The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of disabled women, attending the state-provided reproduction health services, regarding the quality of care rendered by health professionals in the Eastern Cape. The study was conducted on disabled women at Flagstaff and Lusikisiki self-help group project sites.

This study examined how disability issues can be included into the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Cape Town (UCT). It was based on Ohajunwa's (2012) study which looked at whether disability is included at all in UCT curricula. She found that disability issues were included but with minimal support and was done through individual effort and not a university collective effort. She also found that lecturers did not have support structures on how to even begin to think of including disability issues. This study therefore asked how disability issues can actually be included in the undergraduate curriculum at UCT. A literature search found that institutions in South Africa have not started looking at the inclusion of disability issues in the curriculum in universities but rather have been focusing on the inclusion of students with disabilities. Inclusion of disability issues in university curricula has been happening on a small scale internationally with institutions citing a lack of support on how this can be embedded into all curricula rather than as an add-on. The aims and objectives of this study, therefore, were to identify what content area should be the focus for the inclusion of disability issues, what teaching and assessment methods should be used, and what support structures are likely to be needed. The methodology used was a case study design and the case of disability inclusion in the University of Cape Town undergraduate curriculum. Focus group discussions, in-depth interviews, document analysis, and a reflective journal were means of data collection. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis method with an inductive approach. The findings are reported in relation to a curriculum process framework which emphasises the links between why disability issues should be included, how, when and by what means. The findings are presented in four themes: 1. Achieving transformation through curriculum change; 2. Build and design the curriculum for diversity; 3. Creating a community of practice; and 4. Translating talk into action. Trustworthiness and rigor were observed through member checking for credibility, reflexivity and peer-review for confirmability, and an audit trail for dependability. The study concluded with a recommendation that with the use of the curriculum process framework that emerged from the study, disciplines may have a way to include disability issues in undergraduate curricula in order to transform these curricula. However, this should be done in an integrated way through considering various parts of the curriculum process framework.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-92). / This study explored the experience of parenting a physically disabled child in the Thohoyandou Vhembe District of Limpopo Province, from the perspective of mothers. The objectives of the study were to investigate feelings linked to parenting a physically disabled child in the community within which the parents find themselves, to explore the impact of raising a physically disabled child, as well as strategies that parents employ in coping with raising a physically disabled child.

Includes bibliographical references / In South Africa, children with severe disabilities are often the most neglected in terms of planning and providing appropriate interventions. For those with severe communication disabilities, an additional lack is in the area of the basic human right to meaningful interactions and communication. Sustainable strategies to provide opportunities for basic communicative participation of these children are urgently sought. The focus of this study, grounded in the transformative paradigm, was on culturally determined processes that can increase and enrich the communicative participation of children with severe communication disabilities in an isiXhosa language and cultural context. The aims of the study were: * to identify culturally determined non-verbal and pragmatic elements of social interaction in an isiXhosa language context. * to identify culturally appreciative strategies to support the communicative participation of children with severe communication impairments in this context. The participants were 44 mothers and/or primary carers of children with severe cerebral palsy from an under-resourced peri-urban isiXhosa speaking context in the Western Cape. The method comprised an action research journey with iterative cycles of collaborative action, reflection and subsequent further planning with participants. Data collection included action reflection group sessions, reflective dialogues with the group facilitators, and participant observations. All data was qualitative. Data analysis included a process of in-group collaborative analysis and verification followed by reflective dialogues with the group facilitators and interpretive thematic content analysis. The findings included 12 action learning outcomes, from which two main themes were identified, directly responding to the two main aims of the study. Findings that were considered new were framed as three theses: Thesis 1: Relationships are the context and motivation for communicative participation: the social inclusion and non-ostracism of mothers need to be prioritised in order for them and their children to enjoy communicative participation. Thesis 2: The 'Middle Ground' is a valuable positionality in implementing transformative action learning as an intervention approach. Thesis 3: There is a need to reframe culture as a resource in supporting the communication development of children with severe communication disabilities. In conclusion, implications for clinical practice, for training, for policy planning and implementation and for further research are discussed. Practical suggestions for application by mothers and others caring for children with severe communication disabilities in similar contexts are included.

Globally, people with intellectual disabilities are not afforded equal opportunities to express and enjoy their sexuality on par with their peers. Although most of them remain under the lifetime custody of family caregivers for care and support, a knowledge gap exists in understanding the role of the family caregivers in the sexuality issues of people with intellectual disabilities, especially in developing countries like South Africa. The present study is the first of its kind that employed an exploratory, theory generating methodology, the constructivist grounded theory methodology, to seek understanding of how family caregivers in the Western Cape Province of South Africa respond to sexuality of young adults with intellectual disabilities. Data were gathered through in-depth and focus group interviews with 25 family caregivers and further confirmatory interviews with nine service providers of young adults with intellectual disabilities. The study generated a substantive grounded theory, the Theory of Contained Sexuality, to explain the responses of family caregivers to the sexuality of young adults with intellectual disabilities. The study found that the family caregivers' thoughts, emotions, actions and behaviour towards the sexuality of the young adults with intellectual disabilities are influenced by what the family caregivers see as implications of the young adults' sexual expression and behaviour on both of them. The family caregivers do not completely suppress or restrain the sexuality of the young adults with intellectual disabilities but they support with 'containment', that is they try to confine the sexuality within boundaries that they can control and manage within their lifelong caring role. Ultimately, what the findings of this study point towards is the impact of lifelong family care on realisation of sexual rights by people with intellectual disabilities. Hence, the study concluded that, without the appropriate forms of support and probably alternative forms of care, the human rights framework as embodied within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and local policies informed by it is insufficient as a tool for sexual emancipation of people with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, a relational moral theory - the ethics of care - is proposed as appropriate to complement the human rights framework in both research and practice around sexuality of people with intellectual disabilities living under family care. The study also highlights the imperative for further studies that investigate the impact of lifelong family care on other aspects of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and promote theorisation of lifelong care within such studies.

Includes bibliographical references. / The aim of this study was to analyse the experiences of disabled women in leadership positions in DPOs in Zimbabwe. The literature review focused on the crosscutting issues of (1) leadership, gender and disability. (2) women and disability in Zimbabwe. and (3) the current structure of DPOs in African countries in relation to gender.

Background: It is well documented in the literature in the intellectual disability field that choice people with intellectual disabilities is limited. The human need to experience and inform everyday life choices, and the limited opportunities to do so, results in a contemporary health and human rights issue. Research Question: This study aims to explore what informs the everyday occupational choices made by young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in a community based setting in South Africa. Method: Qualitative interviews and a focus group were held with six young adults, who were recruited through a local non-profit training organisation. Results: Respondents identified (1) being different, (2) having limited choices, (3) accepting and staying small or (4) challenging and growing up, were the four core themes that arose from the interviews. Conclusion: It became evident that everyday occupational choices are co-constructed in context, where factors that were identified are consistent with those from the international literature which show that people with intellectual disabilities are widely stigmatised and prohibited from choice making, for several reasons, both intrapersonal and contextual. Implications: This study highlights the influence and importance of raising awareness and consciousness in society so that counter-hegemonic practices can promote occupational and social justice and change attitudes to ensure that people with disabilities have the choice to engage in balanced, meaningful occupations.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / Parents of a child with a disability cope with greater demands than those living with a healthy child. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide insights into the experiences of parents of children with disabilities. The research was located in the phenomenological framework. Seven parents who are residing within uThungulu District municipality and whose children were diagnosed with disability participated in the study. They were selected though purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were conducted with them to gain in-depth insights into their experiences. Content analysis was used to analyse data gathered through in-depth interviews and five themes emerged i.e. parents’ realisation of the child disability, reaction towards the realisation of the child’s disability, the essence of parenting a child with a disability, parents’ social support and the needs identified by parents. Findings of the study indicated that parents do not alter their parenting. On the contrary, they modify it to accommodate the children with disability. Secondly, it transpired in the study that several challenges are faced by parents in raising their children with disability. These challenges include, among others, lack of financial resources, finding a suitable school for their children with disability, care giving challenges, lack of suitable housing and transport allocated for children with disability. It also transpired that there are support structures within their communities despite there being no programs to support them.

Livelihood development and participation of women in the informal sector have been recognised as a key factor for social and economic liberation. When women, especially women with vision impairments, participate in livelihood, they reap the benefits of a stable income source, a better standard of living, good physical and emotional health, self-identity, self-assertiveness, and positive social status. However, there is a limited body of scientific knowledge on women with vision impairments' livelihood development and participation experience in the informal sector in the Ghanaian context. To address this knowledge gap, a qualitative case study was conducted to explore how livelihood development opportunities offered by the Ghana Blind Union (GBU) and its partners achieve self-employment and economic empowerment of women with VI in Ghana. The broad research question was: 1) How do livelihood development strategies by GBU and partners provide opportunities for self-employment and economic empowerment of women with vision impairments in Ghana? The four sub research questions were: 1) What are the existing livelihood skills development strategies of women with vision impairments in Ghana? 2) How are the livelihood skills provided for women with vision impairments? 3) What opportunities for selfemployment have women with vision impairments accessed (or not) 4) Why are livelihood skills development strategies of women with vision impairments enabling or hindering their selfemployment and economic empowerment? The study was guided by theoretical perspectives from the Social Disability Model, Sen's Capability Approach (CA), and the Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) guidelines. The Social Disability Model was used to look at the livelihood development and participation of the women from social and cultural perspectives. The CA was used to examine livelihood development in the context of capabilities and the influence of social, political, and physical environments on the women's livelihood activities. The CBR guidelines were used to explore livelihood service provision and multi-sectoral involvement in the context of the study. The data was collected from fourteen women with vision impairments and six service providers using individual interviews, focus group discussions, document review and field notes. The data was analysed thematically and three themes emerged: Our cloudy path: Engaging in livelihood, We are deprived because we are blind, and Transitioning from zero to hero. It was established that skills that will enable women with vision impairments' livelihood are available but the women gamble with skills acquisition because of the nature of the service design and implementation. It was also evident that non-implementation of policies and social protection programmes deprive women with vision impairments of livelihoods. Further, negative societal attitudes and misconceptions about blindness compound the burdens of women with vision impairments in livelihood. However, when women with vision impairments engage in livelihood activities and earn regular income, their social status is enhanced and they serve as peer educators and mentors to other women with vision impairments. It was concluded that the livelihood path of women with vision impairments is cloudy. The livelihood path of the women presented complicated and unique challenges, but with resilience, the women were able to overcome the challenges and serve as social assets to their families, the GBU, and the entire social collective. This study provides critical new knowledge on the experience of women with vision impairments in terms of livelihood participation in the informal sector within the Ghanaian context. The new knowledge adds to the current limited evidence in the literature on livelihood participation of women with vision impairment in the informal sector. The study also provided an inclusive livelihood development framework to guide livelihood development practice in Ghana.

Regular physical activity is important to improve overall quality of life (WHO, 2011). Improving the physical activity levels of persons with disabilities, however, has not received enough attention. Current global research has focused on identifying barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from participating in recreational sport, but few of these studies were conducted in Africa and even fewer focused on the experiences of women with vision impairments specifically. Further, none of them foregrounded a focus on how participation in recreational sports might be facilitated. This study therefore aimed to explore how women with vision impairments navigate their participation in recreational sports. Narrative inquiry was employed as the study design. Three young women with vision impairments from different communities in the Western Cape, South Africa, were purposely selected. Data was generated in the form of topical life stories and subjected to a rigorous, multi-layered analytic process. This involved ‘narrative analysis' and ‘analysis of narratives' to generate a single overarching theme: “Sport and life as interconnecting circles”. This theme revealed a reciprocal influence between sport and life. Here, ‘life' refers to participation across the broad spectrum of everyday life. The findings revealed that the socialisation of women with vision impairments in their early childhood influenced their ability to navigate their participation in recreational sports. The presence of people as social champions in these women's lives contributed to facilitating the participants' participation in sports and highlighted the importance of the social inclusion of women with vision impairments. The findings call for an embedded way of thinking about the social inclusion of women with vision impairments which allows for an organic evolution of participation in recreational sports. The implication is that sports participation for women with vision impairments would occur naturally and spontaneously if they were included in other spheres of life.