M.A. / AIDS, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, has become a serious public health concern in most cities in countries worldwide. Since the discovery of AIDS there have been impressive advances in the understanding of the AIDS virus, its routes of transmission and its methods of prevention. But even these hard-won-discoveries have not yet led to a drug that can cure this deadly disease or to a vaccine that can prevent it. In the light of this it would appear that a different approach to the management of AIDS is currently of utmost necessity. AIDS can be prevented by empowering individuals with the knowledge of AIDS transmission and prevention, thereby eliminating their ignorance and increasing their understanding, empathy and compassion for those currently involved in dealing with this struggle. The implications of AIDS and the HI-virus (human immunodeficiency virus) range far beyond the AIDS/HIV patients themselves. The affects of HIV and AIDS are felt by family members, partners and friends whose relationships are placed under immense strain, co-workers who are confronted with their own fear and compassion and by those at high risk for the disorder who are continually faced with ridicule and discrimination. This study focused specifically on the workforce of South Africa whose economic productivity is essential for South Africa's continual development and existence. In the absence of a fully developed and integrated social infrastructure, South Africa is reliant on its workforce for its monetary contribution in support of the unemployed, underprivileged, disabled and desolate of this country. The aim of this study was to obtain a better level of understanding of the workforce's knowledge regarding HIV and AIDS, to become aware of misunderstandings and myths which could hamper prevention and to review current methods of public education in order to enhance future methods of knowledge empowerment. A healthy workforce can constitute a strong support network, and thereby not place further strain on an already overwhelmed economy and government.

In 2010, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Swaziland noticed a significant increase in employee absenteeism which they discovered was related mainly to: poor health (sick leave), personal and financial stress (garnishee orders were increasing), and low staff morale, the consequence of which was low productivity and missed deadlines (FSRA, 2010:7). High levels of absenteeism meant that a sizeable number of employees were unable to complete their daily tasks (FSRA, 2010:7). Consequently, in 2011, the FSRA Human Resource Department started a wellness programme for all employees in the organization in an attempt to respond to the human resource challenges reported in 2009/10 financial year. By the end of 2012, FSRA management reported that the introduction of the EWP had not yielded the expected results. This therefore prompted management to request an evaluation of the FSRA employee wellness programme. The aim of this research was to identify and prioritize the needs of employees in terms of requirements of a wellness programme and how it should be delivered. The specific objectives of the study are as follows: to identify the wellness needs of employees, to identify employee preferences in terms of the type of interventions to be included in a wellness programme, to identify the preferred mode of delivery of the wellness programme and to make recommendations to management on the design of a wellness programme. Questionnaires with closed ended questions were used to collect data for this survey. The questionnaire used is attached as Appendix A. By means of a needs analysis survey, this research was designed to assess the FSRA employees’ needs in terms of an employee wellness programme, as well as the preferred EWP delivery methods. About 70 percent of FSRA employees participated in the survey. The respondents completed the questionnaire and submitted it online over a period of 10 working days (2 weeks). This report is structured into three sections, namely; section one, which is the evaluation report that gives details of the importance of the study, highlights research methods and then present the results, discussions and recommendations. Section two deals with the literature review while section three reports on the research methodology, research design and procedures and the limitation of the study. In light of the findings on the wellness needs of employees, 72 percent of the respondents felt the current wellness programme was very inadequate and a further 10 percent added that it was inadequate in addressing their wellness needs largely because the needs were not known. The most important wellness needs identified included: exercise, nutrition, personal hygiene, disease awareness and treatment of illness, coping with stress, coping with workload, ventilation, safety, bereavement, personal debt, and retirement planning. The most preferred wellness interventions that respondents proposed include Flexible Work Schedule, Safe Workplace, Improved Ventilation, Retirement Planning Advice and Gymnasium. Further analysis done using correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between the wellness needs and the wellness interventions. Concerning the delivery of the wellness programme, most of the employees indicated that outsourcing certain services was better than having them in house. The highest ranking of the services for out sourcing were nutrition education and medical checkups that ranked between 82 percent and 75 percent respectively. The respondents indicated that they want almost all the chosen interventions to be outsourced. Time slots should also be taken into consideration to ensure employee participation in the wellness programme services. The respondent FSRA employees seem to prefer interventions of an educational nature to be during the lunch hour. These include Nutrition Education, Health Education, Hygiene Education and Medical Check ups and Treatment, whereas Gymnasium was preferred to be after working hours.

In the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), as the role of workers in the workplace changed after demilitarisation in 1996, the needs of the employees also changed. The changing work environment placed different demands on them, unlike those that they had been used to in the past. Because of the growth of personal problems at the workplace, the EAP was introduced in the DCS in the late 1990’s. The EAP in the DCS has been formally in existence since 2000 and has not been formally evaluated according to the EAPA SA standards. The EAPA SA standards are the benchmark against which all EAPs in South Africa could be measured. This research attempts to ascertain whether the EAP in the DCS has been implemented according the prescripts of the EAPA SA standards. The research approach involved both the qualitative as well as the quantitative approaches. The qualitative approach was used in documenting the processes followed in the conceptualisation, introduction and creation of the EAP in DCS. The quantitative approach was used to evaluate the EAP in DCS using the EAPA SA standards as a benchmark. In the first chapter a general orientation to the study as well as the researcher’s rationale and structure for the research is provided. The literature review in chapter two took a retrospective look at the developments in the EAP industry by focussing on the most modern interventions in the EAP field initially and moving to the origins of the EAP later. Chapter three focussed on the evaluation of the EAP in the DCS which included a systematic collection of information about that programme. In chapter four each standard as it appears in the standards document and brief comment on each standard was presented. The standards were also reviewed in relation to recent literature on the subject. The empirical analysis in the following chapter included a quantitative analysis followed by a qualitative analysis of the responses. The first phase included the development of a questionnaire based on the standards. The distribution and completion of the questionnaire were part of phase two. In the final phase the questionnaire was analysed by the Department of Statistics at the University of Pretoria, under the leadership of Professor Smith and Dr. Mike van der Linde. In the final chapter a consolidation of all the chapters as well as recommendations for further research is presented. The formulated problem was addressed through the choice of different approaches, strategy and design during the research process. The researcher was able to combine the research approaches to compare and subsequently verify the findings. Based on the findings the following conclusions can be made: firstly that the DCS does not comply fully with many of the standards as set out by EAPA SA, secondly that the DCS is understaffed when attempting to deliver EAP services and finally that there is a resounding plea for EAP services in the DCS. In addition to the proposals a revised standards document has also been integrated into the findings. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MPH / Department of Public Health / Workplaces are important settings for health promotion and disease prevention. Participation in sport and recreation can lead to improved health of individuals and increased productivity levels at work places. Despite the health benefits of sports and recreation and the approval of the workplace sports and recreation policy in the Limpopo Department of Health, many employees still do not participate, even when invited for games. The aim of the study was to determine the perceived factors influencing participation of non-medical staff members in workplace sports and recreation at Elim Hospital using the constructs of the Health Belief Model. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted. The population were all non-medical staff members of Elim Hospital. A total sample of 222 non-medical staff members of Elim Hospital were used for the study. Participants were divided into three categories, depending on the type of their work. A researcher-administered structured questionnaire based on the construct of the Health Belief Model was used to collect data. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and Microsoft Excel was used to analyse the data. A descriptive statistical method was used to analyse frequencies and Chi-square test was used to determine the level of significance of correlations between the different variables. A probability level of 0.05 or less was used to indicate statistical significance. The study revealed that the rate / level of participation in workplace sports and recreation among non-medical staff members at Elim Hospital was low (30%). Participants perceived themselves mainly as less susceptible and not susceptible to NCDs. The major barriers to participation that were identified include lack of awareness of the sports and recreation policy as well as busy work schedule. There was a significant relationship between participation and age of respondents, as well as between participation and occupation category. Educational programme geared towards increasing awareness of employees on the policy as well as on benefits of sports and recreation can significantly improve participation in workplace sports and recreation.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / The current crime rate in the Western Cape plays a crucial role in the exposure of police officers to stressful and traumatic events. The intensity and frequency of this exposure, if not treated, could lead to police officers experiencing comorbid disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This leads to an increased need for trauma intervention strategies to be offered, to assist police officers who are exposed to trauma in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Although trauma intervention programmes are established within SAPS, a difference in perception about their effectiveness and service offering are presented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in perception toward stress and trauma intervention strategies within the SAPS in the Western Cape. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, the researcher, tapped into the lived experiences of current police officers and Employee Health and Wellness (EHW) staff, employed by SAPS through semi-structured interviews. Through a comparative design, the study will add value to the current body of knowledge, as differences and similarities between two of the primary role players in the trauma debriefing process within the SAPS are explored. The research sample, recruited by means of convenience sampling, consisted of seven EHW staff members who had experience with dealing with stress and trauma-related programmes, and eight visible policing police officers who had experienced some form of trauma-related incident. The researcher made use of an in-depth interview guide as the research instrument for this study, which consisted of audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with the participants. The audio recordings were transcribed, and then analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings showed that a difference in perception exists between police officers and EHW staff members toward the effectiveness of trauma intervention strategies offered in the SAPS. The findings also suggest that the majority of police officers do not make use of the trauma intervention programmes in the SAPS, in comparison to EHW staff reporting on good attendance by police officers at the service offerings. Similarities in perception between the two groups presented itself in the form of how trauma is defined, the different responses to trauma and coping mechanisms employed by police officers. The implications of this study include a contribution toward policy and structural amendments of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) framework within the SAPS, as well as a motivation for implementing a compulsory trauma counselling programme for police officers.

Thesis (M. Com. (Accounting)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / Sustainability reporting (SR) in South Africa is on a ‘report and explain’ basis because the King IV Code has not made it mandatory for all companies operating but only for those companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It has become difficult to align SR with stakeholder value creation. This study examines the relationship between SR and stakeholder value creation represented by employees’ health and occupational safety, return on assets, community projects and green investments. The study used a quantitative method that utilises the multiple regressions method to analyse data from selected manufacturing companies for 11 years (2007-2017) listed at South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE). The study measures the relationship between employees’ health and occupational safety, investment in community projects, green investments and ROA. Results show insignificant relationships between employees’ health and occupational safety and ROA, investment in community projects and ROA and green investments and ROA. The study recommends future research on all sectors or inter-country research on sustainability reporting and stakeholder value creation. Keywords: sustainability, sustainability reporting, stakeholder value creation, employees’ health, occupational safety, community projects, green investments, return on assets.

Work-related injuries and illnesses may lead to absenteeism, which affects the level of productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine the success of an employee workplace training program on work-related injury and illness rates at selected federal districts within a federal organization. Newman's model, which describes internal and external factors that may have an effect on an individual's health, was the framework that guided this project. A pre-post design was used to compare data from 2 publically available data sets, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Illness and Injury and the Voice of the Employee Survey, for the years 2013 and 2014, before and after a wellness training program. According to a descriptive analysis of 91 illness and injury events that occurred during the 2-year period, the greatest number of employees who reported illnesses were mail handlers and mail processing clerks. Slips/trips and falls, strikes by machine/equipment or other objects, and repetitive motion were the top 3 types of injuries. After training, the total number of illness and injury days away from work and days of limited duty were decreased, indicating a positive impact of this workplace wellness program and a need for future training for these workers. This project has the potential to affect social change by supporting the benefits of workplace wellness in improving employee health and reducing workplace injuries at federal agencies.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Health Care Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Background: The health and safety of the miners in the South African mining industry are guided by the regulations and standards which are anticipated to promote a healthy work environment and fatalities. It is of utmost importance for the miners to comply with these regulations/standards to protect themselves from potential occupational health and safety risks, accidents, and fatalities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate strategies to enhance compliance with the Health and safety standards within the mining industries of Limpopo province in South Africa. Methods: A mixed-method exploratory sequential research design was adopted. The population consisted of 5350 miners. Purposive and total sampling was used to select the participants in the qualitative strand and stratified random sampling in the quantitative strand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among the occupational health nurse practitioners and the health and members of the health and safety team. Thematic analysis was used to generate an understanding of the interviews. In the quantitative strand, a survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 26.0. A descriptive statistical test was used in the analysis of data including frequencies, means, and standard deviation. Cronbach's alpha test was used to measure internal consistency. Results: The integrated results revealed that there are diverse experiences related to health and safety standards compliance among the mineworkers. The main findings were challenges related to leadership compliance and also related to the cost of maintaining safety, Miner's behaviour-related challenges; the impact of non-compliance on the overall health of the miners was also described, the conflict between production and safety. As a result, strategies to enhance compliance of health and safety standards at the selected mining industries in Limpopo province, South Africa were developed. Conclusion: Health and safety compliance in the mining is not just mere compliance with regulations and standards but a culture that warrants the miners and organization to take responsibility for their behaviour and actions towards health and safety. Thus taking responsibility for your well-being and other miners

The purpose of this study was to explore and highlight positive psychological strengths that are required and, to a lesser extent, negative psychological factors that are to be eliminated in employees attending EAP in the public service in order to make the EAP beneficial and successful. EAPs in the public service have not been as successful as expected because employees drop-out prematurely and/or benefit minimally from attending their sessions. Through the use of a qualitative research approach, this study explored positive psychological strengths that played a significant role in assisting employees attending EAP to achieve their health goals. Research data was collected through the narratives and in-depth interviews from eight participants, who shared their EAP experiences with the researcher. The collected data was analysed through the use of content analysis and positive psychological strengths in the form of themes emerged. The themes were compared with the framework of positive psychology, which is known as the VIA classification system of strengths and virtues framework, in order to determine alignment or compatibility with it. In addition, a few negative emotions were also reported as having been experienced by the participants while attending EAP. The results of this study indicate that certain positive psychological strengths possessed by employees while attending EAP contributed significantly in making them benefit from their EAP consultations. Although a few negative emotions were also reported as having being present during the EAP consultation, they did not affect the progression and success of the EAP. An EAP intervention model is recommended herein for future use, in order to facilitate the success of EAP sessions. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)