Background: In 2006 the Gauteng Department of health endorsed a Wellness Program Policy. The policy was introduced and implemented in all Gauteng Province Hospitals. The policy spells out the integrated model of wellness program. The focus is to promote wellness, healthy lifestyle and assist the staff members who are ill while at work place. The department found it crucial to ensure that the staff members are well cared for in order to be productive. Aim: To describe the utilization of the various components of the wellness program by the staff members and to describe the outcome thereof. Methodology: The research design was a quantitative, cross sectional retrospective record review. The analysis focused on the records of the staff members of Natalspruit Hospital, who utilized the wellness program services from January to December 2009. The scope of the study covered all five components of wellness program as outlined by the Gauteng Department of Health Wellness Program Policy. Data was collected and analysed from 941 entries in the Wellness Clinic records. Conclusion: This research found that the average number of staff visits during the study period was 80.1(SD 22.1) which represents 80% of the total staff complement and that actual percentage of staff who utilized the service is much lower. However during the last month of the period under study attendance rate represented 5.8% of total staff establishment. The majority of the staff members were women (90%); female subjects were significantly younger than male subjects, p <0.01 (Mann Whitney’s test). The most professional and occupational categories that used the services were the nurses. The components that were mostly utilised was Birth control (48.9%); specifically for family planning, followed by the Occupational Health and Safety component in the area of Hepatitis B (11.5%) and needle prick (3.9%). The majority of the staff members continued with the services in the clinic (86.9%) while very few staff members were referred out of the clinic (5.3%) to the casualty/ out- patient department, court and ICAS. Only (7.76 %) of cases were resolved. The majority of the staff members utilized the organization and climate for management of health related problems component, especially in the services of birth control for family planning section. It seems a waste of resources to have an entire wellness program where staff members are mostly using it primarily for family planning, therefore the research described the basic requirements for effective EWP and also the importance of capacity needed for effective policy management, then suggested the comprehensive components. The report findings could benefit the Government in planning and operations of other Wellness Programs across the country.

Introduction: Compassion fatigue is an extreme state of tension and preoccupation with the suffering of those being helped and affects those who work in caring professions. Helping people in distress can traumatise the helper because of their empathetic ability. Nurses who work in ARV clinics witness the suffering of their patients when they listen to their patients' descriptions of the trauma that they have to cope with. The patients get the chance to let go of the trauma and to share their concerns. Unfortunately the nurses often absorb some of the emotional pain of their patients and not all nurses are equipped to handle the situations in such a way that they do not become secondarily affected by the trauma of their patients and therefore, become vulnerable to develop compassion fatigue. If compassion fatigue is not identified in time and addressed adequately, the affected nurses may develop feelings of hopelessness in their ability to take care of their patients with detrimental effect on the quality of nursing care to these patients. Aims: Firstly, to explore and describe the extent of the manifestation of compassion fatigue amongst nurses working in antiretroviral clinics; and secondly, to develop a wellness programme to aid in the identification and management of episodes of compassion fatigue as well as the prevention of future occurrences of such episodes of compassion fatigue amongst nurses working in antiretroviral clinics. Methodology: The researcher conducted the study in two phases. In Phase one, a single embedded case study design, with three sub-units situated within the case, namely nurses who work in the adult, ante-natal and paediatric ARV clinics in a tertiary public hospital, was used. Purposive sampling was used to select seven nurses. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The researcher used content analysis as described by Elo and Kyngäs (2008) to analyse the transcribed interviews. The themes identified include the risk to develop compassion fatigue, manifestation of compassion fatigue and strategies to prevent and manage compassion fatigue. For document analysis the researcher used professional and enrolled nurses' job description and the employee health and wellness programme for public service. In Phase two, the researcher developed the wellness programme to aid in the identification, prevention and management of compassion fatigue amongst nurses who work in antiretroviral clinics and the Delphi Method was used to refine the wellness programme. Findings: Nurses working in the ARV clinics are at risk of developing compassion fatigue due to work environment issues such as challenges created by the health care system, lack of support from management, and their overwhelming work load. The cost of the nurse-patient relationship also contributed to nurses being at risk of compassion fatigue. Aspects that were identified that relate to the cost of a relationship with patients who are HIV positive include caring for traumatised patients, vicarious exposure to traumatic experiences of patients, and the influence caring for patients who are HIV positive has had on nurses' personal lives and their families. Nurses can traumatise their family members by continually not being available for them through emotional withdrawal. Nurses presented with physical, psychological, spiritual symptoms and changes in their behaviour that are indicative of compassion fatigue. Various strategies to prevent and manage compassion fatigue were identified: both what nurses can do, and what they expected from management. Nurses' job description is generic and does not spell out their role and function within antiretroviral clinics. The implementation of the health and wellness programme is lacking. The findings of Phase one and related literatures formed the bases from which the researcher developed the wellness programme to aid with the identification, prevention and management of compassion fatigue. Conclusion: Nurses are at risk of developing compassion fatigue due to the cost of the nurse-patient relationship with patients who are HIV positive. The key to prevention of compassion fatigue is awareness and a number of strategies that can aid in the identification, prevention and management of compassion fatigue have been identified and included in the wellness programme. Managerial support and practicing of self-care is important to maintain the health and well-being of nurses who work in antiretroviral clinic. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Nursing Science / PhD / Unrestricted

Magister Commercii - MCom / Higher education institutions (HEIs) worldwide are faced with complex changes and challenges. Employees at these institutions are also faced with even greater demands and obstacles. Academics often work under pressure and fail to achieve balance in their work and other life activities as they strive to meet their job demands. As a result, the academic employee’s well-being may suffer. As the job demands of academics escalate, the level of support and other resources that academics receive appears to decline. Other resources include staffing, support from management, and spaces and places for wellness. When such support is limited or missing, the ensuing stress, burnout, and ill health affect the well-being of academics. Therefore, it is important for universities to invest in a holistic wellness programme formulated specifically to meet the needs of their employees.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The main impetus for conducting research of this type was for the researcher to better understand the nature and types of EAP and HIV and Aids programmes that exist in the selected Gauteng Public Service departments. The researcher was motivated to choose this subject as she was employed by the Gauteng Department of Education and is currently employed by the Gauteng Department of Health of which these departments are the largest departments in the province and was able see both the similarities and differences between how the EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace programmes were being conducted. One similarity between the programmes is that both EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes are concerned with employee well-being with the aim of enhancement of the quality of work life and productivity. Employee assistance programmes commenced in Gauteng as a directive from the office of the Premier in 1999 (Gauteng Department of Education [GDE] Draft EAP Policy, 2003).This directive was the seed that led the development of both EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes in the Gauteng Province. This was a smart decision of investing its employee’s wellness and was strategically originating from the top structure within the province. In this research an exploratory study was undertaken in order to identify the relationship between EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes in nine Gauteng government departments. The survey design was used within the quantitative approach and use was made of a structured questionnaire. The study was made up of the responses elicited from 14 employees representing 9 state departments within the Gauteng Provincial Government. These respondents were directly responsible for both or either EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes. Applied research, considers a situation in practice to answer practical question about the EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes within GPG, was used. The researcher sent out sixteen questionnaires using a purposive sampling method to select respondents for this study. A discussion of the theoretical overview covered EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes in South Africa. This was further delineated to EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace programmes in the public sector and to the Gauteng Province. The research findings indicated that that the departments surveyed varied drastically in terms of employee size from 60000 to 292. The majority of the respondents were female and were EAP coordinators and the most frequent undertaken daily task was counselling, although many of the government departments had been making use of an external service provider to render an EAP service. Counselling was a service offered by the external service provider. Other findings were that the majority of the respondent’s had a university degree and many even had post-graduate qualifications. Almost all departments surveyed had policies that were relevant to EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes in place. The recommended requirements needed to sustain the EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace programmes include the following: • Locating the EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace programmes at top management level within the respective departments. • Combining the HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes and EAP under the banner of Employee Wellness. • Ensuring that these programmes are adequately resourced both in terms of budget and staff. • On-going marketing of the programmes to increase utilization. This research has highlighted the need for an integrated programme under the banner of wellness that can holistically serve the needs of employees. EAP and HIV and Aids Workplace Programmes practised in isolation are not as effective as a integrated customised programme designed to suit the individual requirements of an organization and its employees. / Dissertation (MSD (Employee Assistance Programme))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted