This research study aimed at investigating the acceptability, knowledge and perceptions ofpregnant women towards IDV testing in pregnancy in Ilembe District. An exploratory research design guided the study. A systematic random sampling was used to select fourty pregnant women who were attending clinic for the first time in their current pregnancy. Self-administered questionnaires with close-ended questions were used in the collection ofdata. The questions included the women's demographic details, their views towards IDV testing, knowledge and acceptability ofIDV testing. Forty questionnaires were distributed and they were all returned. Quantitative method was used to analyse data. The fmdings ofthe study revealed that women in the sample were relatively young (18-25) with the percentage of45% and most ofthem were unmarried (90%). The majority ofwomen (92.5%) said testing was a good idea and 85% said it is necessary. However only 52.5% said they will opt for HIV testing. Uptake ofHIV testing was found to be low. Eighty-seven and a half percent (87.5%) women were ofthe opinion that IDV testing in pregnancy was ofbenefit to the mother and her baby. Women in the study were found to have good understanding and good perceptions towards IDV testing in pregnancy, but thus was not consistent with their behaviour. Meaning that in spite of their good understanding and good perceptions towards IDV testing in pregnancy, only a small percentage (52%) of respondents said they will opt for the IDV test. The researcher's expectations were one hundred percent response. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Aim: The purpose of this research was to explore and describe the hospital workplace experiences that had contributed to the resignations of Registered Nurses in the Durban Metropolitan Area. Methodology: The broad perspective governing this research is qualitative in nature. The researcher employed a phenomenological approach specifically because the researcher was interested in identifying, describing and understanding the subjective experiences of individual nurses at the two Private and two Provincial health care institutions selected to participate in the study - in respect of their decision (s) to resign from their employment, and lor to leave the nursing profession. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant by the researcher. The researcher applied the principle of theoretical saturation and a total of fifteen participants and thirty interviews were done. Experiential themes and sub-themes in the data were identified by a process of meaning condensation, and the data were managed by means of a qualitative software package - NVIVO (QSRNUD* IST). Findings: The resignations of registered nurses in the Durban Metropolitan Area were found to be linked to their respective hospital workplace experiences. These experiences related to their physical working conditions and environment and included the following: unsupportive management structures, autocratic and dehumanizing management styles, negative stereotypy of nurses and the nursing profession, lack of autonomy in the workplace, professional jealousies and fractures within the profession, sub-optimal physical working conditions and shortage of staff, equipment and lack of appropriate surgical supplies, concerns regarding occupational safety e.g. the increasing exposure of health care personnel to RIV and AIDS; lack of opportunities for promotion or continuing one's professional education, the experience ofworkplace violencepredominantly in the form of verbal and psychological abuse, inaccurate systems of performance assessment (Joint Performance Management, Reports, Personal Profile systems) - compounded by favouritism and racism; and inadequate remuneration. Conclusion: In terms of the findings of this study, the participants' lived experiences in terms of their respective hospital workplace experiences indicated that neither the maintenance factors nor the motivator factors were optimally represented, experienced or enjoyed in their respective workplaces. In terms of Rerzberg's Motivator-Maintenance theory, the registered nurses who participated in this study may be described as being 'not satisfied' and 'dissatisfied' with their hospital workplace experiences, physical conditions and environment. A number of recommendations pertaining to strategies for the retention of registered nurses were made for the consideration of both Provincial and Private health care authorities, hospital management structures and the nursing profession respectively. Recommendations for further nursing research were also made. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Aim: The aim of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions and experiences of rape survivors who were receiving Post Exposure Prophylaxis at a regional hospital. Methodology: A phenomenological approach was used to explore the phenomena, of rape survivors' perception and experiences concerning the Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) they received. The study was conducted in R.K.Khan Hospital, in an Outpatient Department in a gynaecology clinic. This is the regional hospital located in Chatsworth, in the Inner Outer West of Ethekwini District. The sample comprised of ten female rape survivors who were receiving Post Exposure Prophylaxis. Data was collected by means of face-to-face interviews using an interview guide. Interviews were lasting thirty to forty minutes long per participant. The researcher applied the principle of theoretical saturation of data and a total of ten participants were included in the study. All interviews were tape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data was analysed manually using the Editing Analysis Style. Findings: The results of this study indicated that PEP is the new service to rape survivors and this evoked that when you are being raped you face a risk of range of immediate, medium, and long term health problems; physical, and psychological problems. The rape survivors described a number of emotions and physical reactions that they experienced when they were receiving PEP after rape, which were negative and positive reactions. Most experiences they faced indicated that they benefited from the PEP program, because they gained knowledge, got support from care providers and major diseases and complications were prevented by offering the Post Exposure Prophylaxis A number of recommendations were suggested for the provision of PEP program to the community that is for nursing practice, management and education, the policy makers and for future research in an 'attempt to prevent major complications and health problems that occur in rape survivors. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The aim of this study was to describe the clients' satisfaction with Primary Health Care (PHC) Services in Lilongwe Health District with regard to client involvement in health care delivery and the accessibility of PHC services. It was hoped that the information generated would be used in the evaluation of PHC Services in Lilongwe. A quantitative and qualitative research was done using an outcome analysis evaluation design. The study utilised Kawale and Chiwamba Health Centres and their catchment population. Systematic random sampling was used for the clients making use of the health centres, convenience sampling for those not using the health centres and purposive sampling for the focus group participants. Quantitative data was collected using self-administered questionnaires while qualitative data was collected using an interview guide in focus group sessions. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and percentages and frequencies were calculated while qualitative data was analysed through a template style of analysis. The findings of the study revealed that in both Health Centres Clients were satisfied with some aspects of PHC such as, cultural accessibility, health education and listening abilities of health workers but there was still some evidence of dissatisfaction, and misunderstanding of the concept of Community Involvement in Health care delivery. This calls for a need to reorient communities on PHC delivery and what it means. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2004.

The purpose of the study was to describe the nature of clinical supervision and support provided to bridging programme students in the clinical settings. A descriptive and an exploratory design were most appropriate. There were one hundred-and-twenty-two participants in the study. Data was collected by means of a questionnaire and a critical incident report. The questionnaires included semi-structured questions where the respondents were able to discuss the effects of clinical supervision and teaching behaviours that would enhance learning during clinical accompaniment. The subjects were the second year students in the bridging programme. Only those students who consented participated in the study. The campuses that were used were the Prince Mshyeni College of Nursing, Netcare Nursing Academy and Afrox College of Nursing. These campuses were conveniently selected because they were in the greater Durban area and were thus easily accessible to the researcher. Students described the positive and negative experiences they received from the clinical supervisor and the ward staff. Positive experiences included the feelings of confidence, and the gaining of interpersonal skills. Gaining self- confidence as a nurse is an essential aspect of the student nurse's professional development. The negative experiences were that the students were treated as the normal workforce because of their experience as enrolled nurses. The challenges of clinical supervision are to help the student to evaluate critically the effect of actions taken, to assist him/her to perform procedures skilfully and to enable him/her to relate to patients in an ethical and caring manner. The critical incident analysis revealed that the student nurses continued to use informal support networks as well as their supervision sessions to discuss clinical issues. Respondents reported an enthusiasm for the opportunity to talk meaningfully to a trusted colleague about personal circumstances at work. Such opportunities were particularly welcomed by nurses who wished to reflect upon their own practices with patients, especially when dealing with clinical conditions that were upsetting, or otherwise challenging. Respondents pointed out that more time would make clinical supervision sessions longer and more effective. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

This research presents a consumer evaluation of the delivery and aspects of services provided at three community run mental health centres. The purpose of this research is to describe the satisfaction levels of consumers with mental health service delivery in Durban, with a view to using this information to improve the services in future for quality assurance. The current investigation takes a look at how a comprehensive community mental health centre is perceived by its consumers. The subjects totalling one hundred and eleven clients who were attending psychiatric community health clinics during the study period. Using client self report questionnaires, the study investigates clients' perceptions of several aspects of their clinical care in community mental health service. In addition to assessing the clients' level of overall satisfaction and degree of acceptability of the services to the clients, the researcher was also interested in determining the expectation of consumers and how the clients perceived the effectiveness of health care service delivery. Additional information provided was the clients' views of the quality and outcome oftherapy. As further measures of the clinic's effectiveness and client satisfaction, questions relative to other help seeking actions, future behaviour in similar situations and recommendations ofthe clinic to others were asked. In addition to asking a wide variety of satisfaction-related questions, sociodemographic detail (i.e. age, gender, race, educational level, employment status, length of visits to the clinic) were asked. Most participants were unemployed men. Analysis of findings indicated that most participants were satisfied with the health service provided. Recommendations were, however, further made for improving quality of care and towards additional studies in other settings to include appropriate proportions of all racial groups in South Africa. / Thesis (M.Cur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Assessment of clinical learning as a process for determining competence in practice is one of the underpinning principles of establishing and measuring student progress III nurse education. Literature reviewed for this study revealed that assessment of clinical learning in nursing education has been a problem for many years in the profession and it still is even today. This study was therefore aimed at investigating the current methods of assessing clinical learning used in nursing education institutions specifically as these relate to the South African Qualification Authority {SAQA)'s call for applied competence. The study was an exploratory descriptive survey. Data were collected through the use of questionnaires. Questionnaires were mailed to those institutions that were not easily accessible owing to their geographic location and questionnaires were delivered by the researcher to the geographically accessible institutions. All nurse educators employed in five nursing colleges, two university nursing departments and one technikon in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) were asked to participate in the study. The total number of nurse educators in the above-mentioned institutions was 195. The return rate of completed questionnaires was 56%. The results of this study revealed that the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and continuous clinical assessments were the two methods currently most commonly used in nursing education for assessing clinical learning, The results also revealed that triangulation of assessment methods of clinical learning was prevalent in nursing education institutions, with the OSCE and continuous clinical assessments being the most favoured combined strategies in assessing clinical learning. Very few participants mentioned the non-traditional clinical assessment methods (such as the triple jump and portfolio assessments) as strategies of assessing clinical learning that were used in their institutions. This study also revealed that continuous clinical assessment as a method of assessing clinical competence allowed nurse educators to assess applied competence and was generally believed to provide a more valid, reliable and realistic form of assessment. Continuous clinical assessments were also favoured for their authenticity because they were undertaken in a real clinical setting. Within the era of outcomes-based education, the focus in assessment moves from judgmental assessment methods to developmental assessments with extra emphasis on authentic and integrated assessment methods. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This study investigated the preventive and promotive health care in the practice of indigenous healers. It focussed on specific aspects of primary health care. The objectives of the study were to describe the current practice of indigenous healers with regard to preventive and promotive health care. The study also identified specific areas in which indigenous healers practices with regard to preventive and promotive health care can be enhanced. It also intended to describe the effect of a short training course for indigenous healers based on the assessment, with regard to their knowledge, beliefs and practice. The study was a qualitative multi-phased research project which ircluded three phases. The researcher's target population ccnsisted of indigenous healers in Region D of KwaZulu-Natal. The researcher targeted indigenous healers living at Vryheid District Under Hlahlindlela tribal Authority. Sisters at the clinics in Vryheid and Pietermaritzburg participated in the present study as well as western medical practitioners and nurses at Edendale hospital. Focus group discussions and individual interviews were conducted. A template method of data analysis was used. Results revealed that indigenous healers practices were claracterized by preventive and promotive health measures which were, to a greater extent African -culture related. Areas of concern where indigenous healers practices would be enhanced were intensified by the formal health care workers. A short training course was designed and implemented by the researcher. Evaluation of the training course revealed that it was to a greater extent effective. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The objective of this study was to explore clients' perceptions and expectations of therapeutic interaction with nurses at Escoval House Community Psychiatric Clinic in Durban. Following the shift of psychiatric care from institutionalised care to community based psychiatric care, it was anticipated that the findings of the study would help to sensitise the primary health care nurses and community psychiatric nurses on how clients perceive the way nurses interact with them. This would help the nurses to ensure satisfactory interactions that would be therapeutic and enhances clients' recovery and well -being. The study utilized Human Relations Counselling Model in exploring the clients' perceptions. An exploratory descriptive survey was used to conduct the study, The study combined both qualitative and quantitative methods for the purpose of triangulation. Ten participants were involved in a focus group and one-hundred and sixty clients participated by filling in questionnaires. Simple random sampling method was used to select participants for both the focus group interview and those who filled in the questionnaires. Data from the focus group was analysed manually using content analysis. Data was presented by participants' direct quotes. Data from the questionnaires was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). For the quantitative data analysis, frequencies and percentages were used to analyse the data. Findings of the study were presented in tables and graphs. Although previous studies on clients' satisfaction have reported clients' satisfaction with mental health service delivery, the findings of this study have revealed that gaps still exist in quality of care delivered to these clients. Findings show that there were mixed perceptions on the way nurse interact with clients during clients' monthly attendances. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is a fairly new concept to the patients and personnel at the R. K. Khan Hospital. Arising from one of the Governmental initiatives, KMC was introduced to KwaZulu Natal in 2001. The personnel at this hospital were briefly introduced to this alternate method of care for a low birth weight baby, by means of symposia and in-service. Soon after this in-service education, the personnel were requested to implement KMC. This study was undertaken to explore the perceptions of carers for the preparation and experience of KMC and to describe the experiences of the carers who have implemented KMC. Furthermore, this study determined whether carers received support during the implementation of KMC and in so doing to identify the sources of this support. The selection of this particular field of study arose out of the researcher's professional role in educating personnel in the theory and practice of midwifery. The lack of documented evidence to problems that they may have been encountered and management strategies to deal with these prompted this study. The intention was to obtain empirical findings so that personnel would be provided with appropriate and precise information on the subject. A phenomenological approach was used. The sample was obtained from the R. K. Khan Hospital neonatal unit. This is a regional hospital that is located in Chatsworth, Durban. The sample comprised often mothers who were practicing KMC in the post-natal ward, or mothers who were discharged and were still practicing KMC for the past two to four weeks. Data were collected by means of face-to-face interviews. Interviews were conducted using a semistructured interview guide. These interviews provided the researcher with rich, personal and narrative experiences of the carers before and during KMC. The results of this study indicated that KMC was indeed new to most of the mothers and this evoked apprehension, doubt and fear, but once the mothers had tried it and were successful, they felt a sense ofjoy. Nursing personnel formed part of the supportive environment for the mothers practicing KMC. The latter is a prerequisite for the success of KMC. Since KMC is associated with many benefits to the mother, the baby and the institution, for the future it could be incorporated into the midwifery curriculum for student midwives. Recommendations concerning nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research were made at the end of the study including the limitations affecting the study. / Thesis (M.Cur.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.