5 research outputs found
Views on traditional healing: Implications for integration of traditional healing and Western medicine in South Africa
There are two independent streams of health care in South Africa: traditional healing and
Western medicine. Proposals to formally integrate the two streams have been made by the World
Health Organization and by the South African Department of Health.
In this study, the philosophical background behind each of the two health care models is
discussed, as well as literature on the possible integration of the two systems. It has not been
clear if Western-trained health-care practitioners would be prepared to work with traditional
healers. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine health care practitioners’ opinions,
attitudes, knowledge and experiences with traditional healers, and to determine to what extent
these variables would predict their intentions to work with these healers.
A Within-Stage Mixed Model design was used, and data were collected using a selfdeveloped
questionnaire. A total of 319 health care practitioners from State hospitals and clinics
in Gauteng and Limpopo provinces participated in the study.
The results of the study revealed significant differences between groups of health care
practitioners in terms of their opinions, attitudes, experiences and intentions to work with
traditional healers. Psychiatric nurses and psychiatrists showed more positive opinions, more
positive attitudes, more knowledge and more willingness to work with traditional healers than do
general nurses and physicians. Psychiatric and general nurses also had more experiences with
traditional healing than did psychiatrists and physicians. The results also revealed that attitudes,
knowledge, opinions and experiences predict Western health care practitioners’ intentions to
work with traditional healers, with attitudes being the strongest and experiences the weakest
predictors.
Health care practitioners’ views of traditional healing were contradictory and ambivalent
in many instances. This implies that integration of the two health care systems will be complex,
that the current potential to integrate the systems is weak and that such integration can only be
realised with considerable effort from all stakeholders.PsychologyD. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology
Risky sexual behaviour and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among healthcare workers
Background: South Africa is known to have one of the highest prevalence rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) globally, with one in seven healthcare workers being HIV-positive. An HIV-positive healthcare workforce is less equipped to respond to the increasing spread of the epidemic.Objectives: Assessment of the factors contributing to high HIV prevalence rates among healthcare workers is important in planning the development of human resources. This review sought to identify and understand predominant risky sexual behaviours among healthcare workers in HIV and AIDS-affected countries.Methods: This study reviewed articles focusing on sexual behaviour among healthcare workers. Major health science databases (e.g. ProQuest, Cochrane, PubMed and CINAHL) were searched for combinations of keywords including ‘healthcare workers’, ‘risky sexual behaviour’ and ‘HIV and AIDS’. Articles from a range of countries met inclusion and exclusion criteria.Results: Findings of the study revealed three main contributing factors: unprotected sex, multiple sex partners and sexual violence. Sexual violence emerged as the dominant risk factor in the majority of the studies. Most research was conducted in developed countries where the HIV infection rate is much lower than it is in developing countries.Conclusion: More research needs to be conducted in developing countries and appropriate strategies should be implemented to reduce sexual violence among healthcare workers. Appropriate procedures on reporting sexual violence coupled with education on HIV and AIDS as well as influencing attitudes and belief systems could assist in reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS within the healthcare workforce while minimising the effect on patient care
Stress-resistant resources: A comparison of hardiness, sense of coherence, potency, fortitude, ego-resilience, and problem-solving appraisal
Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych)This study compared the fortigenic constructs of the Sense of Coherence, Fortitude, Potency,
Hardiness, Problem-Solving, and Ego-Resilience in terms of three aspects: (i) Psychometric
properties of instruments that are used to measure them (ii) Their effects on the relationship
between stress and psychological health (iii) To determine the extent to which these constructs
have some common underlying dimensions.
The sample comprised one-hundred and twenty five male and female undergraduate
Psychology students enrolled at the University of the Western Cape. Data were collected by
using the following self-report questionnaires: the CBS-Depression Scale , the Short happiness
Affect Research Protocol, the Problem-Solving Inventory, the Potency Scale, the Fortitude
Questionnaire, the ER89 Questionnaire, the Personal Views Survey, the Orientation to Life
Questionnaire, the VOEG, and the Life Experiences Survey
Mozambican immigrants to South Africa : their xenophobia and discrimination experiences
We explored Mozambican immigrants’ lived experiences of xenophobia and discrimination in South Africa. Informants were 15 Mozambican immigrants (female = 7, male = 8) living in an informal settlement in Zandspruit, Gauteng Province. They completed open-ended written narratives on xenophobic and discriminatory experiences. Following thematic analysis, we identified three themes to characterise the Mozambican immigrants’ experiences of xenophobia and discrimination: (i) abusive attitudes, (ii) ethnic discrimination, and (iii) scapegoating. The Mozambican immigrants’ experiences of xenophobia and discrimination are consistent with findings from the extant international literature on ingroup/outgroup social strife with real or perceived scarcity of resources.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpia202019-07-09hj2018Nursing Scienc
Risky sexual behaviour and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) among healthcare workers
Background: South Africa is known to have one of the highest prevalence rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) globally, with one in seven healthcare workers being HIV-positive. An HIV-positive healthcare workforce is less equipped to respond to the increasing spread of the epidemic.
Objectives: Assessment of the factors contributing to high HIV prevalence rates among healthcare workers is important in planning the development of human resources. This review sought to identify and understand predominant risky sexual behaviours among healthcare workers in HIV and AIDS-affected countries.
Methods: This study reviewed articles focusing on sexual behaviour among healthcare workers. Major health science databases (e.g. ProQuest, Cochrane, PubMed and CINAHL) were searched for combinations of keywords including ‘healthcare workers’, ‘risky sexual behaviour’ and ‘HIV and AIDS’. Articles from a range of countries met inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Results: Findings of the study revealed three main contributing factors: unprotected sex, multiple sex partners and sexual violence. Sexual violence emerged as the dominant risk factor in the majority of the studies. Most research was conducted in developed countries where the HIV infection rate is much lower than it is in developing countries.
Conclusion: More research needs to be conducted in developing countries and appropriate strategies should be implemented to reduce sexual violence among healthcare workers. Appropriate procedures on reporting sexual violence coupled with education on HIV and AIDS as well as influencing attitudes and belief systems could assist in reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS within the healthcare workforce while minimising the effect on patient care