Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Technology: Biomedical Technology, Durban University of Technology, 2013. / The purpose of the study was to evaluate knowledge and effects of Haemolytic Disease of the Newborn (HDN) in postnatal women from the Umgungundlovu District. Although the prevalence of HDN has declined because of prophylaxis from 45 cases per 10,000 births to 10.2 cases per 10,000 births but it is still a cause of infant and neonatal morbidity and mortality. The effects of the disease range from jaundice, kernicterus and in severe cases death. Methodology : An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information about the knowledge and effects of HDN amongst postnatal women. The incidence rate was calculated using the number of cases that were found divided by the total number of deliveries during the study period. A total of 300 women were interviewed. SPSS version 19.0 was used to analyse data. Findings : Fifteen (15) of the 300 women had babies with confirmed HDN and only four of the 15 (26%) women had knowledge of HDN. Two hundred and eighty five women had babies with jaundice but were not affected by HDN and, of these women, 12 (4.2%) of them knew what HDN was. Overall, only 16 (5.3%) knew what HDN was. All 15 women who had babies with HDN indicated financial and emotional effects because of HDN. The total incidence was 0.09% for the first 12 months of the study period. Conclusion : Postnatal women with jaundiced babies lack knowledge of HDN and HDN has financial and emotional effects on these women. Although the incidence rate of HDN was found to be even smaller than previously reported, it still exists and threatens the lives of infants and neonates.

Mini-thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Technology: Public Management in the Faculty of Business at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / Maternity service in South Africa faces particular problems in the provision of care to birthing mothers. Violence and abuse have been reported and maternity death rates are high, being related to inadequate provision of care (Myburgh, 2007:29). Ethical conduct plays a significant role in service delivery in Midwife Obstetrics Units (MOU) in general. This is of particular importance since every patient, especially pregnant women, should to be handled with the utmost care, respect and dignity. The research problem emanates from nurses’ behaviour towards patients in MOU labour wards, where women continue to be victims of abuse. Ironically, it is regrettable that they are abused by those who are supposed to be their advocates. The objectives of the study were to assess if nurses in MOU labour wards conduct themselves ethically when dealing with patients, to determine the perceptions of patients towards nurses during child birth stages, as well as to examine factors in maternity wards that may influence a nurse’s performance when dealing with patients. The study adopted the quantitative research method to answer the research question and data interpretation was based on statistical analysis. This method was deemed to be the most effective for collection of a large quantity of data and numerical (quantifiable) data is considered objective. A Likert-type questionnaire comprising closed-ended questions was the measurement instrument. This was considered to least inconvenience nurses and postnatal patients to whom these questionnaires were administered. Answer choices were graded from 1 to 4, being strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. The population comprised nurses and postnatal patients in MOUs in the Western Cape, South Africa. Consecutive sampling was conducted in two selected MOUs, being Michael Mapongwana (MM) and Gugulethu (GG), with 311 questionnaires being distributed to both nurses and postnatal Patients in these two facilities. The findings indicated that the ethical conduct of nurses in both MM and GG maternity wards was relatively good. However, some survey findings revealed some unsatisfactory gaps that exist in what both hospitals currently offer to patients in the areas of individual patient care, communication and baby security certainty. Furthermore, the findings indicated that a significant number of patients who chose to make use of MM and GG hospitals, are satisfied with the standard of service received during their stay. However, there were some discrepancies in terms of senior management service where excellence in the monitoring role emerged as being lacking. There is a need for improvement in the current levels of ethical conduct of nurses in both the MM and GG labour wards. These needs for improvement relate to working conditions, especially linked to the human resource (HR) function, leadership and management functions, and improved monitoring and control mechanisms.

Postnatal care provides the opportunity for protecting the health of women and their babies by optimising human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment and management. This study intended to explore the implementation of postnatal care to HIV positive women by explicating nurses’ views regarding their practices with the aim of improving the programme. The study was conducted at three clinics in Mangaung. An evaluative case study design was used to provide a detailed account on implementation of postnatal care to HIV positive clients. The purposive non-probability sampling was used. Semi-structured methods using focus group interviews were used to collect data. Data were reviewed through thematic analysis. The study found that nurses understood guidelines, used them to direct their practice and challenges were highlighted. It was concluded that the system limitations needed to be addressed, skills of health care providers improved and linkages with community based services strengthened to improve effectiveness of care. / Health Studies / M.PH.