This study investigated the exposure of employees in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to the HIV/AIDS workplace programme, levels of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceptions of stigma and discrimination and of participation by stakeholders in programme implementation. The researcher subscribes to the view that stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS workplace programme as this notion has been substantiated by numerous studies. Self-administered questionnaire was used as means of data collection. Findings suggest that the employees of SAPS based at the National Head Office have high levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS. However, the majority of the respondents indicated that they would not feel comfortable to disclose their HIV positive status, fearing the consequences thereof. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes, opinions and fears of the adolescent high school learners towards HIV counseling and testing at school.Quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research was conducted to determine if high school learners would like to be tested for HIV at school. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The respondents in the study were daytime high school learners (n=120) who were in grade 8 to 12, between ages of 12 to 18 years of age. The study highlighted that adolescents engage in sexual activities at an early age. The results revealed that there is lack of knowledge, unavailability of HCT services for adolescents and the resources to keep a girl child school. This behavior may result in adolescents contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV, falling pregnant at an early age, which may force adolescent high school learners to drop out of school. However, the study shows that government has more to educate adolescent high school learners about HIV/AIDS to modify their perceptions and attitudes towards HIV counseling and testing. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health studies)

This study investigated the exposure of employees in the South African Police Service (SAPS) to the HIV/AIDS workplace programme, levels of knowledge of HIV/AIDS, perceptions of stigma and discrimination and of participation by stakeholders in programme implementation. The researcher subscribes to the view that stigma and discrimination are major obstacles to the successful implementation of the HIV/AIDS workplace programme as this notion has been substantiated by numerous studies. Self-administered questionnaire was used as means of data collection. Findings suggest that the employees of SAPS based at the National Head Office have high levels of knowledge on HIV/AIDS. However, the majority of the respondents indicated that they would not feel comfortable to disclose their HIV positive status, fearing the consequences thereof. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

One of the great challenges facing human systems today is how to prepare for, manage, and adapt successfully to the profound and rapid changes wreaked by disasters. Wellington, New Zealand, is a capital city at significant risk of devastating earthquake and tsunami, potentially requiring mass evacuations with little or short notice. Subsequent hardship and suffering due to widespread property damage and infrastructure failure could cause large areas of the Wellington Region to become uninhabitable for weeks to months. Previous research has shown that positive health and well-being are associated with disaster-resilient outcomes. Preventing adverse outcomes before disaster strikes, through developing strengths-based skill sets in health-protective attitudes and behaviours, is increasingly advocated in disaster research, practise, and management. This study hypothesised that well-being constructs involving an affective heuristic play vital roles in pathways to resilience as proximal determinants of health-protective behaviours. Specifically, this study examined the importance of health-related quality of life and subjective well-being in motivating evacuation preparedness, measured in a community sample (n=695) drawn from the general adult population of Wellington’s isolated eastern suburbs. Using a quantitative epidemiological approach, the study measured the prevalence of key quality of life indicators (physical and mental health, emotional well-being or “Sense of Coherence”, spiritual well-being, social well-being, and life satisfaction) using validated psychometric scales; analysed the strengths of association between these indicators and the level of evacuation preparedness at categorical and continuous levels of measurement; and tested the predictive power of the model to explain the variance in evacuation preparedness activity. This is the first study known to examine multi-dimensional positive health and global well-being as resilient processes for engaging in evacuation preparedness behaviour. A cross-sectional study design and quantitative survey were used to collect self-report data on the study variables; a postal questionnaire was fielded between November 2008 and March 2009 to a sampling frame developed through multi-stage cluster randomisation. The survey response rate was 28.5%, yielding a margin of error of +/- 3.8% with 95% confidence and 80% statistical power to detect a true correlation coefficient of 0.11 or greater. In addition to the primary study variables, data were collected on demographic and ancillary variables relating to contextual factors in the physical environment (risk perception of physical and personal vulnerability to disaster) and the social environment (through the construct of self-determination), and other measures of disaster preparedness. These data are reserved for future analyses. Results of correlational and regression analyses for the primary study variables show that Wellingtonians are highly individualistic in how their well-being influences their preparedness, and a majority are taking inadequate action to build their resilience to future disaster from earthquake- or tsunami-triggered evacuation. At a population level, the conceptual multi-dimensional model of health-related quality of life and global well-being tested in this study shows a positive association with evacuation preparedness at statistically significant levels. However, it must be emphasised that the strength of this relationship is weak, accounting for only 5-7% of the variability in evacuation preparedness. No single dimension of health-related quality of life or well-being stands out as a strong predictor of preparedness. The strongest associations for preparedness are in a positive direction for spiritual well-being, emotional well-being, and life satisfaction; all involve a sense of existential meaningfulness. Spiritual well-being is the only quality of life variable making a statistically significant unique contribution to explaining the variance observed in the regression models. Physical health status is weakly associated with preparedness in a negative direction at a continuous level of measurement. No association was found at statistically significant levels for mental health status and social well-being. These findings indicate that engaging in evacuation preparedness is a very complex, holistic, yet individualised decision-making process, and likely involves highly subjective considerations for what is personally relevant. Gender is not a factor. Those 18-24 years of age are least likely to prepare and evacuation preparedness increases with age. Multidimensional health and global well-being are important constructs to consider in disaster resilience for both pre-event and post-event timeframes. This work indicates a need for promoting self-management of risk and building resilience by incorporating a sense of personal meaning and importance into preparedness actions, and for future research into further understanding preparedness motivations.

The study sought to explore and describe the risk behaviour regarding HIV transmission among youth in Bulawayo, their knowledge of HIV transmission and the sources of information on HIV transmission accessible to them. A quantitative, descriptive exploratory design was used and 238 youth from three secondary schools in Bulawayo, the second largest city in Zimbabwe were the respondents. The Health Belief Model (HBM) was used to facilitate and acquire insight into the risk behaviour among the youth. The inferences drawn from the study were that youth have inadequate knowledge about HIV transmission and therefore do not fully understand their risk of infection. Youth also find shyness and fear of rejection serious barriers to communicating openly about sexuality, sexual and HIV/AIDS issues. The findings of the study have implications for programmes to limit HIV transmission among youth and should assist policymakers and educators in developing and implementing such programmes in order to improve the health of youth in Zimbabwe. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Text in English / Malaria is endemic throughout Uganda and the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Malaria causes complications in 80.0% of all pregnancies in Uganda. This study attempted to identify factors that influence pregnant women’s utilisation of anti-malaria services in the Buikwe district of Uganda. These factors were contextualised within the Social Learning Theory’s major concepts. The target populations comprised pregnant women attending antenatal clinics (phase 1) and midwives providing antenatal services (phase 2) at 16 clinics in the Buikwe district of Uganda during the data collection phase of the study. Structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 400 randomly selected pregnant women and with the accessible population of 40 midwives. Pregnant women, who had progressed beyond primary school level education, were more likely to take intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) drugs and to use long lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) to prevent malaria. Pregnant women were more likely to implement malaria-preventive actions if they lived within five kilometres of clinics, were satisfied with available health services, were knowledgeable about the malaria preventive measures and had used IPT during previous pregnancies. Pregnant women who implemented one malaria-preventive action were likely to implement other actions as well (Pearson’s correlation coefficient was 0.65; p<0.05). Midwives’ provision of malaria-preventive services to pregnant women were influenced by the availability of IPT drugs, accessibility of safe drinking water, frequency of giving health education to pregnant women, cooperation with village health teams, malaria-related in-service training, midwives’ education level and experience. Although 97.9% of the pregnant women had taken IPT and 84.2% of those who had received LLINs, utilised these nets, malaria prevention during pregnancy could be improved. All pregnant women should attend antenatal clinics at least four times during each pregnancy, commencing during the first trimester of pregnancy to receive adequate health education and prenatal services, including IPT and LLINs. All midwives should receive malaria-related in-service training. Regular audits of midwives’ records should identify and address strengths and weaknesses related to the prevention and management of malaria during pregnancy. Such actions could enhance the prevention and management of malaria, estimated to affect 80% of pregnant women in Uganda. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes, opinions and fears of the adolescent high school learners towards HIV counseling and testing at school.Quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research was conducted to determine if high school learners would like to be tested for HIV at school. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The respondents in the study were daytime high school learners (n=120) who were in grade 8 to 12, between ages of 12 to 18 years of age. The study highlighted that adolescents engage in sexual activities at an early age. The results revealed that there is lack of knowledge, unavailability of HCT services for adolescents and the resources to keep a girl child school. This behavior may result in adolescents contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV, falling pregnant at an early age, which may force adolescent high school learners to drop out of school. However, the study shows that government has more to educate adolescent high school learners about HIV/AIDS to modify their perceptions and attitudes towards HIV counseling and testing. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health studies)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Vaccinations are an important step in preventing childhood illnesses and disease outbreaks in the community. Complete immunizations before school assure eligibility for enrollment and protect children against severe illness. The fact that foreign-born children of Latino immigrants face health disparities in receiving vaccinations is well documented. However, there is little information in the literature about the actual experience of immigrants facing the complexities of the health system, and through their eyes, which factors ultimately affect vaccination rates of immigrant Latino children. The purpose of this study is to give voice to Latino immigrant families who have recently immigrated to the United States, in terms of the issues they encountered when engaging the health care system for vaccinations.

<p>Увод. Годишње најмање 30% особа старијих од 65 година доживи један или више падова. Са повећањем година повећава се и озбиљност компликација услед пада, степен функционалног оштећења и ниво инвалидитета. Одговорност за пад приписује се многим факторима ризика. Због сложености њихове природе, од кључног је значаја да се ревидирају концептуални и методолошки оквири за разумевање и предвиђање пада у популацији старих особа. Циљеви истраживања. Утврдити учесталост падова код особа старијих од 65 година; утврдити најзначајније факторе ризика од пада и проценити њихову интеракцију са функционалним способностима и забринутост због пада. Материјал и методологија. Истраживање је спроведено у од фебруара до јуна 2014. године у виду студије пресека и обухватило је 400 испитаника старијих од 65 година. Испитаници су тестирани у кућним условима приликом посете патронажне службе. Коришћени су следећи инструменти: општи упитник, Elderly Fall Screening Test &ndash; ЕFST, Multi-factor Falls Questionnaire &ndash; MFQ, Tinetti Balance Assessment, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale &minus; IADL, Falls Efficacy Scale International FES-I. Стaтистички прорaчуни су вршени прогрaмом SPSS верзијa 20. Резултати истраживања. Резултати студије показују да је пад доживело 55% испитаника. Регресиони модел EFST са варијаблама био је статистички значајан, а као независни предиктори показали су се женски пол (OR = 2,751; &lt; 0,001), године старости (OR = 1,138; p &lt; 0,001), и степен образовања (OR = 0,554; p = 0,027). Слични резултати су добијении и за регресиони модел са Тинетијевим скором где су се као независни предиктори показали пол (Beta = -0,107; p = 0,029) старост (Beta = -0,260; p &lt; 0,001) и степен образовања (Beta = 0,191; p &lt; 0,001). Све корелације између ЕFST, FESI, IADL и скором Тинетијевог теста биле су статистички значајне (p &lt; 0,05). Вредности скора FESI биле су у јакој позитивној корелацији са скором ЕFST и изузетно негативној корелацији са IADL и скором Тинетијевог теста. Скор ЕFST показао је умерену негативну корелацију са скором IADL и јаку негативну са скором Тинетијевог теста, док су скор IADL и скор Тинетијевог теста показали умерену позитивну корелацију. Модел EFST био је статистички значајан и у целини тачно класификује 83,3% случајева. Варијабле које су се показале као независни предиктори били су: Тинети скор (OR = 0,783; p &lt; 0,001), скор (OR = 1,041; p = 0,019) и ортостатска хипотензија (OR = 2,291; p = 0,035). Закључак. У испитиваној популацији падови су веома учестала појава и више од половине особа доживела је пад у последњих годину дана. У повећаном ризику од пада су жене. Такође ризик од пада повећава се са годинама старости. Нижи степен образовања показао се као независни предиктор пада. Предикција ризика од пада утврђеног на основу скрининг тест за пад код старих особа у општој популацији могућа је уз висок степен детерминације на основу скора Тинетијевог теста и, скора FESI и ортостатске хипотензије.</p> / <p>Uvod. Godišnje najmanje 30% osoba starijih od 65 godina doživi jedan ili više padova. Sa povećanjem godina povećava se i ozbiljnost komplikacija usled pada, stepen funkcionalnog oštećenja i nivo invaliditeta. Odgovornost za pad pripisuje se mnogim faktorima rizika. Zbog složenosti njihove prirode, od ključnog je značaja da se revidiraju konceptualni i metodološki okviri za razumevanje i predviđanje pada u populaciji starih osoba. Ciljevi istraživanja. Utvrditi učestalost padova kod osoba starijih od 65 godina; utvrditi najznačajnije faktore rizika od pada i proceniti njihovu interakciju sa funkcionalnim sposobnostima i zabrinutost zbog pada. Materijal i metodologija. Istraživanje je sprovedeno u od februara do juna 2014. godine u vidu studije preseka i obuhvatilo je 400 ispitanika starijih od 65 godina. Ispitanici su testirani u kućnim uslovima prilikom posete patronažne službe. Korišćeni su sledeći instrumenti: opšti upitnik, Elderly Fall Screening Test &ndash; EFST, Multi-factor Falls Questionnaire &ndash; MFQ, Tinetti Balance Assessment, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale &minus; IADL, Falls Efficacy Scale International FES-I. Statistički proračuni su vršeni programom SPSS verzija 20. Rezultati istraživanja. Rezultati studije pokazuju da je pad doživelo 55% ispitanika. Regresioni model EFST sa varijablama bio je statistički značajan, a kao nezavisni prediktori pokazali su se ženski pol (OR = 2,751; &lt; 0,001), godine starosti (OR = 1,138; p &lt; 0,001), i stepen obrazovanja (OR = 0,554; p = 0,027). Slični rezultati su dobijenii i za regresioni model sa Tinetijevim skorom gde su se kao nezavisni prediktori pokazali pol (Beta = -0,107; p = 0,029) starost (Beta = -0,260; p &lt; 0,001) i stepen obrazovanja (Beta = 0,191; p &lt; 0,001). Sve korelacije između EFST, FESI, IADL i skorom Tinetijevog testa bile su statistički značajne (p &lt; 0,05). Vrednosti skora FESI bile su u jakoj pozitivnoj korelaciji sa skorom EFST i izuzetno negativnoj korelaciji sa IADL i skorom Tinetijevog testa. Skor EFST pokazao je umerenu negativnu korelaciju sa skorom IADL i jaku negativnu sa skorom Tinetijevog testa, dok su skor IADL i skor Tinetijevog testa pokazali umerenu pozitivnu korelaciju. Model EFST bio je statistički značajan i u celini tačno klasifikuje 83,3% slučajeva. Varijable koje su se pokazale kao nezavisni prediktori bili su: Tineti skor (OR = 0,783; p &lt; 0,001), skor (OR = 1,041; p = 0,019) i ortostatska hipotenzija (OR = 2,291; p = 0,035). Zaključak. U ispitivanoj populaciji padovi su veoma učestala pojava i više od polovine osoba doživela je pad u poslednjih godinu dana. U povećanom riziku od pada su žene. Takođe rizik od pada povećava se sa godinama starosti. Niži stepen obrazovanja pokazao se kao nezavisni prediktor pada. Predikcija rizika od pada utvrđenog na osnovu skrining test za pad kod starih osoba u opštoj populaciji moguća je uz visok stepen determinacije na osnovu skora Tinetijevog testa i, skora FESI i ortostatske hipotenzije.</p> / <p>Introduction. Annually at least 30% of people over 65 experience one or more falls. With the increase in years, the severity of complications due to falls, degree of functional impairment and level of disability also increase. The responsibility for the fall is attributed to many risk factors. Due to the complexity of their nature, it is crucial that the conceptual and methodological frameworks for understanding and predicting the decline in the elderly population are revised. Research goals. Determine the incidence of falls in people over 65 years of age; identify the most important risk factors of the fall and evaluate their interaction with functional abilities and fear for falling. Material and methodology. The survey was conducted from February to June 2014 in the form of a cross sectional study and included 400 respondents over 65 years of age. Respondents were tested at home during a visit of the patronage service. The following instruments were used: general questionnaire, Elderly Fall Screening Test - EFST, Multi-factor Falls Questionnaire - MFQ, Tinetti Balance Assessment, Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale - IADL, Falls Efficacy Scale International FES-I. Statistical calculations were performed by the SPSS version 20 program. Research results. The results of the study show that the fall was experienced by 55% of respondents. The regression model EFST with variables was statistically significant, and as independent predictors the female sex (OR = 2,751; &lt;0,001), age (OR = 1,138; p &lt;0,001), and the level of education (OR = 0,554; p = 0.027) were shown. Similar results were obtained for the regression model with the Tinetti&#39;s score, where the gender (Beta = -0.107; p = 0.029) age (Beta = -0.260; p &lt;0.001) and education (Beta = 0.191; p &lt; 0.001) were shown as independent predictors. All correlations between EFST, FESI, IADL and the Tinetti&#39;s test score were statistically significant (p &lt;0.05). The FESI score values were in a strong positive correlation with the EFST score and extremely negative correlation with IADL and the Tinetti&rsquo;s test score. The EFST score showed a moderate negative correlation with the IADL score and a strong negative with the Tinetti&rsquo;s test score, while the IADL score and the Tinetti test score showed moderate positive correlation. The EFST model was statistically significant and in its entirety accurately classified 83.3% of cases. Variables that proved to be independent predictors were: Tinetti score (OR = 0.783; p &lt;0.001), score (OR = 1.041; p = 0.019) and orthostatic hypotension (OR = 2.291; p = 0.035). Conclusion. In the studied population, falls are a very common occurrence and more than half of the people experienced a fall in the past year. Women are at increased risk of falling. Also, the risk of falling increases with age. A lower level of education has proven to be an independent fall predictor. Prediction of the risk of a fall that has been established on the basis of a screening test for elderly people in the general population is possible with a high degree of determination based on the Tinetti test score and, recent FESI and orthostatic hypotension.</p>

This study identified pregnancy-related challenges encountered by student nurses at SAMHS Nursing College, with an aim of identify factors contributing to student nurses' pregnancies as well as finding ways to deal and minimize the rate of the pregnancies amongst the student nurses. Thirty (30) structured interviews were conducted with student nurses who were pregnant and those who delivered their babies during the period 2002 to 2007. It has been revealed that ignorance is the major contributing factor for student nurses' pregnancies, 63% of the pregnancies were not planned, 52% of the respondents related their pregnancies to risk taking as they engaged in unprotected sex without the use of contraceptives, and thus it was concluded that student nurses are engaging themselves in risk behaviours and also engaging in unsafe sexual practices. The study also found that student nurses face physical, social, emotional as well as academic problems during pregnancy and after the delivery of their babies. Student nurses should be encouraged to use condoms and other methods of contraception, coupled with educating them on life skills, provision of recreational facilities; provision of counseling and support services may be the tool to minimise the unplanned pregnancies. / Health Studies / (M.A.(Public Health ))