As a practitioner involved in the planning and development of educational activities in the field of public health, I have worked within many pedagogical traditions and program parameters. Through this work, I have experienced both subtle and radical shifts in the range of skills, knowledge and relationships required to collaboratively plan and evaluate educational work. In this professional and community-based landscape, competing and often overlapping models of education and evaluation have led to much conceptual confusion and ambiguity around narrowly defined notions of best practice, evidence and knowledge legitimacy. Drawing from Dorothy Smith’s (1999) standpoint theory from which my inquiry was developed as a result of my participation with colleagues in the field, I explore how three professional practice networks of learning and development practitioners speak of the skills, knowledge, relationships and worker identities in a changing field. This research seeks to explicate the kinds of informal and largely unarticulated knowledge that is produced through the changing contexts of work. This research maps the changing conditions of educational work through my own case stories of educational practice and uses these as a springboard for discussion among three diverse professional practice networks. The Story/Dialogue Method (S/D-M) developed by Labonte and Feather (1996), is a constructivist methodological approach that, in this application, structures group dialogue into reflective insights and theories about how educational work occurs in varied settings among different professional and community-based groups. A strong reliance on interpersonal skills was articulated by all three networks to build trust, assess individual and organisational learning needs, to build partnerships and to motivate learners. Skills were often described vaguely and summarised as a series of situational specific attributes. A valuing of reflexive, working knowledge as opposed to professional or discipline-based expertise was raised as an important aspect of partnership building and in negotiating program parameters. The need to build individual and organisational relationships through formal and informal encounters was cited as a series of legitimate yet often ‘behind the scenes’ professional practices. Aligning with the notion of worker identity described by Chappell, Rhodes, Solomon, Tennant and Yates (2003) as process, practitioners spoke of their identities as constructed and temporary, negotiated through newly emerging roles and changing relationships with peers and learners. This study suggests that evidence-based practice is a contested term drawing its meanings from multiple theoretical and pedagogical traditions including that of intuition. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, evidence guiding educational approaches is viewed as a pragmatic and eclectic mix of tools stored to be adapted for use in new ways. Additionally, this study concludes that all participants (including myself) regard educational practice as a collaborative and continually negotiated endeavour.

As a practitioner involved in the planning and development of educational activities in the field of public health, I have worked within many pedagogical traditions and program parameters. Through this work, I have experienced both subtle and radical shifts in the range of skills, knowledge and relationships required to collaboratively plan and evaluate educational work. In this professional and community-based landscape, competing and often overlapping models of education and evaluation have led to much conceptual confusion and ambiguity around narrowly defined notions of best practice, evidence and knowledge legitimacy. Drawing from Dorothy Smith’s (1999) standpoint theory from which my inquiry was developed as a result of my participation with colleagues in the field, I explore how three professional practice networks of learning and development practitioners speak of the skills, knowledge, relationships and worker identities in a changing field. This research seeks to explicate the kinds of informal and largely unarticulated knowledge that is produced through the changing contexts of work. This research maps the changing conditions of educational work through my own case stories of educational practice and uses these as a springboard for discussion among three diverse professional practice networks. The Story/Dialogue Method (S/D-M) developed by Labonte and Feather (1996), is a constructivist methodological approach that, in this application, structures group dialogue into reflective insights and theories about how educational work occurs in varied settings among different professional and community-based groups. A strong reliance on interpersonal skills was articulated by all three networks to build trust, assess individual and organisational learning needs, to build partnerships and to motivate learners. Skills were often described vaguely and summarised as a series of situational specific attributes. A valuing of reflexive, working knowledge as opposed to professional or discipline-based expertise was raised as an important aspect of partnership building and in negotiating program parameters. The need to build individual and organisational relationships through formal and informal encounters was cited as a series of legitimate yet often ‘behind the scenes’ professional practices. Aligning with the notion of worker identity described by Chappell, Rhodes, Solomon, Tennant and Yates (2003) as process, practitioners spoke of their identities as constructed and temporary, negotiated through newly emerging roles and changing relationships with peers and learners. This study suggests that evidence-based practice is a contested term drawing its meanings from multiple theoretical and pedagogical traditions including that of intuition. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, evidence guiding educational approaches is viewed as a pragmatic and eclectic mix of tools stored to be adapted for use in new ways. Additionally, this study concludes that all participants (including myself) regard educational practice as a collaborative and continually negotiated endeavour.

As a practitioner involved in the planning and development of educational activities in the field of public health, I have worked within many pedagogical traditions and program parameters. Through this work, I have experienced both subtle and radical shifts in the range of skills, knowledge and relationships required to collaboratively plan and evaluate educational work. In this professional and community-based landscape, competing and often overlapping models of education and evaluation have led to much conceptual confusion and ambiguity around narrowly defined notions of best practice, evidence and knowledge legitimacy. Drawing from Dorothy Smith’s (1999) standpoint theory from which my inquiry was developed as a result of my participation with colleagues in the field, I explore how three professional practice networks of learning and development practitioners speak of the skills, knowledge, relationships and worker identities in a changing field. This research seeks to explicate the kinds of informal and largely unarticulated knowledge that is produced through the changing contexts of work. This research maps the changing conditions of educational work through my own case stories of educational practice and uses these as a springboard for discussion among three diverse professional practice networks. The Story/Dialogue Method (S/D-M) developed by Labonte and Feather (1996), is a constructivist methodological approach that, in this application, structures group dialogue into reflective insights and theories about how educational work occurs in varied settings among different professional and community-based groups. A strong reliance on interpersonal skills was articulated by all three networks to build trust, assess individual and organisational learning needs, to build partnerships and to motivate learners. Skills were often described vaguely and summarised as a series of situational specific attributes. A valuing of reflexive, working knowledge as opposed to professional or discipline-based expertise was raised as an important aspect of partnership building and in negotiating program parameters. The need to build individual and organisational relationships through formal and informal encounters was cited as a series of legitimate yet often ‘behind the scenes’ professional practices. Aligning with the notion of worker identity described by Chappell, Rhodes, Solomon, Tennant and Yates (2003) as process, practitioners spoke of their identities as constructed and temporary, negotiated through newly emerging roles and changing relationships with peers and learners. This study suggests that evidence-based practice is a contested term drawing its meanings from multiple theoretical and pedagogical traditions including that of intuition. Perhaps unsurprisingly then, evidence guiding educational approaches is viewed as a pragmatic and eclectic mix of tools stored to be adapted for use in new ways. Additionally, this study concludes that all participants (including myself) regard educational practice as a collaborative and continually negotiated endeavour.

Thesis (M. A. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2020 / Though recent South African legislation and policy documents have called for closer collaboration between Western-trained and traditional health practitioners, there is little evidence to show that there is a formal collaboration between the two categories of health care providers. Located within the interpretivist paradigm, and using an exploratory descriptive design, the researcher sought to explore the perceptions of Western-trained health practitioners (WTHPs) in Sekhukhune District (Limpopo Province) towards collaboration between themselves and traditional health practitioners (THPs) in treating mental illness. Seventeen WTHPs (males = 07; females = 10) from three hospitals in Sekhukhune District were selected through purposive sampling and requested to take part in the study. The sample comprised of five clinical psychologists, five medical officers working in psychiatric units, and seven psychiatric nurses. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed through thematic analysis. Specifically, Renata Tesch’s eight steps were used to analyse the data. The following psychological themes emerged from the study: (a) shared goals on collaboration; (b) a good effect on collaboration is anticipated; (c) managing interdependence between traditional and Western-trained practitioners; (d) proposed ideal structures of governance to govern the collaboration; (e) recommended legislations and policies on collaboration; (f) suggested factors that may foster collaboration; (g) proposed factors that hinder collaboration; and, (h) referral systems that exist in the health care. The findings suggest that some WTHPs are willing to collaborate with THPs, especially if proper guidelines for collaboration could be provided by the government. Some recommendations on an ideal structure of governance and legislation on collaboration were made by the WTHPs. The WTHPs highlighted factors that may hinder or facilitate closer collaboration between themselves and THPs in providing mental health services to communities.

This study examined periodontists' ability to self-assess their knowledge of periodontics. Self-assessment was measured as the difference between actual knowledge and perceived knowledge of two topics of clinical practice of periodontics: periodontal disease therapy and dental implant therapy. Other variables included were learning needs, motivation to learn, and background characteristics (number of years since graduation from a periodontics training program, classification as Diplomate or non- Diplomate, number of years since achieving Diplomate status, classification as private practitioner, academician, or private practitioner with a part-time academic position, and number of credit hours spent in continuing education per year). A questionnaire was e-mailed to 1,800 periodontists practicing in the USA. Two hundred and nineteen subjects participated in the periodontal disease therapy questionnaire and 200 in the dental implant therapy questionnaire. The results showed a significant difference between actual and perceived knowledge for both topics. Correlation coefficients showed no correlation between participants' actual knowledge and perceived knowledge of periodontal disease therapy and a low to moderate correlation between actual and perceived knowledge of dental implant therapy. Also, the results showed that need and motivation are not related to self-assessment ability, but actual knowledge may be related to moderate-high need and motivation; and, that among the background characteristics, Diplomate status is related to a better ability to self-assess, and fewer years since achieving Diplomate status is related to higher actual knowledge and perceived knowledge. In conclusion, periodontists' ability to selfassess their knowledge of periodontics is at best moderate. The concern that practitioners believe that they have higher knowledge in areas in which objectively measured knowledge is significantly lower continues to be valid.

Sex Offender Treatment Programming (SOTP) is a specific treatment intervention aimed at reducing recidivism through cognitive behavioral modification of known risk factors for sexual offending. SOTP provided in criminal justice or correctional settings and contexts presents unique ethical challenges and experiences for traditionally trained mental health counselors due to competing and differing roles, priorities, and stakeholders. SOTP in criminal justice or correctional settings is in some instances provided by professionally licensed or certified and traditionally trained mental health practitioners; and such settings can challenge traditional ethical standards and practices. A study was conducted utilizing qualitative phenomenology in order to investigate the ethical experiences of mental health practitioners providing SOTP in criminal justice settings. Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with six professionally licensed or certified practitioners who were currently providing (or had recently provided) SOTP in criminal justice settings. Analysis of the data revealed thirty codes and six prevailing themes: unexpected entrance into the field of SOTP; ethical limits; role incongruence; competing obligations; imbalance between rehabilitation and community safety; and line of demarcation (“the line”). The essence of participant experiences was determined to be: who is the client? Meaning, participants identified ethical experiences that at their core indicated difficulty identifying to whom ethical obligations were owed. A model depicting the process of ethical experiences described by participants providing SOTP in criminal justice settings is offered. Future research questions and potential, related research projects are described. Implications for practice, counselor preparation, and research are summarized. The results of the present study may provide greater insight into a subject with limited research, while providing information for practitioners that may aid their ability to navigate complex ethical situations.

Legislative changes in line with changing societal perspectives have resulted in increased service pressure on primary health practitioners to take further responsibility for the assessment and treatment of co-morbid psychiatric disorders in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and for secondary and tertiary level services to reduce waitlists. The unique attributes of the ID population and a core lack of training for health professionals in the ID field has resulted in a large number of practitioners feeling under-trained and under-resourced to carry out this role effectively, to the potential detriment of the ID population. The challenges health practitioners experience when diagnosing co-morbid mental health disorders in individuals with ID and how they overcome these challenges was explored in this study. Participants were health practitioners of varying professions, including Psychiatrists, Clinical Psychologists and General Practitioners. Health practitioners completed an online survey and/or partook in a focus group or individual interview. The method used in this research was thematic analysis. The study found that health practitioners use holistic and contextual approaches to carry out assessments of individuals with ID, utilise ID specific tools, and liaise with experienced, specialised health practitioners as ways of dealing with the complexity of diagnosing co-morbid mental health difficulties in individuals with ID. In addition, it is recommended that more training in the ID area is provided for health practitioners, particularly for GPs in light of recent policy changes with emphasis of assessment and treatment occurring at the primary health level and for best practice guidelines to be developed. A further research project is suggested, exploring specific challenges facing GPs in this area of practice.

"The aim of this paper is to highlight the human rights dimension in the protection of traditional healing practices (THP) in Malawi. At first glance there might not seem to be considerable human rights issues involved. However, the scourge of the HIV/AIDS pandemic entails that traditional health practitioners have a crucial role to play in ensuring the right to health. Furthermore, THP represent an important component of the cultural tapestry of Malawian life. It is this combined cultural and health import that prompts this study. ... This paper explores the relationship between THP and the progressive realisation of the right to health. An investigation is made of the extent to which suppression of THP impacts the right to health in an attempt to discern whether there is a need to regulate and protect these practices. There is some tension between THP, as a cultural right, and the right to health given that THP have the potential to infringe peoples' right to health. However, there is also an intersection between the two rights since health is integrally related to culture and to cultural practices. A person's place in their culture is an essential part of their self-identity, so that if a culture is at risk, that person's psychological and emotional health is also at risk. Consequently this paper will consider the meaning, content and role of the right to culture (is it a collective or individual right?) and whether THP are part of culture, deserving protection as such. ... This paper is divided into five chapters. The introductory chapter provides an overview of the objectives of the study and a definition of THP. The chapter also discusses the research methodology employed in the paper and reviews the main literary works consulted by the author. To establish that THP form an aspect of culture, it is necessary to examine the qualities of THP and compare those to the qualities of recognised forms of culture. The second chapter comprises of an investigation of the legal provisions relating to culture and the various concepts of culture in human rights law. An attempt is then made to place THP within the context of the right to culture. The relationship between THP and the right to health is discussed in the third chapter. In this study it is suggested that the core minimum content of the right to health includes the right to an accessible and acceptable primary health source, and that this implies a right to access THP. The chapter attempts to show that non-regulation impedes THP thus violating the state's obligation to respect the right to health. In the fourth chapter there is an evaluation of the South African Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2004 (the TH Act). Essentially, the law in Malawi defines and licenses the 'practice of medicine' in terms that entrench the medical profession and that exclude all other forms of healing as the 'unauthorised' practice of medicine, a crime. This chapter considers whether the South African legislation is a model for the inclusion of THP. More specifically, whether the development of THP as a form of culture is captured by the TH Act and whether Malawi can draw guidance from this legislation. The fifth and final chapter concludes the paper. The chapter reverts to the original research questions, the concepts propounded in the paper and the various conclusions drawn to establish whether the original problems presented have been resolved. This concluding chapter also contains recommendations to the Government of Malawi ensuing from the study." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Prepared under the supervision of Prof. Nii Ashie Kotey at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

PhD (Sociology) / Department of Sociology / The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of traditional healing practices on anti-retroviral treatment adherence in Vhembe District. This qualitative study used an explorative design to envisage the aim. A cross-sectional snowball sample was used to draw a sample of 9 participants from the 4 municipalities of Vhembe District. The data collection methods were; in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and key informants’ interviews. The 3 data collection techniques ensured triangulation for more complete and well-validated outcomes of the study. The researcher used the Van Manen method to analyse data. Contrary to popular belief that THPs promote non-adherence among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), the study found out that the majority of Traditional Healing Practitioners (THPs) encourage and positively influence PLWHA to adhere to anti-retroviral treatment. Apart from a minority of participants who claimed to cure HIV/AIDS, the majority acknowledged and admitted that traditional healing practices do not cure HIV/AIDS but it only heals opportunistic infections. As a result, the majority of THPs influences PLWHA to adhere to anti-retroviral therapy (ART). However, the positive influence of THPs is challenged by individual and social-cultural factors that are beyond THPs’ control which influence treatment adherence such as; traditional and cultural beliefs, side effects of ARVs, nurses’ attitude, inconveniences, lack of transport, personal choices, lack of trust in ARVs and fear of loss of the Disability Grant. It is on this backdrop that study findings prompted devising of a model and a 5 phase support program for intervention. / NRF

The world, including developing countries such as South Africa, is burdened with deeply rooted women sexual health challenges such as dysmenorrhea. Dysmenorrhoea, also known as, "period pains", while not life-threatening, has been troubling many women of childbearing age since ancient times. Many interventions and drugs are available and approved for use in the treatment of dysmenorrhea. However, dysmenorrhea remains least understood, many cultures and religions of the African countries still regard it as a "taboo" subject because it is a sexual and reproductive issue, and means of coping are considered indigenously "women’s knowledge”, as such increasingly, women negotiate with cultural beliefs and practices in the management of dysmenorrhea. South Africa, as a multicultural society, allows the practice of different types of health care systems such as dysmenorrhea management. Extensive efforts are being made by the government and the healthcare sector to understand and document the indigenous health knowledge for safe practices in improving the overall health of South Africans. Moreover, this study was conducted. This study aimed to understand the indigenous perspectives of the meaning and treatment modalities of dysmenorrhea among Batlokwa women. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to select participants. The findings were used to develop strategies to empower Batlokwa women with dysmenorrhea knowledge. This study was premised on a conviction that Batlokwa women have a unique perspective on dysmenorrhea meaning and treatment modalities based on their ethnicity background. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was the empirical phase which was qualitative and was divided into two parts to address the first two objectives of the study. The population for Phase 1 constituted of the Batlokwa Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs) and Indigenous Knowledge Holders (IKHs). In part one modified photovoice approach was used to collect data in four different stages: • • Stage 1 – brainstorming and photograph taking training • • Stage 2 – taking photographs • • Stage 3 – Individual interviews • Stage 4 – modified Lekgotla discussion Data analysis for part one followed steps of photovoice data analysis guided by questioning the acronym “PHOTO” (Hussey 2006). The process involved photograph selection, contextualising and codifying. Photovoice enabled Batlokwa women (Traditional Health Practitioners and Indigenous Knowledge Holders) to share indigenous dysmenorrhea knowledge. Photographs taken by the participants were used to understand their perspectives regarding the meaning and treatment modalities of dysmenorrhea. Part two used in-depth interviews to collect data from women. In-depth interviews were conducted with different women to enhance the knowledge gained from the photovoice study. It was also to capture additional information that should have been missed during the photovoice study. Content data analysis was used in part two to provide detailed guidance for the coding process and analysis. The Africana Womanism theory was used as a framework to guide the study process and discussion of the findings and was grounded within critical realism worldview. This provided means to follow a systematic structure of understanding how the indigenous dysmenorrhea knowledge surfaced and maintained within the Batlokwa ethnicity. Five major themes were identified: holistic understanding of dysmenorrhea meaning; self-naming and definition of dysmenorrhea; diagnostic processes in indigenous health care practices; treatment modalities of dysmenorrhea; roles of THPs and IKHs in treatment and prevention of dysmenorrhea. Phase 2 addressed the third objective, which developed strategies to empower Batlokwa women with dysmenorrhea knowledge. Experts from indigenous knowledge holders, traditional health practitioners, health and education sectors. To reach consensus, a modified Lekgotla discussion utilising an expert panel reviewed items for importance, clarity, applicability, validity and reliability, with items subsequently amended or removed as such clear strategies which apply to the demographic group was developed to empower Batlokwa women with dysmenorrhea knowledge / Thesis (PhD (Nursing))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Nursing Science / PhD (Nursing) / Unrestricted