The motivation of the study was to explore the problems of families in South Africa who struggle to manage their children with autism and to find out whether they were receiving appropriate assistance. This was done by assessing the needs of the parents of children with autism by means of semi-structured interviews. Through these interviews, the parents were given the opportunity to express what information or recommendations they would like to have available to them. How the parents view their experience, their feelings about these experiences, and the strategies and actions that they take in order to cope with raising their child with autism, is important information. The aim of the study was to explore the problems South African families have so that this may form the base of information supplied to professionals such as psychologists, social workers, and educators thereby assisting in improving service delivery to parents of children with autism. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

Considerando-se os benefícios do aleitamento, amplamente reconhecidos, e as baixas taxas de aleitamento materno exclusivo no Brasil e que a mulher é o elemento que decide os rumos da amamentação, buscou-se nesse estudo o levantamento de necessidades de saúde a partir do depoimento de mulheres sobre a sua experiência de amamentar, pois na visão do profissional de saúde, a assistência geralmente se baseia no atendimento das demandas que chegam ao serviço. Os objetivos traçados para este estudo foram: identificar as necessidades de saúde de mulheres atendidas em uma Unidade Básica de Saúde no município de São Paulo, no processo de aleitamento materno; relacionar as necessidades de saúde identificadas com o perfil socioeconômico, demográfico e obstétrico dessas mulheres; relacionar as necessidades de saúde identificadas com a situação de aleitamento materno dessas mulheres. Participaram do estudo 238 mulheres, que realizaram entrevistas semi-estruturadas sobre a sua experiência de amamentar. Os dados foram organizados segundo a proposta do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo, extraindo-se as expressões-chave e as ideias centrais dos depoimentos, que foram trabalhados em uma abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa. As necessidades de saúde das mulheres para a manutenção do aleitamento materno, classificadas de acordo com a taxonomia de Matsumoto foram: Necessidade de boas condições de vida (ter uma boa alimentação; trabalhar ou estudar; ter tempo para si; ter sono e repouso adequados; ter boa saúde mental; ter boas condições para amamentar seu filho - ter boa produção de leite, ter apoio instrumental e/ou afetivo da família, ter ambiente adequado em casa para amamentar); Necessidade de ter acesso a todas as tecnologias de saúde que contribuam para melhorar e prolongar a vida (lidar com as intercorrências da amamentação, ter acesso aos serviços de saúde para seguimento após a alta); Necessidade de ter vínculo com um profissional ou equipe de saúde; Necessidade de autonomia e autocuidado na escolha do modo de andar a vida (ter orientação quanto ao aleitamento materno, no pré-natal e na internação; receber apoio instrumental e/ou afetivo do profissional; se sentir segura com relação à amamentação). As necessidades que apresentaram associação estatística significativa com a situação de aleitamento foram: ter uma boa alimentação, ter boa produção de leite, ter vínculo com um profissional ou equipe de saúde e se sentir segura com relação à amamentação. As variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas que apresentaram associação estatística significante com algumas necessidades de saúde foram a escolaridade, renda familiar e idade da criança. Quanto às variáveis obstétricas, observou-se associação estatística significante com local do pré-natal, local do parto, tipo de parto, paridade, prematuridade da criança e peso da criança ao nascer. Com os resultados desse estudo pretende-se colaborar para melhorar a efetividade da proteção, promoção e apoio ao aleitamento materno, promovendo o atendimento das necessidades de saúde das nutrizes durante o processo de amamentação / Considering the benefits of breastfeeding, widely recognized, and the low rates of exclusive breastfeeding in Brazil and that the woman is the element who decides the course of breastfeeding, this study sought to survey the health needs from the testimony of women about their experience of breastfeeding, therefore on the vision of the health professional, the assistance generally is based on the attendance of the demands that come to the health service. The aims of this study were: to identify the health needs of women seen at a Basic Health Unit in the city of São Paulo, in their breastfeeding process; to relate the identified health needs with the social, economic, demographic and obstetric profile of these women; to relate the identified health needs with the breastfeeding situation of these women. Study participants were 238 women who underwent semi-structured interviews about their experience of breastfeeding. The data had been organized according to proposal of the Collective Subject Discourse, extracting the expression-keys and the central ideas of the depositions, which had been analyzed in a qualitative and quantitative methodological approach. The health needs of the women for the maintenance of the breastfeeding classified by the taxonomy of Matsumoto had been: Necessity of good conditions of life (to have good alimentation; to work or to study; to have time for itself; to have sleep and adequate rest; to have good mental health; to have good conditions to breastfeed the baby - to have good milk supply, to have instrumental and/or affective support of the family, to have environment adjusted at home to breastfeed); Necessity to have access to all the health technologies that contribute to improve and to draw out the life (to deal with the breastfeeding problems, to have access to the services of health for follow-up after discharge); Necessity to have bond with a professional or health team; Necessity of self-care and autonomy and in the choice in the way of walking the life (to have orientation about breastfeeding, in the prenatal appointments and in the maternity ward; to receive instrumental and/or affective support from the professional; to feel self-confident with regarding to breastfeeding). The necessities that had presented statistically significant association with the breastfeeding situation had been: to have good alimentation, to have good milk supply, to have bond with a professional or health team and to feel self-confident with regarding to breastfeeding. The social, economic and demographic variables that had presented a statistically significant association with some health needs had been the education level, familiar income and age of the child. Regarding obstetric variables, a statistically significant association was observed with place of prenatal, the place of birth, type of delivery, parity, premature child and child\'s weight at birth. With the results of this study it is intended to collaborate to improve the effectiveness of the protection, promotion and support to breastfeeding, promoting the attendance of the health needs of the lactating women during the breastfeeding process

Este estudo teve como objeto famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade ao adoecimento assistidas por equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família na Atenção Básica. Seu objetivo foi identificar famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade em uma Unidade Básica da ESF do Distrito Federal. Trata-se de um estudo epidemiológico, observacional, transversal, de abordagem quantitativa. Foram realizadas 320 visitas domiciliárias definidas por uma amostra aleatória das áreas de abrangência do Posto Urbano-1 em São Sebastião DF. Utilizou-se um questionário estruturado, elaborado a partir do Índice de Desenvolvimento da Família (IDF). Os resultados revelaram famílias constituídas, em média, por quatro integrantes, com predomínio do sexo feminino, idade média de 25 anos, situação conjugal de solteiro e escolaridade baixa. Do total de famílias entrevistadas, 71 (22,2%) estavam em situação de pobreza e 27 (8,4%), de extrema pobreza. O IDF geral das famílias foi aceitável (IDF geral = 0,77), já que 268 (83,7%) encontravam-se em situação aceitável, porém 47 (14,7%) estavam em situação de vulnerabilidade grave e 5 (1,6%), muito grave. As dimensões mais críticas foram: acesso ao conhecimento e acesso ao trabalho, com IDF de 0,60 e 0,64, respectivamente. Na dimensão ausência de vulnerabilidade, os componentes atenção e cuidados com crianças, adolescentes e jovens e presença do cônjuge foram os que apresentaram situação de vulnerabilidade muito grave e grave, com índices de 0,26 e 0,52, respectivamente. Na dimensão acesso ao conhecimento, o componente escolaridade apresentou situação de vulnerabilidade muito grave, com IDF de 0,32. Na dimensão acesso ao trabalho, os componentes disponibilidade de trabalho e remuneração foram classificados como vulnerabilidade grave, com índices de 0,62 e 0,51, respectivamente. Os componentes das dimensões disponibilidade de recursos e desenvolvimento infantil apresentaram situação aceitável. Na dimensão condições habitacionais, o componente que apresentou situação de vulnerabilidade grave foi o déficit habitacional, com IDF de 0,60. Os indicadores de necessidades das famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade muito grave e grave foram: presença de crianças, adolescentes ou jovens; presença do cônjuge; chefe de família do sexo masculino e viver na presença do cônjuge; presença de adultos com ensino fundamental (principalmente nas famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade muito grave), médio ou superior completos; presença de mais que a metade dos membros em idade ativa ocupados; presença de trabalhador há mais de seis meses no trabalho atual; presença de um ocupado no setor formal; presença de um trabalhador que recebia mais que um salário mínimo; renda familiar superior a linha da extrema pobreza (principalmente para as famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade muito grave) e pobreza; maior parte da renda familiar que não advém de transferências do governo; ausência de crianças de zero a seis anos fora da escola; ausência de mãe cujo filho tenha morrido; presença de até dois moradores por dormitório; e acesso a telefone e computador. O estudo permitiu identificar famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade e sinalizou a importância de maiores investimentos nas áreas de educação, trabalho e renda. Espera-se que seja útil para fomentar reflexão crítica dos profissionais de saúde da Atenção Básica quanto ao reconhecimento das famílias em situação de vulnerabilidade, bem como de suas necessidades de saúde. / The objects of this study are families in situations of vulnerability to illness that are assisted by Family Health teams in Primary Care. Its goal was to identify families in vulnerable situations in a Basic Health Care Unit of the Federal District (FD). It is an observational, epidemiological cross-sectional, of quantitative approach. Home visits were made to 320 families defined by a random sample of the areas covered by the Family Health Strategy in São Sebastião - FD. A structured questionnaire was used, drawn from the Family Development Index (FDI). The results showed that the families interviewed had an average of four members, predominantly female, 25 years old, single status and low education. Of the total families interviewed, 71 (22,2%) were in poverty and 27 (8,4%) in extreme poverty. Most of the FDI of the families was acceptable (0,77), as 268 (83,7%) were in an acceptable situation, but 47 (14,7%) were in a situation of severe vulnerability and 5 (1,6%), in very severe vulnerability. The most critical dimensions were: access to knowledge and access to work, with FDI of 0,60 and 0,64, respectively. In the dimension absence of vulnerability, the components attention and care of children, adolescents and youth and presence of spouse indicated very severe and severe situations of vulnerability, with rates of 0,26 and 0,52, respectively. In the dimension access to knowledge, the component education expressed a situation of very severe vulnerability, with FDI of 0,32. In the dimension access to work, the components work and revenue were classified in a situation of severe vulnerability, with rates of 0,62 and 0,51, respectively. The components of the dimensions availability of resources and child development showed an acceptable situation. In the scope of housing conditions, the component that showed a situation of severe vulnerability was housing shortage, with FDI of 0,60. The vulnerability indicators that expressed the needs of the families in vulnerable situations were: presence of children or teenagers, presence of spouse; male head of the family and live in the presence of spouse, presence of adults with primary education (especially families in a situation of very severe vulnerability), secondary or high education completed, presence of more than half of the members of working age employed, presence of workers for more than six months in a steady job, job in the formal sector, presence of a worker who was paid more than a minimum wage, family income above the extreme poverty line (especially families in a situation of very severe vulnerability) and poverty, most of the family income that does not come from government transfers, absence of children up to six years old out of school, absence of mother whose child has died, the presence of up to two residents per bedroom, and access to telephone and computer. The study allowed the identification of families in vulnerable situations and signaled the importance of better investments in the areas of education, employment and income. It is expected for it to be useful in promoting critical reflection of the health workers of the Primary Care with the knowledge about the families in vulnerable situations as well as their health needs.

A escassez de publicações a respeito de dimensionamento de pessoal na enfermagem psiquiátrica motivou o desenvolvimento de um Instrumento para Classificar o Nível de Dependência na Enfermagem Psiquiátrica, etapa inicial para o estabelecimento do número ideal de profissionais na Equipe de Enfermagem da especialidade. Para tornar público um Sistema de Classificação de Pacientes, o pesquisador deve garantir a validade de conteúdo e do constructo, além da confiabilidade da ferramenta, permitindo à comunidade científica sua adoção como método, ou mesmo, como material de referência no desenvolvimento de novos modelos. Desta forma, o instrumento foi construído e teve seu conteúdo validado em estudo anterior. Assim, seus objetivos buscaram a validação clínica, por meio de testes de confiabilidade e validade do constructo, além da verificação de sua aplicabilidade na prática gerencial do enfermeiro. Duas amostras foram utilizadas, sendo n=40 pares de instrumentos preenchidos na Fase 1 da coleta de dados e n=100 instrumentos preenchidos na Fase 3 do estudo, tendo sido aplicados cinco diferentes critérios estatísticos, entre eles: o coeficiente Kappa e a correlação de Spearman. O Instrumento para Classificar o Nível de Dependência na Enfermagem Psiquiátrica foi considerado confiável com índices satisfatórios de concordância e o constructo foi validado, determinando o grau de dependência do paciente portador de transtornos mentais, internado aos cuidados da equipe de enfermagem psiquiátrica / The shortage of publications about personnel dimensioning in psychiatric nursing motivated the development of an instrument to Classify the Dependence Level in Psychiatric Nursing, initial stage to the establishment of an ideal number of professionals in the Nursing Crew of the specialty. In order to make public a Patient Classification System, the researcher must guarantee the validity of the content and of the construct, besides the reliability of the tool, allowing to the scientific community its adoption as a method, or even, as a reference material in the development of new models. Thus, the instrument was built and had its content validated in a previous study. Thus, its purposes aimed at the clinical validation by reliability and construct validity tests, besides the checking of its applicability in the managing practice of the nurse. Two samples were used, being n=40 pairs of instruments filled in Stage 1 of data collection and n= 100 instruments filled in Stage 3 of the study, five different statistical criteria were applied, among them, the Kappa coefficient and the Spearman correlation. The instrument to Classify the Dependence Level in Psychiatric Nursing was considered reliable with good indicators of agreement and the construct was validated, determining the degree of dependence of the patient bearing mental disorders, interned under the cares of the psychiatric nursing crew

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur biståndshandläggare upplever det möjligt att tillgodose självbestämmanderätten för äldre personer med demenssjukdom. Studien utgår ifrån en tvärsnittsdesign med semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex målstyrt utvalda biståndshandläggare. Genom en tematisk analys framkom två huvudteman arbetsrollens vardag och en lång process. Huvudtemana innehåller subteman vilket vidare beskriver det som utmärker upplevelsen. Studiens resultat tolkades i förhållande till Lipskys teori om frontlinjebyråkrater. Självbestämmande uttrycktes av biståndshandläggarna som något tidskrävande, utmanande och problematiskt. Vägen till självbestämmandet beskrivs som krokig och varierande, biståndshandläggarna fann sinsemellan liknande sätt att agera för att nå självbestämmande för individen. Arbetets komplexitet och svårighet till trots upplevdes arbetsrollen som spännande och tillfredsställande. / The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate how care managers find it possible to assure the self-determination of older people with dementia. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design with semi-structured interviews of six purposively sampled care managers. Through a thematic analysis, two main themes emerged, the work role’s everyday routine and a long process. The main themes containeds sub-themes which further elaborated the care managers’ experience. The results of the study were interpreted from the perspective of Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats. Assuring self-determination was experienced by the care managers as time-consuming, challenging and problematic. While the path to self-determination was tortuous and varied, the care managers found similar ways to act in order to achieve self-determination. Despite the impression of the work as complex and difficult it was experienced as an exciting and satisfying job.

M.Ed. / This study is a result of the commitment of the Eastern Cape Technikon to provide training, research and development in skills needed by the communities it serves. The Eastern Cape Technology and Entrepreneurship Centre (ECTEC) was established in association with the Enterprising Edge and Niagara College. Consequently, a curriculum was made available in order to support the small, medium, and micro entrepreneurs (SMMEs) in Butterworth by educating and training them so that they could run their businesses successfully. Some of the issues that have arisen concerning this intervention, included whether an investigation into the educational and training needs of SMMEs had been done, as well as whether the proposed education and training programme would meet the needs of the intended SMME The aim of this research is to identify and describe the educational and training needs of SMMEs in Butterworth, by conducting a needs assessment. This needs assessment attempts to understand and explain what SMMEs perceive to be their educational and training needs. The sample was composed of SMMEs who are registered learners at the ECTEC. Questionnaires as well as semi—structured interviews were used for data collection. The questionnaire items were summarised and presented in the form of tables. The interview data was then analysed by means of a constant comparative method. The findings of this study show that the educational and training needs of SMMEs are related to issues like accessing finance, keeping proper records of transactions and preparation of books of business, namely, the balance sheet, income as well as cash flow statements. SMMEs also need to know how to undertake the marketing function of their businesses so that they can identify and reach their customers. Finally, SMMEs need to know how to prepare and analyse business plans. These needs should, as far as possible, be considered when designing or modifying the education and training programmes of the SMMEs in order to ensure that training addresses these needs. It is hoped that this study will help to make the course relevant, useful and applicable to the SMMEs in Butterworth and those studying at the ECTEC.

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.

The purpose of this research study was to evaluate the Implementation of Guidance and Counselling in a Zimbabwean Secondary School that was seen to be running an exemplary programme. The study was a search for best practice meant to provide benchmarks that could benefit other institutions in similar set-ups to establish effective Guidance and Counselling (G&C) programmes. The rational for the study emanated from reservations expressed by some teachers and heads about the feasibility of G&C programmes in their schools citing numerous practical hurdles. Policy circular number 23 of 2005 expected all Zimbabwe secondary schools to institutionalise G&C programmes. Some questions that guided the study follow below. <ul> <li>How did the school articulate the policy into G&C programme?</li> <li>How can insight into the implementation of G&C inform programme development?</li></ul> The research study was conducted at Trockley Secondary School in Harare where five participants were interviewed individually. Research findings showed that Trockley was running a functional G&C programme refuting the scepticism cited above. However, it is important to set standards that schools can aspire to elevate their programmes to; for now programmes can be qualified as functional or non-functional, but not exceptional, a yard-stick that could help to improve G&C programmes significantly in the whole country. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Introduction: This research investigated the requirements of an HIT solution that is usable and useful to informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care. Methodology: A needs assessment method was used with an exploratory and a confirmatory stage. Eight semi-structured interviews and two focus groups were used for data collection. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse caregiver experiences with both inductive and deductive coding. Results/Discussion: Expressed and unexpressed caregiver needs were extracted into four categories, Implementation, Presentation, Information, and Practical Caregiving, and used to create the application requirements. Five user personas were created based on caregiving intensity and the functional level of the patients, a method of tailoring the application content to the different personas was created, and a low-fidelity prototype of the application was designed. Conclusion: The findings of this research can improve the preparedness and coping of informal caregivers of cancer patients on home palliative care.

The primary goal of the research project was to organize a community needs assessment, which culminated in a report attached in the appendix. Data from sixteen interviews with community leaders involved in mental health promotion throughout Dallas County, Texas was used as the foundation of the professional report. This data revealed several key barriers faced by those with mental illness in their ability to access mental health services in Dallas County. The information gathered prompted further exploration into the intersection between public transit and mental health. Transit became the focus of this work when it came up as simultaneously a barrier to care and mode of prevention in the majority of the interviews. Interestingly, Dallas County has public plans to address transit related disparities; however, their intervention pulls from strategies determined to be ineffectual among the poor and disenfranchised. In this work we explore community needs and the civic culture of Dallas with a specific focus on transportation.