subject preferences for types of outcome. A literature review and focus groups were used to establish a broad range of potential outcomes and 47 subjects from six stakeholder groups (clients, family members, direct care staff, directors of programs serving clients with serious psychiatric disorders, DMH personnel who made service funding decisions, and taxpayers) sorted the 82 outcomes in order of their perceived importance. Subject responses were factor analyzed and a five factor solution was interpreted as indicating concerns for (1) increased client self determination, (2) risk reduction and stability, (3) provision for basic needs, (4) increasingly responsible and integrated community living, and (5) increased autonomy through skill development and symptom reduction. Stakeholder group membership was the only subject variable significantly correlated with subject differences in loading on the five identified factors. It was concluded that these differences had important implications for the ability of stakeholder groups to interact productively. That is, if individuals with differing views on the proper goals of the community mental health system fail to understand the nature of their differences conflict and distrust will continue and a coherent sense of mission for the community system will be impossible to attain. The author asserts that it is important for stakeholders to recognize the legitimacy of, and basis for, the views of others with whom they are attempting to work. Steps recommended to use these findings to improve the quality of practice in the field include: acknowledgment of conflicts inherent in differing points of view, clarifying the extent to which custodial care and social control of those with psychiatric disorders are primary functions of the community system, resolution of legal and ethical issues inherent in "ensuring" the care and safety (as defined by others) of those with psychiatric disorders, specification by funders of outcome priorities, and greater use of outcome measurement in program evaluation.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1976. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-59) Also available in print.

Cancer affects everyone; it does not distinguish between age, race, gender or social background. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it does not only affect the child, but also the family system as a whole. The focus of this study was on the psychosocial aspects that are affected in the family system once a child diagnosed with cancer. These psychosocial aspects included the emotional impact, the spousal impact, the role changes that occur in the family system, the financial impact, the impact on siblings as well as the impact on religion and spirituality. These aspects were investigated by the researcher during the applied study. This applied study used a qualitative approach with a collective case study research design. The research population of this study included families who have a child diagnosed with cancer, who was treated at Nicus Lodge Cancer Treatment Centre in Pretoria which is a CANSA affiliate. The staff at Nicus Lodge selected participants who met the criteria based on purposive sampling, on behalf of the researcher. The researcher used semi-structured interviews and an interview schedule in order to obtain the participants’ experiences of their child diagnosed with cancer and the psychosocial effects it had on them as a family system. Nine participants participated in the study. The interviews were recorded with the permission of the participants and then later transcribed. Creswell’s steps for qualitative data analysis were implemented. By utilizing these measures and tools, the researcher was able to formulate findings from which conclusions and recommendations could be made. From the findings, the following themes and sub-themes were identified, demonstrating the psychosocial effect that a child diagnosed with cancer has on the family system and answering the research question: Theme 1: Protective measures with the sub-themes of religion, support structures and personality. Theme 2: Restrictive measures with the sub-themes of role changes, single parent, multiple children and date of diagnosis. Theme 3: Financial related aspects with the sub-themes of employment/unemployment, supportive employer, transport and medical aid. The findings demonstrated that many different aspects of a family system are affected when a child is diagnosed with cancer. It also demonstrated that a family system that had the necessary protective measures, were able to cope more effectively and maintain their quality of life when their child was diagnosed with cancer. The findings furthermore showed specific focus areas that a social worker in the health care setting, specifically in the oncology field, should focus on which hinder family systems from coping effectively. These focus areas enable the social workers to provide adequate supportive services to the families of a child diagnosed with cancer. Supportive services are imperative when dealing with a family of a child diagnosed with cancer, and this is one of the recommendations of the study and a focus area for future studies. Recommendations from this study can be used by social workers in the health care field to better understand the challenges that families of a child diagnosed with cancer experience and how to effectively address their needs. Social workers can also utilize the recommendations to find ways to make their services known to the communities and improve their intervention and supportive services to these families. It is important for social workers to improve awareness in the community and to provide them with the necessary resources to cope better with the situation. To better understand this paper, certain key terms were used by the researcher. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive disorder that affects movement, muscle control and balance. Second only to Alzheimer's disease, PD is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders in the United States (Lai & Tsui, 2001:135), affecting approximately one million people in the U.S. alone (Parkinson's disease Foundation [PDF], 2009). While the cause of Parkinson's disease remains unknown, there are certain known risk factors associated with the disease. One of the risk factors is increasing age. PD is most frequently associated with older adulthood, affecting one in 100 Americans 60 years and older (PDF). Over the next five decades, the incidence of PD is expected to triple, as the average age of the population increases (Lai & Tsui, 2001:135). Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder, with no known cause or promising cure. While substantial information is known about the medical aspect of Parkinson's disease, little is known about the illness experience of living with the disease. The goal of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease. The guiding research question was: What are the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease? A qualitative research approach was followed, with a collective case study research design. The population for this study included people who are in the late stage of Parkinson's disease, thus being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease before 2012 and who are receiving support services from Parkinson's Association of South Africa (PASA). Non-probability purposive sampling was utilized to generate a sample. Ten participants who met the criteria were selected for this study. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants. Interviews were voice recorded with the permission of the participants and were transcribed. The data gathered were analysed by the researcher and themes and sub-themes were identified. The research findings were presented and critically discussed. Literature control and verbatim quotes were used to support the findings. The conclusions of this study reflected that the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease are complex. Throughout the study it was found that Parkinson's disease impacts significantly on the physical, psychological and social well-being of people living with this disease in a number of ways. The recommendations offered by this study can be used by professionals working in the field of chronic, geriatric and neurodegenerative illnesses to understand the experiences of people living with Parkinson's disease. / Mini Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW / Unrestricted

The worldwide ageing of the population, with an increase in associated chronic diseases, will inevitably escalate the demand for social work services at individual, group and community level. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the conditions associated with a population that is growing older. The disease was first described by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and is characterised by progressive declines in cognitive and body functions, eventually resulting in death. It is estimated that 25 to 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and that in 2050, 106.2 million people will be living with the disease, causing a looming global epidemic of Alzheimer’s disease (Brookmeyer, Johnson, Ziegler-Graham & Arrighi, 2007:186). At some stage in the disease’s process, most, if not all people with Alzheimer’s, require some form of care. This care is generally provided by informal (family) caregivers in the community. Providing care to an older person with Alzheimer’s disease present multiple challenges with many factors influencing the caregiving experience. When the needs of caregivers are not met, caregiver burden may result. For the many families living in rural and impoverished areas, this additional responsibility may come as an extraordinary burden and cause unwarranted stress. The goal of the study was to explore the needs and experiences of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in black rural communities in Mpumalanga. The guiding research question was: What are the needs and experiences of caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in black rural communities in Mpumalanga? A qualitative research approach was followed with a collective case study research design. The population for this study was caregivers providing care to persons diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease living within the Ehlanzeni and Nkangala Rural Districts Municipalities of Mpumalanga. Non-probability purposive sampling was utilised to generate a sample. Eleven participants who were caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease living in communities within the above-mentioned municipalities were selected. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with participants. Interviews were voice recorded with the permission of the participants, and were transcribed by a contracted transcriber. The data gathered were analysed by the researcher and themes and sub-themes were identified. The research findings were presented by providing a profile of research participants followed by a thematic analysis of the themes and sub-themes from the transcriptions. Literature control and verbatim quotes were used to support the findings. The themes include the following: Theme One – The Alzheimer’s disease caregiver; Theme Two – Indigenous issues with regards to Alzheimer’s disease; Theme Three – Caregivers’ understanding of Alzheimer’s disease; Theme Four – The impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the caregiver and Theme Five – Support services in the community. The conclusions of this study reflect that caregivers in black rural communities in Mpumalanga have a number of needs and challenges in providing care to a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Some of the challenges include the absence of caregiving training, stigmatisation due to indigenous beliefs, traditional healers’ diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, limited knowledge of caregivers about Alzheimer’s disease, adverse physical, social and psychological outcomes associated with caregiving, negative experiences with the public health care system, and the limited availability and accessibility of support services in the community. The recommendations offered by this study can be used by professionals working in the field of gerontology to understand the needs and experiences of Alzheimer’s caregivers. Social workers can use the recommendations to find ways to make their services known to the communities, and improve their intervention and support to these caregivers. / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

(in English): The work deals with issue of social worker's role in hospital from point of view of medical social workers working with senior citizens. In theoretical part is presented profession of medical social worker and its specifics in Czech Republic: history, legislation, education, competences and a role of medical social worker in multidisciplinary team. It is focused also on health care and social services provided to the target group of senior citizens in our country. Practical part is focused on presentation and interpretation of data gained from qualitative research which was realized by semi-structural interviews with medical social workers in chosen faculty hospitals in Prague. Keywords (in English): social work in health care, medical social worker, senior citizens, social services, health care services