The purpose of this study was to identify and determine the risk factors for malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years in Kweneng West District of Botswana. A case control study was conducted. The cases consisted of 37 underweight children under the age of 5 (n=37), and the controls consisted of 76 children less than 5 years of age (n=76) recruited concurrently among the under-five children attending Letlhakeng Child Welfare Clinic on a monthly basis. The controls were of good nutritional status. Data collection was done using a combination of a review of records (child welfare clinic registers, and child welfare clinic cards) and structured questionnaires. Following placement of the data in regression models, the factors that were found to be significantly associated with child malnutrition were small number of daily meals taken by the child (Adjusted OR=19.04, 95% CI 3.24-112.13), lack of knowledge of methods of prevention of child malnutrition by the parent (Adjusted OR=4.71, 95% CI 1.41-15.82), parent’s unemployment (Adjusted OR=50.3, 95% CI 4.86-52.1), low birth weight (Adjusted OR=12.34, 95% CI 2.76-55.02), inadequate Vitamin A supplementation (Adjusted OR=13.27, 95% CI 1.94-90.46), child illness (OR=20.95, 95% CI 7.55-58.10), and child raised by a guardian (Adjusted OR=5.67, 95% CI 1.30-24.73). The findings from this study suggest that Socio-economic factors such as unemployment, a lack of knowledge about recommended infant and child feeding practices, the child raised by a guardian, and health-related factors such as low birth weight, inadequate Vitamin A supplementation, and child illness are predictors of malnutrition in under five. Therefore, increasing household food security and reinforcing educational interventions could contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of child malnutrition in the district / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Individers upplevelse av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön har visat sig hänga samman med trivsel, hälsa och välbefinnande. I ett långsiktigt perspektiv kan en god psykosocial arbetsmiljö främja kvalitet och produktivitet i organisationer, medan en sämre arbetsmiljö kan resultera i det motsatta. Arbetsgivare, som i Sverige har ett yttersta arbetsmiljöansvar, strävar efter att arbeta förebyggande och systematiskt med fokus på psykosociala arbetsmiljöinsatser. Samtidigt utgör individerna en del av den psykosociala arbetsmiljön och i samband med att de utför sitt arbete bidrar de även till formandet av arbetsmiljön. Med detta som utgångspunkt syftar avhandlingen till att studera psykosociala och personliga faktorer i form av krav och resurser, hälsa och välbefinnande samt ett organisatoriskt förebyggande program för anställda i välfärdssektorn. Detta har gjorts genom att undersöka hur olika krav och resurser i arbetet samt personliga resurser relaterar till olika hälsorelaterade utfall. Vidare har två varianter av ett nyutvecklat interventionsprogram med fokus på psykosociala faktorer och personliga resurser undersökts och utvärderats. En variant av programmet var riktad till både chefer och medarbetare, medan den andra varianten riktades enbart till chefer. Interventionsprogrammen undersöktes utifrån genomförbarhet och utifrån effektutvärdering. Resultaten visar att resurser i arbetet verkar ha mer hälsofrämjande potential än personliga resurser. Vidare visar resultaten att det program som inkluderade medarbetare och chefer accepterades av deltagarna och gick att genomföra praktiskt. Resultaten visar också att effekterna av båda programmen var oklara. Sammantaget visar avhandlingen på vikten av att såväl reducera krav i arbetet som att främja olika resurser, men även på de utmaningar som finns i att utforma, genomföra och utvärdera förebyggande organisatoriska interventioner. / Individuals’ experiences of the psychosocial work environment have been linked to their satisfaction, health, and well-being. In the long run, a favorable psychosocial work environment seems related to organizational quality and productivity, while a poorer psychosocial work environment may relate to the opposite. Employers, who in Sweden have the ultimate responsibility for the work environment, aim for systematic preventive efforts focusing particularly on factors of the psychosocial work environment. Additionally, individuals also form part of the psychosocial work environment, and may, through their own daily work practices contribute to creating the work environment. Based on this, the aim of this thesis is to study how psychosocial factors, in terms of demands and resources, and personal resources at work relate to health and well-being but also to investigate the effects of an organizational preventive intervention program. Specifically, job demands, job resources, and personal resources and their relations with health-related outcomes among employees of the Swedish welfare sector were investigated. Also, two versions of a newly developed intervention program focusing on psychosocial factors and personal resources were examined. This included a feasibility study of one program version offered to both employees and managers and an effect evaluation of another version offered to managers only. The results show that job resources seem to have a stronger health-promoting potential than personal resources. Moreover, the results show that while the program offered to both employees and managers was accepted by participants and found possible to implement practically, its effect were small. Similarly, effects of the program including managers only were also small. Overall, the thesis shows the importance of reducing job demands along with promoting different resources, but emphasizes the challenges in developing, implementing, and evaluating preventive organizational interventions. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.</p>

The purpose of this study was to identify and determine the risk factors for malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years in Kweneng West District of Botswana. A case control study was conducted. The cases consisted of 37 underweight children under the age of 5 (n=37), and the controls consisted of 76 children less than 5 years of age (n=76) recruited concurrently among the under-five children attending Letlhakeng Child Welfare Clinic on a monthly basis. The controls were of good nutritional status. Data collection was done using a combination of a review of records (child welfare clinic registers, and child welfare clinic cards) and structured questionnaires. Following placement of the data in regression models, the factors that were found to be significantly associated with child malnutrition were small number of daily meals taken by the child (Adjusted OR=19.04, 95% CI 3.24-112.13), lack of knowledge of methods of prevention of child malnutrition by the parent (Adjusted OR=4.71, 95% CI 1.41-15.82), parent’s unemployment (Adjusted OR=50.3, 95% CI 4.86-52.1), low birth weight (Adjusted OR=12.34, 95% CI 2.76-55.02), inadequate Vitamin A supplementation (Adjusted OR=13.27, 95% CI 1.94-90.46), child illness (OR=20.95, 95% CI 7.55-58.10), and child raised by a guardian (Adjusted OR=5.67, 95% CI 1.30-24.73). The findings from this study suggest that Socio-economic factors such as unemployment, a lack of knowledge about recommended infant and child feeding practices, the child raised by a guardian, and health-related factors such as low birth weight, inadequate Vitamin A supplementation, and child illness are predictors of malnutrition in under five. Therefore, increasing household food security and reinforcing educational interventions could contribute to a reduction in the prevalence of child malnutrition in the district / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

MPH / Department of Public Health / The healthcare profession has emerged as one of the professions that is mostly prone to burnout. Burnout is a major problem affecting healthcare professionals nationwide and abroad. When employees experience burnout, it becomes difficult to remain productive at work since this starts to impact negatively on their occupational functioning. Although studies have been done on burnout, very little is known about factors that influence burnout among healthcare professionals. Knowledge around the concept of burnout and accompanying risk factors is vital for early detection and intervention. The study aimed to explore on the factors that influence burnout among healthcare professionals at selected hospitals in Ehlanzeni District, South Africa. A qualitative research approach using phenomenological research design was used for the study. A sample was chosen from the target population by means of convenient sampling. The total number of participants was determined by a rapid assessment test which was used to screen burnout among the professionals. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview guide. The data collected was analyzed using thematic content analysis. The findings show that burnout is influenced by a number of different factors (workload, financial problems, emotional exhaustion, poor working relationships, lack of social support, and experience/number of years working at the hospital and personality type. In addition, most healthcare professionals are vulnerable to burnout while some are experiencing it. Also, there are currently no adequate strategies/initiatives put in place to prevent burnout. / NRF