Aim To describe psychiatric nursing students‟ stereotypical beliefs associated with mental illness labels and the potential mediating effects of information provided from curriculum content and contact through clinical placement. Methodology Four nursing campuses were sampled, resulting in one hundred and thirty two (n=132) participants. Participants remained the same for all three phases of the repeated measure. A quantitative approach, non-experimental survey design with repeated measures made use of a self-report questionnaire. Section A included demographic data (age, gender and cultural group), while Section B consisted of a semantic differential measure (SDM) focusing on three mental illness labels; schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and bipolar mood disorder. Data was collected on the first day of the psychiatric nursing training block, the last day of the training block, and the first day of the second training block, after approximately six weeks of clinical placement in specialist psychiatric settings. Results Participant scores suggested greater negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the schizophrenia label in all the three phases of data collection. The bipolar mood disorder label was the least associated with negative stereotypical beliefs. Information given during the initial teaching block and contact during the clinical placement period resulted in a slight reduction of negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the schizophrenic label. In contrast negative stereotypical beliefs associated with the bipolar mood disorder label were increased slightly after information and contact. Conclusion and recommendation The results of the study confirmed that health care professionals are not different from the general population in their negative stereotypical beliefs towards mental illness labels. A review of the proposed new nursing curriculum should specifically include emphasis on psychosocial rehabilitation. In addition, clinical placement of the student nurses must be designed to ensure interaction with mental health care users engaged in recovery and community integration to remove perceptions of inability to recover associated with mental illness labels (Adewuya & Oguntade, 2007; Adewuya & Makanjuola, 2008; Corrigan, 2007; Smith, 2010). / M.N. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2014

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

In the 1994 Rwandan genocide, rape was widely used as a strategic weapon against Tutsi women. This study explored the long term psychological effects of rape experienced by these women in order to develop a middle range theory to guide the management of the lasting psychological effects of rape in the context of genocide. A Grounded Theory approach using Strauss and Corbin’s paradigm (Strauss and Corbin, 1990) was used. Data collection entailed in-depth interviews of twenty nine participants, twelve of whom were rape survivors, ten were women who had not been raped, and seven were men from their community. Open coding, axial coding and selective coding were used to analyse the data. The results have shown that women were negatively affected, physically, psychologically and socially, by the rape. Genocide Rape Trauma emerged as a concept that defines these outcomes. It includes unbearable memories, overwhelming feelings, sense of helplessness, somatic distress, negative self-image, altered intimate relationships and social isolation. The extreme brutality, the humiliation that accompanied the experience of rape and multiple losses were reported as risk factors for the lasting psychological effects of rape. These negative outcomes were maintained by poverty, poor physical health, the burden of raising the children born of rape, hostility and stigma from their community, and lack of appropriate support and effective health care services. Facilitating the management of Genocide Rape Trauma emerged as the core category of the middle range developed theory. Recovery from Genocide Rape Trauma required formal and informal support, including psychological and medical care, sensitivity in dealing with genocide rape survivors, and advocacy. Economic empowerment was a key element, while educating the community contributed to the social integration of rape survivors and their children born of rape into their community. Women had developed coping mechanisms of their own to attain psychological relief, and had organized themselves into support groups. This study contributed to clinical practice by providing a holistic approach to taking care of rape survivors. The inclusion of such theory in the curriculum of health care professionals should contribute to the understanding of the lasting impact of rape and how to handle it in an efficient manner. Key words: Rwanda, Genocide, women survivors, Genocide Rape Trauma, Management of the long term psychological effects of rape and Grounded theory. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

The promulgation of the Mental Health Care Act of 2002 in South Africa came with challenges or changes in the nursing of mentally ill people. One of the changes required that mental patients need to be observed and assessed for a period of 72 hours in a general or medical ward before being transferred to a specialist hospital. Sometimes the person remains in the ward for more than the 72 hours. This means that nursing students doing their comprehensive four year diploma (R425) are exposed to nursing people with mental illness in their first, second and third year of training, which is prior to the mental health nursing/psychiatric nursing module undertaken in the last semester of the fourth year. The purpose of this study was to explore student nurses’ narratives on nursing mentally ill people in a medical ward. Narrative inquiry was used as the research methodology. Purposive sampling was used to select 5 participants for this study. The inclusion criteria specified that participants had to be second year students participating in the four year Comprehensive Nursing Diploma Programme (R425) who have nursed, or been in contact with a mentally ill person, for a period of eight weeks. The study was conducted before the participants were exposed to the psychiatric module, which is undertaken in fourth year of the diploma course. Data collection took place through a total of 5 sessions of focus groups which took place in a boardroom. While personal names were excluded, participants were required to fill in certain demographic details. Data analysis was undertaken using narrative data analysis, which looked at narrative strings, which are presenting commonalities and narrative threads which are major emerging themes. The narrative strings or commonalities that were identified were in the area of beliefs, with the dominant beliefs regarding the causes of mental illness being culturally or socially based. Emotions such as fear, sadness and frustration were identified, as well as ignorance which leads to stigmatising attitudes. The narrative threads or emerging themes that were identified were: making sense of experiences; moments of awakenings; breaking free moments; and acceptance of a known person with mental illness. The following themes were identified: moments of awakenings or realisation, where the participants started seeing the mentally ill person in another light; and moments of strengths/unique outcomes, where participants recognised their own strengths in dealing with a mentally ill person. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

Aim To explore Mental Health Care Practitioners and a Mental Health Care Directors perceptions of mental health care nurses obtaining prescription authority in eThekwini District KwaZulu-Natal. Methodology A qualitative design was used to gather data through individual interviews and a focus group interview. Purposive sampling was used to select the study setting (five (5) Out Patient Departments, two (2) Community Health Centres, one (1) tertiary educational institution, and one district office), potential participants were not sampled. Participants included; twenty six mental health care nurses (n=26), one (1) psychiatrist (n=1), four (4) medical officers (n=4) and one (n=1) mental health care director. Thematic analysis using the steps outlined by Braun and Clark (2006) was used to analyse the data. Results The majority of participants were not aware of policies or legislation allowing nurses to prescribe medication. Participating mental health care nurses from an education setting were more knowledgeable than other participants about current legislation and policy. Study findings indicate that nurses’ obtaining prescriptive authority is not on the provincial department of health agenda. In addition, participating ppsychiatrists and medical officers expressed reservations about nurses obtaining prescriptive authority, specifically independent prescriptive authority. Participating mental health nurses displayed ambivalence related to the pursuit of prescriptive authority. Conclusion and Recommendations The challenge for mental health nurses is suggested to be the achievement of a collaborative working relationship within the discipline of nursing, and between the discipline of nursing and medicine / psychiatry. It is suggested mental health care directors, and the SANC, be proactive, look to the future in advising the health minister about access and barriers to mental health care treatment. In addition, the SANC champion the nurse, specifically the mental health care nurse in obtaining prescriptive authority for schedule 5-6 psychotropic medications. Further research is required to generate more in-depth data, specifically research that explores mental health care nurses’ reluctance to pursue prescriptive authority. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.