No description available.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-105). / Includes abstract. / The aim of the research was to determine changes in quality of life over the first six months of anti-retroviral therapy.

Includes bibliographical references. / This is an evaluation of the holistic care of Tuberculosis patients with palliative care needs in the Western Cape, South Africa.

There are currently more people living with cancer than ever before. The management of the heavy symptom burden carried by these patients remain a critical subject. Of these symptoms, depression is one of the most frequently reported and debilitating symptoms in advanced cancer. The negative impact of untreated depression on both the patient and the healthcare system is well documented. The aim of this study was to explore how South African radiation oncologists manage depression in their late-stage cancer patients. The study focussed specifically on the use of screening tools, their choice of drugs and the mental health resources available to them. A convenience sample of 34 South African radiation oncologists that included participants from both the private and government sector completed an online questionnaire. The results from this study showed that these oncologists do encounter depression in their late stage cancer patients confirming the importance of the subject. While the lack of a universally agreed screening tool remains a problem, at least fifty percent of the respondents were already using some form of screening tool and thirty-five percent of the rest indicated their interest in implementing depression screening in their practice. When faced with a depressed patient, Seventy-four percent of these oncologists felt confident in starting antidepressants and all of them had some sort of mental health resources available to them. Unfortunately, the small study sample and self-reporting lead to concerns regarding the generalizability and validity of the study. However, the study remains valuable in its role of raising awareness for depression in our cancer population, identifying the shortcomings in our current management as well as identifying education needs in our health-care personnel.

Includes bibliographical references. / The 2 Military Hospital Palliative Care unit seeks to provide high quality, holistic palliative care to all patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. This care should be initiated early after diagnosis, to prevent unnecessary suffering and allowing the patient and the family to be part of the decision making process. However, the majority of the cancer patients are either referred very late in the disease process or are not referred at all. The purpose of this study was to enumerate the percentage of patients who were not referred to the palliative care unit; to identify possible barriers to referral within referring doctors and to promote the role of the palliative care unit.

Includes bibliographical references. / Burnout is a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment that may occur amongst individuals who work primarily with people. Nurses and doctors working in oncology must care for many critically ill and dying patients. Pretoria is a city with a high concentration of oncology institutions. The aim of this research is to evaluate the incidence of burnout amongst health care professionals in Pretoria oncology centres, to assess whether certain variables have an influence on the levels of burnout and to compare the situation in Pretoria to the rest of the world. A questionnaire was distributed to all health care professionals working in oncology centres in Pretoria. The questionnaire consisted of an informed consent, demographic data and the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The participants included doctors, nursing staff, radiographers and social workers in both state and private health care institutes, involving radiotherapy, chemotherapy and palliative care units. 240 questionnaires were distributed and 156 were returned. Results show that 24.65% - 32 .87% of participants experienced a high degree of burnout, which is average compared to the rest of the world. Burnout in cancer care workers has been reported to be 22.1 - 53.3% in the rest of the world. Young, single participants appeared to experience a greater incidence of burnout, which is consistent with the literature. The incidence of burnout amongst healthcare professionals, in Pretoria oncology centres appear to be average when compared to the rest of the world. However, language problems, cultural differences and other limitations of the burnout scale may have played a role and warrants further research.

Includes bibliographical references. / The control of pain is an important aspect of patient care for physicians who deal with cancer and has significant impact on the quality of life of patients. With appropriate care, pain can be controlled in 90% of patients who have advanced malignant conditions.

M.Sc. (Nursing), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011 / No abstract or title page on the cd

No description available.

No description available.