Ischaemic heart disease (IHD), which is a Chronic Disease of Lifestyle, has been rated as one of the key illnesses that have progressively materialised as a threat across the wide demographic spectrum of South Africa’s population. Internationally, literature is relatively scarce on the psychosocial consequences of the disease for the ill person, but limited information does exist on these consequences as they affect South African individuals and their families. This study sought firstly to understand the experience of persons with IHD, their partners and medical practitioners and secondly how they coped with the illness. Participants were selected with the assistance of cardiologists at a private hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Theoretical sampling determined the number of persons who participated in the study. Data was collected using in-depth interviews in accordance with the qualitative descriptive design and narrative inquiry that underpinned the research. Participants (13) were determined once data-saturation was reached. The data revealed that spousal support and religion/spirituality played important roles in helping people manage the illness. Genetics and lifestyle choices contributed to participants’ IHD. Not recognising their symptoms, owing to misinformation by the medical fraternity, contributed to participants not realising they were having a heart attack. Religious/spiritual coping mechanisms were among those mentioned by participants, and depression (not clinically assessed), anxiety and sadness were noted among the consequences for them. Two of the cardiologists did not acknowledge depression; nevertheless research studies have linked depression with major cardiac attacks and to surgery following cardiac problems. The data points to the lack of communication between participants and their health practitioners and the belief held by participants that the medical personnel were not particularly interested in their psychosocial wellbeing. This seems to be borne out by the limited data obtained from health practitioners. Social workers can play important roles in the health team by ensuring that the psychosocial needs of persons experiencing IHD and their families are attended to. Social workers can publish in health journals to make the medical fraternity aware of the contribution that social workers skills can make to persons who are ill. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

Social workers are faced with the huge challenge of HIV and AIDS. The increasing number of HIV infected people requires professional intervention. The National Integrated Plan is currently the strategy that social workers apply in service delivery. It offers a range of services such as soup kitchens, food parcels, homework supervision, administration of anti-retroviral drugs and foster care placement to children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. The bulk of the work facing social workers includes orphans, infected and affected children and child headed households. HIV and AIDS affect the education system in the sense that school going children are infected and affected by AIDS. The life-skills HIV/AIDS programme offered in schools is the strategy that the education system can effectively use to deal with the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Lifeskills HIV/AIDS programme offers educators, children and parents the opportunity to learn about preventative measures, factors that contribute to HIV/AIDS and childhood development. Primary caregivers need to learn about basic facts of HIV/AIDS. This study was a qualitative descriptive study to understand the views of primary caregivers on life - skills HIV/AIDS offered in school. The conceptual framework, which underpinned the study, was the eco-systems approach. The data was collected via in depth interviews with 10 respondents where an interview guide questions was used. The interview sessions were tape-recorded and transcribed. The outcomes of the study revealed that most primary caregivers were of the idea that their children should be taught life-skills HIV/AIDS in schools. The primary caregivers felt that this programme would assist them in understanding numerous behaviours that their children exhibit that predispose them to HIV infections. The findings of this study are tentative in view of the limitations identified in the study. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

The study aimed firstly to explore whether there were any differences in the quality of parent-child interactions in those children who scored high and those who scored low on the Pupil Behavior Rating Scale. Sixty-five pupils were randomly selected and rated on the Pupil Behavior Rating Scale concurrently by the teacher and the researcher. Ten of the highest performers and 10 lowest performers were then studied predominantly by the use of a questionnaire constructed by the researcher. However, the results of the study was hampered by the use of the questionnaire in that, unlike participant observation, it only showed differences in a limited number of areas. Much useful information, however, was obtained about the two groups of families, especially relating to socio-economic variables and attitudes to pre-schoo1 education. A second aim was to investigate the role of the social worker in promoting parental involvement in pre-schoo1 education. Here, the utilization of a needs assessment profile indicated that groupwork and social work intervention aimed at teachers were possible ways to promote parental involvement in pre-school education. An intervention programme was thus planned and executed by the researcher which confirmed that the social worker can be a useful resource in promoting home-school relations. Recommendations were made in regard to the role of the social worker, how the school system can be improved to promote parental involvement, and suggestions on future research. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1987.

This study investigated selected Christian denominations in the Durban Functional Region's response to HIV/AIDS and the extent of their involvement within the issues of HIV/AIDS. The study also explored how the churches viewed the development of holistic services and hence their involvement with social workers. Seven of the so-called mainline Christian churches participated in the study. Interviews were conducted with the head of each denomination and one other member of clergy from each of the seven denominations. The study was exploratory in nature. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews with the participants being selected utilising purposive and availability sampling. The literature review comprised theological reflection on what the church's role should be as well as literature exploring the necessity for holistic services in the ambit of HIV/AIDS. Some of the findings of this research included the lack of knowledge clergy have around HIV/AIDS, the lack of knowledge some clergy have about their denominational policies regarding HIV/AIDS, and the limited response of some congregations to the pandemic. There is also a sense of negativism amongst some clergy about HIV/AIDS. There is no hope of the promise the Christian faith gives. The recommendations that stemmed from this research are the training of clergy in HIV/AIDS, training of clergy regarding their denomination's policies and offering practical advice on how a church can respond, the need for the dissemination of this information to all role-players so that a holistic service can become a reality, and finally that more extensive research is done into the church and HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

This research is an endeavour to highlight the state of healthcare in South Africa as seen through the eyes of professional health care workers who are at the cold face of healthcare. Having worked in an environment of inequities and unjust circumstances, healthcare workers expressed their attitudes and beliefs that healthcare are in need of radical change. There appears to be insight from these professionals that the private and public healthcare sectors should forge a relationship, ultimately benefiting South African society. More research needs to be done on a major scale to determine more deeply the attitudes and beliefs of healthcare professionals. Such an endeavour will provide a stimulus for policymakers to harness this energy and direct it in a meaningful way in the transformation of healthcare in South Africa. Chapter 1 focused on several relevant perspectives and definitions on healthcare in South Africa and other countries. In Chapter 2, attention was given to socio-economic rights as per the South African Constitution and the states obligations to fulfil these rights. These rights were examined in the context of landmark Constitutional Court cases, viz. Soobramoney versus the State; TAC versus the State; and Grootboom versus the State. These cases give one the essence of interpreting rights and the constitutional obligation of the state to deliver on them. Healthcare developments in South Africa and other countries together with the RDP and GEAR considerations are outlined in Chapter 3. Research Methodology is outlined in Chapter 4, emphasizing also the limitations of this study. Chapter 5 examines the responses to the questionnaires and analyses its findings. Chapter 6 provides the conclusions and recommendations as well as a critique of healthcare in South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

This study explored the reliability of disclosures of sexual abuse from preschool children. The study assumed the following: firstly the greater the level of trauma experienced by the child, the lower the reliability of the disclosure. Secondly, if the child had been severely threatened it was less likely that their disclosure would be reliable. Thirdly it was assumed that the more supportive the family was of the child's disclosure, the more reliable the disclosure would be. Fourthly, the study assumed that an important factor regarding reliability of a child's disclosure was the quality of the therapeutic relationship. Lastly it was assumed that the techniques used would be secondary in importance if compared with the therapeutic relationship . The research questions asked how techique, social worker and child-related variables affected the reliability of a child's disclosure of sexual abuse, and if there was a relationship between the variables and the child's ability to disclose reliably. The research included both qualitative and quantitative data and methodology. The research process was twofold. Firstly child, social worker and technique-related variables were identified from the case studies and the relationship between these variables described . Secondly, the effects of these variables on the participants' reliability in relating their sexual abuse experiences were explored. Thirty participants were selected through systematic random sampling. Participants were male and female between the ages of two and six years. The collective case study method was used and data was obtained from case records and analysed through content analysis. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used. The results reflected a relationship between the above mentioned variables. It seemed that child-related variables were important and could affect the child's ability to disclose reliably. However social worker-related variables seemed to be able to positively mediate the negative effects of some of the child-related variables. Technique-related variables seemed to be closely related to the-quality of and the specific stage of the therapeutic relationship. Techniques could be successfully used where a trusting relationship existed between the social worker and the child. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

As social workers are challenged to move away from a preoccupation with direct, clinical practice and move toward developmental interventions, there is concern that vulnerable members of society will be abandoned. It is feared that these members are likely to become the responsibility of their family, friends and neighbours, who themselves may be struggling for their own survival. Kinship carers are left to care for children whose parents are unable to fulfil their parental responsibilities because of illness, death, poverty, or other debilitating social factors . In many instances the children arrive into these placements as a result of tragic circumstances and are thus in need of remedial intervention. The rapid growth of this pheneomenon has superseded the development of relevant services for kinship carers and their wards. Filial therapy is an effective method for helping families in distress as it combines treatment and prevention. It incorporates didactic and dynamic principles where parents are trained to act as therapeutic agents in their children's lives. It is a strength-based intervention that recognises parents' abilities to provide emotional support for their children. Parents are empowered to do this by participating in professionally facilitated group sessions where they learn to develop healthy relationship skills, which may lead to the alleviation of psychosocial difficulties. This study was an exploratory study to establish whether the western model of filial therapy could be adapted for a locally specific group of kinship carers through a participatory process. Using a qualitative research design a group was formed to explore ways in which the model needed to be adapted to meet locally specific needs. There were two phases in this study. The first phase was concerned with identifying the problem. The second phase was the formation of the filial group and the evaluation of members' experiences. The participatory research methodology which underpinned the study is consistent with the person-centred approach and with participatory learning experiences. Over a ten-week period the research participants familiarised themselves with the techniques and assumptions of this intervention, and made recommendations for the adaptation of the model to a locally specific one. The data were collected via semistructured interviews, focus groups, researcher assisted questionnaires, and video recordings of the group sessions. The outcome of this study revealed that filial therapy, as adapted to locally specific needs by participants, provided them with valuable support, enhanced their relationships with the children in their care, provided them opportunities to address unresolved issues from their pasts, and in some cases, resulted in positive behavioural changes in their children. Whilst these findings are tentative in view of the limitations identified in the study, the workbook that evolved from this participatory process is a consolidated outcome which may be used by other practitioners. Recommendations for further research are detailed . / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

Resettlement is a change process where people are involuntarily relocated from one place to another. In most cases, it causes drastic environmental, social, political and economic changes. If planned and implemented appropriately, resettlement can have a positive impact on the livelihoods of people. The study sought to examine how the process of resettlement impacted the livelihoods of the original land users of Folweni as a result of the relocation of Malukazi families into Folweni. The study also sought to understand the tensions which, after 28 years of co-existence with the new-comers, still lingers on, and surfaces in the form of uncertainty, resentment and apathy among the original land users of Folweni from having been being dispossessed of their land. The study was informed mainly by the sustainable livelihoods theory, which recognizes natural, physical, human, social and financial capitals as important and effective tools for examining the impact of regulations on the livelihoods of the poor. The study employed a qualitative research method which included documentary data and interviews. The researcher interviewed 24 respondents who had experienced the impact of resettlement in the Folweni area. Their views and opinions are presented in Chapter 4 of the thesis. A concluding chapter briefly reviews the key findings of the study and presents recommendations and suggestions for future studies. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

Partial care is the care of more than six children on behalf of their parents or caregivers for a temporary period during the day and could include overnight care. Access to partial care and Early Childhood Development (ECD) services are important for child development. South Africa does not have minimum standards for provision of ECD and funding for it is limited. A Children's Bill has been proposed to replace the Child Care Act no 74 of 1983. In the proposed Bill, both partial care and early childhood development will be regulated. This study attempted to explore partial care and early childhood development in Cato Manor, an informal settlement in the process of development. The study was qualitative with a sample of twelve facilities selected from partial care facilities in the community. Interviews were conducted with facilitators from the facilities about their experiences and challenges of providing partial care in the community, using a semi structured interview schedule. Observation of the facilities was also made using an observation checklist to ascertain resources and the physical environment. The findings showed that three categories of partial care facilities existed in Cato Manor. The different cateqorles had inequalities in resources, leading to differences in the nature of care and programmes children were offered. The findings indicated that there were problems associated with registration and monitoring of the facilities. Lack of funding was shown to be a big challenge for the facilities. Community efforts of establishing facilities need to be strengthened. The registration process of facilities needs to be simplified and communication between government departments responsible for registration and the facilities improved. Facilitators need assistance to have access to available funding. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2006.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1971.