A dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Diploma in Technology: Homoeopathy, TechniKon Natal, Durban, 1994. / This study contains a review of the major recognizable Industrial problem of chronic lead toxicity. Lead poisoning has been recognized for thousands of years, dating beclt to the Roman Empire. Today, Industries In South Africa and worldwide struggle to maintain low blood lead levels In their employees and companies have to abide by regulations to ensure they ere doing all that Is In their power. Cooltson Chemicals (Pty) Limited, In Durban, which has a factory which produces lead based chemicals, was approached with regard to treating the workers exposed to the lead dust and fumes with Homoeopathlc Slmlllimum. This Individualistic Homoeopathlc treatment depends on the person's symptoms and signs on a physical, mental and emotional level, and by treating the person as a whole, the excretion of toxic lead occurs. Thus lower lead levels result. According to Herneeepetntc methodology, It Is the sum of all the symptoms and signs In each Individual ease of a disease that Is the main pointer In the choice of the remedy. This Is where despite many complaining of a slmillar condition, or suffering from a common complaint, different Homoeopathlc remedies may be prescribed. Lower blood lead levels result In fewer retrenchments as once a factory employee continually presents with excessively high blood lead levels, he risks losing his Job. A sample group of twenty volunteers was obtained from this factory and each werker tooit his prescribed medication and had blood and urine tests talten at regular Intervals over five months. The precise methodology and the consequent results are explained In this paper. The results were analysed using the computer program, SGPLUS,to obtain summary statistics. The blood lead results were subjected to The Wilcoxon Signed RankTest to determine the 11kreasesand decreases In the levels over the monitoring period. Due to sample size and the presence to only one group In the research, the remaining results were from visual observation. Based on the problems encountered during this study, recommendations are made If further research Is to be done along similar guidelines. A final conclusion closes the study. The urine porphyrin tests are not a true Indicator of lead metabolism or excretion and these results are therefore not valid. A slight change did occur In the blood lead levels as Is discussed. A great deal of progress remains to be made with the aim of lowering blood lead levels In lead-exposed factory workers. Homoeopathy has the potential to alleviate this serious problem of chronic lead toxicity. Further research could provide Industry with the answer. Presently the emphasis Is on prevention of excessively high blood lead levels with only removal from exposure as the last possible means of alleviating the problem. If a method to solving lead toxicity In the Industrial sphere can be found, It has numerous possibilities In nonIndustry. Thus an opening exists for Homoeopathy. / M

The health care of those who work in remote places associated with hostile environments is reviewed, concentrating on the offshore oil industry and Antarctic populations. An understanding of associated environmental hazards is essential for adequate health care and particular attention is paid to the hyperbaric environment and to environmental heat and cold. The basic medical problems in remote health care are evaluated in three related studies. The first examines 2,162 personnel who required medical evacuations from the offshore structures of four North Sea operating companies, the second with 5,894 presentations from offshore at the A&E department of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, while the third examines 100 annual medical reports from British Antarctic Survey stations.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Richard Goe / Asian-Indians represent an important component of the professional and ‘high-tech’ workers in the U.S. Research on this population has found that majority of these workers are temporary workers working on a contractual jobs. Further, it is not unusual for Indian immigrant workers to get married and have children while in the U.S. As such, they must learn to negotiate the U.S. cultural terrain in both their place of work and home life. This provides the potential that they will become transnational by developing identities and engaging in cultural and social practices from two different nations, India and the U.S. This dissertation investigates the nature and extent of transnational practices adopted by high-tech Indian workers employed by U.S. firms on a temporary work visa. In summary, the purpose of this research is to explore and describe the prevalence and practice of transnationalism among Indian high-tech workers employed by U.S. firms on a temporary work visa and its impact on their lives.  The study uses a mixed-methods research (Ivankova, Creswell and Stick, 2007), where quantitative survey and qualitative data collection are used in single study to understand the stated research problem. Also, as there is no formal list of Indian IT professionals working in the U.S. at contractual jobs, the data collection will be carried out through the non-random chain-referral sampling technique. A detailed survey and personal interview will be used to measure various micro aspects of these workers' lives including consumption patterns, recreational choices, socialization, cultural beliefs and family dynamics. The study reveals that the temporary stay of these professionals in the U.S. along with their families necessitates day-to-day negotiations between two cultures in terms of their food, clothing, recreation, and daily activities creating a transnational life style for these young professionals. The responses reflect the inner struggle of these professionals between their long-term goals of settling in India with their families and the current material life in a far-away land of opportunity. On one hand, the dualism of living in the U.S. as an Indian is demonstrated in this study by the convergence of the disparate elements of both aspects of their lives, work, incomes and remittances; on other hand, family, social life, religion, consumption patterns, and recreation activities provide the glimpse of a dual life. All of these cultural and social practices can be considered as the combination of transnationalism from ‘above’ and ‘below’ as noted by Smith and Guarnizo (1998). Transnational activities at the work place, which is forced by the work culture of the MNCs that employ them, can be considered as ‘transnationalism from above’. Simultaneously, being bi-lingual at home, cooking and eating Indian and Western food, socializing with Indian and American friends outside work, and all those cultural activities they perform on a day-to-day basis, indicates ‘transnationalism from below’. Overall, through this study, I have described important aspects of the transnational lives of Indian IT professionals, who try to maintain a fine balance between faster assimilation of American culture which might help them at the work place while simultaneously retaining much of their ‘Indian-ness’ so that going back to India never poses a problem when their visa expires. In a way, the lives of this particular group of professionals can be viewed as those of temporary-enclave residential workers.

D.Ed / Communities in a society consist of individuals within those communities. There are many individual members in those communities who are not effectively involved in serving that society. This study focuses on guiding individual members in a society to effective service in their community. Individuals who report for service in a community are referred to as volunteers. Many people don’t experience full spiritual health because they live selfcentred lives. People don’t realize that there is value in community service. Making a difference in the community by voluntary service leads to inner fulfilment and meaning. To accompany volunteers in finding their places of service, the following research question was asked: “What can be done to further voluntary community service?” The aim of this study was the description, implementation and evaluation of a Psycho-Educational Program to mobilize service in individuals to thereby further mental health. From a methodological viewpoint a qualitative research strategy was applied to realize the purpose mentioned above. A method of scouting and describing was further applied. The field - work was done by means of semi-structured interviews with volunteers. The results obtained were analysed and categorized. The findings of the data were justified by means of literature control. The trustworthiness of the findings was assured in this way. The following main themes were identified: · Points of departure to discover your place of service · Establishing healthy relationships The results of the data analysis show that the volunteer wants to know what value community service has to offer before he makes his time available for service. The volunteer’s involvement in the community should benefit his spiritual health by his experiencing meaning, peace and even health. The research indicated the fact that the volunteer should move through a process of self-discovery to find his place of service. When the volunteer discovers who he is and organizes his life accordingly, it should promote meaning to life. In the research it surfaced that volunteers in many cases experience that human relationships are inadequate. People from different backgrounds and with different types of personality form part of the community team. Therefore an effort should be made to further healthy inter-personal relationships. It is necessary that volunteers develop the social skills to promote healthy inter-personal relationships. In the research it also became clear that the facilitator plays an important role in the volunteer’s guiding process. He must guide the volunteer to find his place of service and to make him part of the community. Subsequently a service program for volunteers was developed. The program was developed out of the themes and categories. The program’s intent is to guide the volunteer in discovering his place of service. By being involved in the field of service which compliments his true “I” or identity, mental health will be attained. Secondly the program’s intent is to equip facilitators so that volunteers can be empowered for service. In conclusion the implementation and evaluation were discussed. Regard to the implementation, it was recommended that community leaders be trained during workshops to implement the service program in their communities. Thereafter they should develop facilitators in their respective communities who will guide volunteers in the process of finding their own places of service. The program was facilitated to a number of volunteers. Their experience was related during a focus - group interview. The data collected were analysed and categorized. The following conclusions were made: The program led to the fact that they realized the value of community service. The partakers discovered their true “I” or identity. This knowledge could be used to determine which type of service would lead to the greatest mental health. They also learned the necessary interpersonal skills for effective community service. The thesis therefore puts a community service program in place that will guide volunteers to find their place in service and to live to the full. In that way they will contribute effectively to society and will also benefit in mental health.

No description available.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Introduction: Despite ongoing training provided to healthcare workers (HCWs) on tuberculosis infection prevention and control (TB IPC), at the health institution and implementation of TB IPC precautions, nosocomial TB infection within the hospital persist. The facility’s 2017 Occupational Infection & Needle Prick Report showed the proportions of new nosocomial TB infection cases among HCWs rose steadily from (5.6%) n=2 in 2013/14, (7.8%) n= 4 2015/16 and (9%) n=7, to (11%) n=11 cases in 2017/18. Study findings confirmed high new nosocomial TB infections among HCWs and a likelihood that these cases were usually under- reported meaning the problem of nosocomial TB infection among HCWs was actually bigger than understood at the hospital. In fact during the period of the mini-thesis study (July 2018) alone, three (3) cases of nosocomial TB infections were reported among HCWs (a porter and 2 nurses). Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the factors which are perceived to be contributing to nosocomial TB infection amongst doctors and nurses in a Level 2 referral hospital in the Free State Province of South Africa.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most infectious diseases globally and is a huge public health concern. In 2016, the Western Cape Province had the fourth highest incidence of TB in South Africa, with 728 new cases per 100 000 population. Effective management of TB includes screening, diagnosis, treatment, control and elimination. The local health authority (municipality) has historically managed tuberculosis in the Cape Metropole but due to the increased TB burden, primary health care (PHC) facilities managed by Metro Health Services (MHS) (provincial government) have recently commenced providing TB services. The challenge that the Cape Metropole is facing, is whether the clinicians in MHS facilities are equipped to manage these patients effectively. Aim: To determine the knowledge, attitude and practices of clinicians in the screening, diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis in the MHS PHC facilities in the Northern Tygerberg Sub-structure, Cape Town between mid-March 2018 and mid- June 2018.

MSc (Occupational Therapy), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Ergonomic interventions, addressing work and lifestyle factors, seem more effective in reducing computer related upper limb repetitive strain injury (RSI).This study considered the efficacy of such a programme on the resolution of RSI symptoms. A cross sectional survey, of 325 computer workers in a medical aid company call centres, in Gauteng, South Africa was used to establish a point prevalence of 30.23% for RSI symptoms, which correlates with those found elsewhere. An occupational therapy ergonomic intervention was then designed and piloted for efficacy. A randomised control trial conducted on 37 participants with RSI used the programme and computer generated “Break Software”. The six week intervention included the assessment of: three physical outcome measures and lifestyle factors for, the experimental and control groups. Results indicated positive effects on pain, grip strength, and lifestyle factors including feelings of inefficiency, pressure at the end of the day, depression and work capacity, but little extrapolation of ergonomic knowledge to the workplace.

South Africa has experienced a drastic shortage of social workers. This shortage has affected many social welfare organizations, particularly those who offer services in the area of substance abuse. According to a recent study conducted by Earle (2008) many reasons could be ascribed to the high social work turnover, these include: poor working conditions; poor compensation of work; lack of resources and support; and increased demands for services. Hence, social workers are experiencing work stress, burnout and compassion fatigue taxing their personal and professional coping strategies which could lead to staff turnover. The primary aim of this study was to understand the work experiences, coping strategies and organisational retention of social workers in Gauteng inpatient substance abuse treatment centres. The study had an exploratorydescriptive design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative paradigms to explore the work environment of the organisations and participants. Purposive sampling was used to select and divide the participants into three categories: entry level social workers; experienced social workers and social workers that had left the substance abuse field. Data was collected through conducting indepth interviews and through a questionnaire completed by the representatives from in-patient substance abuse treatment centres. This questionnaire was piloted with an in-patient treatment centre in KwaZulu Natal. The results of the quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, which were illustrated via tables and figures and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The main findings of this study confirmed most of the reasons for work stress and burnout that may lead to staff turnover identified in previous studies by Ross (1997) and Earle (2008). These findings are incorporated into a retention model developed by the researcher. The model incorporated five stages: stage one focussed on the reasons for entering the substance abuse field (personal interests, undergraduate studies and/or accidental); stage two explored preparation of social workers by organisations after entry to the field; stage three identified four general factors that effects the sustainability of social workers (external/environmental influences, organisational factors, the type of client population, career opportunities and personal factors); stage four explained the individual differences in coping responses (negative or positive) to job stress either through fight responses, self-care strategies for retention or flight responses, staff turnover; lastly, stage five focussed on what organisations can do to reduce staff turnover. These findings can assist the occupational social worker to identify these retention challenges and develop strategies to reduce the risk of staff turnover.

Empirical research exploring the physical health of female sex workers and their risk of contracting and spreading sexually transmitted infections has been over-researched. There have also been numerous studies conducted on sex workers highlighting physical violence, rape and stigmatisation. There is, however, little empirical evidence exploring the personal lives of female sex workers especially with regards to their husbands and the impact that their wives choice in career may have on the constructions of their masculinity. Accordingly, this research aimed to qualitatively explore and understand, via a comparative in-depth case study with two married couples, how the masculinity of a man, who is married to a high-income female sex worker, may be constructed, as compared to a man who is married to a woman who is not involved in the sex industry. It was found, after conducting semi-structured, one-on-one interviews with each of the married couples, that the males constructed their masculinity in relation to their wives occupation, their income in comparison to that of their wives, their wives sexuality, familial and historical notions regarding infidelity, certainty regarding paternity, and issues of romantic jealousy (both sexual and emotional). It was found that, at least for the man from a non-traditional marriage (where his wife was a FSW), by constructing and reconstructing one’s masculinity (when faced with perceived threats regarding one's sense of masculinity), one is able to reclaim the typical patriarchal characteristics. This is done by strongly conforming (and potentially overcompensating by doing so) to traditional masculine and social patriarchal standards and/or by constructing one’s masculinity to align with a more liberal feminist perspective. Therefore one demonstrates a contemporary appreciation of gender equality and non-traditional gender roles for one’s female partner.