The hospice volunteer is viewed as an integral member of a multidisciplinary team, with various roles directed at enhancing the quality of life of patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated picture of the hospice volunteer, their role, the human dimensions of this role and the impact this has on their lives as not much has been written in literature about this specific sub-group of hospice workers. The context of the study is a hospice in Gauteng where the researcher works as a volunteer. The ethnographic case study has been chosen as an appropriate research design as it explores the above phenomenon from the volunteers' point of view. The subjects are three volunteers who have been active at the hospice for at least twelve months. Evidence in terms of specific interviews and observations are used to draw conclusions. The interviews are based on a minimal number of open-ended questions. The primary method of analysis is the examination of transcripts from these in-depth interviews. A thematic analysis is carried out in which a detailed description of the emerging themes are given. Four major themes are identified and explored: Description of the role; The experience of being a volunteer; A way of coping; and The influence of the hospice culture. Sub-themes that emerge within each case study vary due to the individual nature of the experience of the role. Themes are explored in light of current theory and findings. This was to note the similarities and differences of this specific sub-group of volunteers compared to others found in the literature reviewed for this study. As there is a scarcity of literature pertaining specifically to hospice volunteers, the study depends mostly on writings pertaining to hospice staff and volunteers in general. A summary and integration of the core findings of the three case studies is given and their similarities and differences are explored. How some of the different themes interlink is also discussed. Although various sub-themes found in the individual case studies are significant to the individual cases, some of them can be incorporated into common themes when looking at the volunteers as a group. The strengths and limitations of the study are discussed as well as recommendations for the hospice organisation and further research. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

South Africa is called "the rainbow nation" because it has so many different cultures. These have an impact on the provision of primary health care. The purpose of this research is to foster good relationships between community health nurses and traditional healers and to explore, identify and describe the attitude of community health nurses towards the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. A non-experimental, explorative and descriptive research strategy was designed to explore the working relationship between community health nurses and traditional healers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis techniques were adopted to interpret the findings. The results indicated that respondents demonstrated positive attitudes towards working with traditional healers, especially in the provision of primary health care. Positive opinions, ideas and views were provided about the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. Respect, recognition and sensitivity were emphasized by respondents. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Text in Afrikaans / Die probleem wat in die studie ondersoek word is: wat die aard van die behoefte aan gemeenskapgesondheidsinligtingdienste (GGID) in Suid-Afrika, met besondere verwysing na Bloemfontein en Mangaung, is. Daar word van 'n verkennende studie gebruik gemaak om die navorsingsdoelstellings te bereik. Die metodes wat gebruik is, is literatuurstudie, gevallestudie en opname. Die tegnieke wat gebruik is, is vraelys, skedule en onderhoud. 'n Oorsig oor gesondheidsorg, met die klem op primere gesondheidsorg as agtergrond vir gesondheidsopvoeding en -inligting, word gegee. Daar word verwys na die rol van verskillende biblioteektipes en die bibliotekaris. Redes vir die ontstaan van gemeenskapgesondheidsinligting, die verspreiding van GGID in die buiteland en die fvksionering daarvan word beskryf. 'n Ondersoek is in Mangaung en Bloemfontein gedoen om die behoefte aan GGID en die aard van gesondheidsinligting te probeer bepaal. 'n Model word saamgestel uit die behoeftebepaling en die literatuurstudie / The subject investigated by this study is: the nature of the need for community health information services (CHIS) in South Africa, with special reference to Bloemfontein and Mangaung. An exploratory study has been used to achieve the research objectives. The methods used are review of the literature, case study and a survey. The techniques used are a questionnaire, schedule and interview. A review of health care, emphasizing primary health care as a backgound to health education and information, is given. The role of different types of libraries and the librarian is discussed. Reasons for the development of community health information, the distribution of CHIS overseas and their functioning are described. An investigation was done in Bloemfontein and Mangaung to gauge the need for CHIS and the nature of health information. A model has been formulated, based on this survey and the literature review / Information Science / M. Bibl. (Inligtingkunde)

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of older caregivers of adult AIDS ill children in Umlazi Township in the province of Kwa- Zulu Natal. A qualitative research design which was exploratory was executed with a sample of purposively selected participants who are the members of the organization that provides support to the older caregivers. Data saturation occurred after focus group and in depth individual interview with ten participants. The findings revealed that older caregivers experience lot of challenges which ranges from emotional, physical, financial, psychological, social and time constraints when caring for their adult AIDS ill children .The study further revealed that older caregivers developed a wide range of coping strategies to face their challenging caregiving task and most of the older caregivers utilized positive coping strategies. Recommendations that are described focus on the inclusion and consultation of older caregivers in all decisions and programmes about them. / Appendix C (Interview guide) in English as well as in Zulu / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The aim of this qualitative study was to understand how older women experience their roles as care-givers to HIV/AIDS affected households in the Atteridgeville community and to identify specific problems they encounter. Twelve older women attending three elderly day care centres in Atteridgeville participated in the study. Purposive sampling was done and data was collected through two focus group interviews. Colaizzi‟s seven-step method of data analysis yielded the following four main themes: Caring for adult children with HIV/AIDS, Caring for HIV affected and infected grandchildren, Multiple role players involved in caring for HIV/AIDS persons, The impact on the lives of care-givers. Factors with a positive and negative impact on caring for HIV/AIDS households were identified. The study raises awareness for the need for social workers in Atteridgeville to intervene in assisting older women in their challenging role of caring for HIV/AIDS households / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of forensic nurses when providing care to victims of sexual assault in selected public hospitals of Limpopo province. Methods: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was employed in this study. A sample of 7 registered nurses was purposively selected to partake in in-depth unstructured interviews. Results: Four themes associated with the experience of providing care to victims of sexual assaults emerged during data analysis. These included (1) psychological experiences of nursing victims of sexual assault, (2) physical challenges associated with implementing the forensic nursing specialty in a clinical setting, (3) psychological coping strategies to deal with challenges experienced, and (4) the experience of managerial support. Conclusion: Participants reported negative psychological and physical experiences of providing care to victims of sexual assault, which resulted to occupational stress. Recommendations of forensic nurses support guidelines and further research were made. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

In South Africa prior to 1994, community-based care and support services were established for whites only. The majority of older African (black) persons received informal support from their adult children and relatives. This has waned over the years due to the social and economic changes that have put into doubt the continued viability of such support. The Older Persons Act of 2006 requires social workers to establish community-based care and support services for older persons. Hence, the study was conducted to understand the factors that influence social workers in establishing CBCSS for older persons in Bloemfontein in the Free State Province. A qualitative research method was undertaken to accomplish the goal of the study. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify suitable participants. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen social workers who provide services to older persons. The data was analysed through Tesch’s (cited by Creswell, 2009:186) eight steps of qualitative analysis and data verification was conducted following Guba’s (Kreftling, 1991) model. The major finding is that there is a need for social workers to specialise in older persons programmes (gerontology). For the programmes to be a success, it is recommended that the Department of Social Development (DSD) strive to retain social workers who are knowledgeable and experienced in older persons programmes. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)

Evidence suggests that caring for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS remains one of the greatest challenges facing South Africa. Statistics indicate that there are 1.91 million AIDS orphans in the country (UNICEF, 2012; Statistics South Africa, 2009:8)). The majority of these orphans live in rural and poor urban households. Caring for orphans and vulnerable children places severe strain on support systems, such as the extended family; this spills over into the community. Providing care and support also places an extra burden on the already overstretched welfare sector and drains state resources. The primarily objective of this study was to explore community resilience strategies on challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Gauteng. A purposive sample of 32 participants was selected and field data were collected over a period of two months using a structured research guide. A combination of data collection methods was employed in order to explore different perspectives of community resilience strategies on challenges faced by orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV and AIDS in Benoni. Emerging data illustrate a clear account on the impact of the AIDS epidemic in Benoni. All of the respondents were directly or indirectly affected by the epidemic. This should be located within the high prevalence of HIV and AIDS and the high number of orphans in Ekurhuleni. The study findings further suggest a correlation between socioeconomic challenges and the AIDS epidemic in Ekurhuleni. This is demonstrated through the challenges experienced by orphans and vulnerable children in Benoni, which include: non-disclosure by parents of their illness; economic deprivation and disrupted schooling; children caring for an ill parent with AIDS and child-headed households; emotional, sexual and economic exploitation, stigmatisation and discrimination. Despite these challenges, through community resilience the Benoni community has taken some initiatives to mitigate against these challenges. This includes the establishment of a community based organisation which provides basic services to orphans and vulnerable children in Benoni. To date this organisation has successfully provided material and psychosocial to more than 278 orphans. The success of this initiative confirms the importance of community driven interventions using the resilience framework to supports orphans and vulnerable, rather than dependency on the government imposed programmes- top down approach. However, community based programmes need to be strengthened by the government and non-governmental organisations in order to maximise benefits. / Psychology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies)

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctoral Degree in Nursing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / This mixed methods study aimed to assess the functioning and processes of the Fast Queue Service Point in order to analyse the quality of care rendered in primary health care (PHC) facilities in the eThekwini district of the KwaZulu­ Natal Province in South Africa. The Fast Queue Service Point provides service in PHC facilities for health care users requiring short consultations. Congestion of PHC facilities is a result of increased access to PHC services with the introduction of free PHC services. This congestion was aggravated by the decentralization of services from hospitals to PHC level such as the introduction on Nurse Initiated Management of Anti-Retroviral Therapy (NIMART). In 2010, the National Core Standards (NCS) for health establishments were formulated further to the PHC Service package, to address issues of quality. An explanatory sequential mixed methods study design was used and data collection was conducted in two phases; the quantitative data collection phase consisting of two subsets of observations namely; the retrospective record review and structured observations of the Fast Queue Service Point process. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 was used to analyse data. During the second phase semi-structured interviews were conducted with PHC staff members to describe their experiences of the Fast Queue Service Point and to clarify issues from the quantitative phase. Although Fast Queue Service users received sufficient care, there were important care assessments that had been inadequately performed or omitted. These included discussing side effects of medications and or immunizations and management thereof. Childrens' weights were not interpreted, an important aspect for children under five years of age. There was also lack of supportive supervision coupled with shortage of resources and too many time-consuming written records that were required to compile accurate statistics. Retraining and in-servicing of health personnel and making resources available, would assist in strengthening patient assessment, management and recording thereof. While clinic managers require to offer supportive supervision to health care providers, provision of lower categories of staff would be beneficial in supporting PNs and ENs so that they have time to compile records for statistics purposes, which were found to be taking up the bulk of their time. The framework for continuous quality improvement in implementing a Fast Queue Service in PHC settings was developed based on the findings of the study / D

Thesis (MCUR)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa has a proud history of a high standard of health care delivery in State funded hospitals. This implies that high standards of education and care in both medical and nursing training have been achieved. The care of sick and premature newborn infants by nurses is a speciality that has evolved worldwide over the last forty years as a result of various technological developments. In order to ensure the standard of care delivered, protocols of care should be available for nurses to refer to and to measure their work against. There were no protocols of care available in the two Neonatal Units (NICUs) used in this study. Using a non-experimental, exploratory descriptive design, the researcher set about measuring the quality of nursing care in the NICUs. Standards (structure, process and outcome) were written by the researcher, and validated. The results showed that the standards were not met at an acceptable level in various areas. One of the areas of great concern was the lack of effective hand washing. Outcome standards which reflect the consequences of care indicated serious shortages of staff in some cases and insufficient staff training. Recommendations are that a Quality Assurance Program should be introduced with training and education of the nurses working in the NICUs and the introduction of evidencebased practice. Future research should aim at showing the way to improve the service delivered. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika het ‘n trotse geskiedenis van ‘n hoë standard van gesondheidsorgdienslewering in Staatsbefondsde hospitale. Dit impliseer dat hoë standaarde in mediese en verpleegopleiding bereik is. Die versorging van siek en premature pasgebore babas deur verpleegkundiges is ‘n spesialiteit wat oor die afgelope veertig jaar wêreldwyd ontwikkel het as gevolg van verskeie tegnologiese ontwikkelings. Ten einde te verseker dat ‘n hoë standard van sorg gelewer word, moet protokolle beskikbaar wees vir verpleegkundiges om te gebruik en hulle werkverrigting teen te meet. Daar was geen protokolle beskikbaar in die twee neonatale eenhede wat in hierdie studie gebruik is nie. ‘n Nie-eksperimentele, verkennende, beskrywende ontwerp is deur die navorser gebruik om die gehalte van verpleegsorg in die neonatale eenhede te evalueer. Standaarde (struktuur, proses en uitkoms) is deur die navorser opgestel en gevalideer. Die resultate toon aan dat die standaarde in verskeie areas nie aanvaarbaar nagekom word nie. ‘n Kommerwekkende bevinding was die afwesigheid van effektiewe was van hande. Uitkomsstandaarde wat die resultaat van sorg weerspieël, het aangedui dat daar ernstige tekorte aan personeel in sommige gevalle bestaan het asook onvoldoende opleiding van personeel. Aanbevelings is dat ‘n Gehalteversekeringsprogram ingestel behoort te word en met die opleiding van verpleegkundiges werksaam in die neonatale eenhede en evidence-based practice aangespreek moet word. Toekomstige navorsing behoort aan te dui hoe om die diens wat gelewer word, te verbeter.