90 research outputs found
Comments on the XIV International HIV/AIDS Conference : an 'Ubuntu' perspective
The statistical reports as shown by the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS
(UNAIDS) indicate that despite efforts to combat the epidemic, the number of new infections
continues to rise daily. This paper reflects on resolutions taken during the XIV International
HlV/AlDS Conference in an attempt to link them with the role that the African continent may
play in the fight against HIV/AIDS, The principles of'ubuntu', such as sharing of opportunities,
responsibilities and challenges, participatory decision making and leadership, and reconciliation
as a goal of conflict management, are used as the point of departure in assessing a range of key
issues debated in the Conference.This article was written by Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.brill.nl/m_catalogue.asp?sub=3hb201
Indigenous health beliefs, attitudes and practices among VhaVenda : a challenge to the promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention strategies
Currently, the syndromic management of HIV/AIDS is based on a biomedical model
that focuses on the ABC (Abstain, Be faithful, Condomise) model. The ABC model
overlooks the issue of indigenous cultural practices, sexual behaviours, knowledge
and attitudes of the society. A grounded theory study was used for the research. The
population for the research on which this article is reporting, was selected from the
Vhavenda ethnic group using purposive sampling. In-depth interviews were held at
the participantsā own homes. The outcome of the study on which this article is reporting,
may assist in identifying indigenous health beliefs, attitudes and practices that will
assist in curbing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The findings revealed that cultural practices,
such as premarital counselling, polygamy and widow inheritance, are believed to be
influential in making women more susceptible to sexually transmitted diseases, including
HIV/AIDS. The practice of abstinence, as emphasised at initiation schools, should be
incorporated into current policies and preventative practices. The findings further
demonstrate that policy-makers who formulated the HIV/AIDS strategy have limited
knowledge of the health beliefs, attitudes and practices of the people they serve.
They thus find it difficult to draw up promotion and prevention strategies that meet
the needs of the community. It is therefore imperative that our health-care training
curriculum be reviewed to make provision for the incorporation of sound and effective
indigenous practices to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and to eliminate or refine
practices that are harmful and detrimental to peopleās health. The cultural practices
that were proved reliable and effective will be recommended for integration into health
education.This article was written by FM Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.curationis.org.zahb201
The cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and transmission of sexually transmitted infections
Cultural and ethnic identity and folk beliefs play a decisive role in perceptions, attitudes and practices regarding
health care and illness. Such beliefs and practices of a community may have an influence on the causes and
transmission of diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases. The purpose of the study on which this article is
based, was to describe cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and transmission of sexually transmitted
infections.
A qualitative research approach using grounded theory was used. In-depth interviews were held with thirteen keyinformants
in the community and seven traditional healers. Snowball and theoretical sampling were used to identify
the participants. The results showed that the concept ādirtā (uncleanliness) is viewed by the Vhavenda as the main
cause of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The understanding of ādirtā is placed in the context of uncleanliness
in the form of vaginal discharges such as menstruation, post-abortion discharges and lochia (post-partum discharges).
Women are viewed as carriers of STIs. Knowledge of cultural beliefs of the Vhavenda on the causes and
transmission of STIs can serve as a point of departure in providing health education about sexually transmitted
infections. The initiative may assist to facilitate change in clientsā health behaviour and enabling health practitioners
to render culturally congruent care.This article was written by Fhumulani Mavis Mulaudzi before she joined the University of Pretoria.http://www.hsag.co.zahb201
Reproductive health rights of women in rural communities
Reproductive health is very important as it shapes a woman's whole life. Currently there are a lot of obstacles which deny women their rights to reproductive health. The aim of this research was to find out what obstacles deny women the freedom to enjoy their reproductive health in order to establish a contribution which can be used by the Department of Health to improve their services. Descriptive research was conducted, using a survey approach. Convenience sampling was utilized. Participants were selected from a sample of people attending the reproductive health clinic at a hospital and a clinic in the Northern Province. The findings indicate that women are not enjoying reproductive health rights due to low educational level, cultural and societal constraints, low socio economic status and the negative attitude of the providers, of reproductive health services.ContraceptivesFamily planningHealth and genderHealth rightsReproductive choiceReproductive healthReproductive rightsReproductive health careWomen's rightsRural womenHealth ScienceM.A.Cur.(Nursing Science
Factors that motivate nurses to provide quality patient care in a rural hospital in Vhembe district, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Health services in rural areas are known to be under-resourced in several ways and working conditions are often described as unfavourable. Nurses working under such conditions are likely to be demotivated; however, it seems that not all nurses feel demotivated because of the number of nurses who remain and serve in those areas. This article describes factors that motivate nurses to render quality patient care in a rural hospital in Vhembe district of Limpopo Province in South Africa. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design guided by an Appreciative Inquiry approach was used. Individual semi-structured interviews with 20 participants were conducted and analysis was conducted according to Teschās open-coding technique. The results indicated both intrinsic and extrinsic factors as motivators, which relate to the events in participantsā personal and social life as well as those in the work environment. Passion for the job was identified as the key driver from the intrinsic space while open communication from the employer was raised by the majority of participants as an external driver. This study revealed that although nurses in a rural hospital have challenges that can negatively impact on their motivational levels, their internal drive to care overcomes any negative factors.Department of HE and Training approved lis
The experiences of Batswana families regarding hospice care of AIDS patients in the Bophirima district, North West province, South Africa
The HIV/AIDS pandemic put significant strain on healthcare services in the country. Hospitals were no longer coping with the
escalating number of AIDS patients. This resulted in the early discharge of patients, with some patients, too ill to be nursed at
home, being sent to hospices for continued care. The Batswana had mixed feelings about hospice care, because their beliefs on
patient care are based on the ubuntu philosophy, which emphasises the principle of caring for one another. The purpose of this
study was to explore and describe the experiences of Batswana families regarding hospice care for patients in the Thlabane township
in the province of the North West as well as to make recommendations to policy-makers to ensure that hospices are accepted by
community members and utilised effectively. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive research design was applied. Purposive sampling
was applied to select study participants with whom in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted. A qualitative data analysis was
done by categorising, ordering, and summarising the data, and describing the findings. The findings indicated that families of patients
in hospice care experienced such care as foreign to their culture. These families also experienced stigmatisation, firstly owing to the
stigma associated with AIDS and secondly because they opted for hospice care. However, they also observed the high quality of care
provided by the hospice and understood its benefits for AIDS patients. The study concluded that hospice care relieved families of
terminally ill AIDS patients of the burden of care and enabled them to keep on working and earning a living. Recommendations to
policy-makers included enhancing hospice care and ensuring the provisioning of culturally safe hospice care.La pandeĀ“mie du VIH/SIDA a mis une forte pression sur les services de soins de santeĀ“ du pays. Les hoĖpitaux ne pouvaient plus faire
face au nombre croissant de patients atteints du SIDA. Il en a reĀ“sulteĀ“ la sortie preĀ“coce des malades du SIDA, avec certains patients
trop malades pour eĖtre soigneĀ“s chez eux, envoyeĀ“s aux hospices pour des soins continus. Les batswana avaient des sentiments mitigeĀ“s
au sujet des soins palliatifs, parce que leurs croyances sur les soins meĀ“dicaux sont baseĀ“es sur la philosophie ubuntu, qui met lāaccent
sur le principe de prendre soin de lāun de lāautre. Le but de lāeĀ“tude eĀ“tait dāexplorer les expeĀ“riences et de deĀ“crire les expeĀ“riences des
familles de Batswana en ce qui concerne les soins palliatifs pour les patients habitant le canton de Thlabane dans la province du
Nord-Ouest, mais aussi de faire des recommandations aux deĀ“cideurs politiques pour sāassurer que les hospices sont assureĀ“s par
les membres de la communauteĀ“ et utiliseĀ“s efficacement. Une conception de recherche qualitative, exploratoire, descriptive a eĀ“teĀ“
appliqueĀ“e. Une meĀ“thode dāeĀ“chantillonnage raisonneĀ“e a eĀ“teĀ“ appliqueĀ“e pour seĀ“lectionner les participants de lāeĀ“tude avec lesquels
des entretiens approfondis non structureĀ“es ont eĀ“teĀ“ meneĀ“es. Une analyse qualitative des donneĀ“es a eĀ“teĀ“ faite par la cateĀ“gorisation,
la commande et le reĀ“sumeĀ“ des donneĀ“es et la description des reĀ“sultats. Les reĀ“sultats de recherche indiquaient que les familles des
patients en soins palliatifs prenaient de tels soins comme eĀ“tranger a` leur culture. Ces familles ont eĀ“galement connu la
stigmatisation associeĀ“ au SIDA et en second lieu parce quāils ont opteĀ“ pour les soins palliatifs. Cependant, ils ont observeĀ“ la
haute qualiteĀ“ des soins dispenseĀ“s par le centre de soins palliatifs et compris ses avantages pour les malades atteints du SIDA.
LāeĀ“tude conclut que les soins palliatifs soulageaient les familles des sideĀ“ens en phase terminale de la charge des soins et leur a
permis de continuer a` travailler et gagner leur vie. Les recommandations a` lāintention des deĀ“cideurs politiques incluait
lāameĀ“lioration des soins palliatifs et dāassurer lāapprovisionnement des centres de soins palliatifs culturellement seĀ“curitaire.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsah2
Knowledge and attitudes of midwives towards collaboration with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities in South Africa
OBJECTIVES : We assessed the knowledge and attitude of registered midwives towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare services in rural communities.
DESIGN : A descriptive cross-sectional survey was followed in this study.
PARTICIPANTS : Registered midwives in selected clinics in the City of Tshwane Municipality. Participants were recruited by stratified random sampling. Data was collected at the Thirty-four primary healthcare facilities in Gauteng province, South Africa.
MEASUREMENT AND RESULTS : A self-assessment questionnaire was administered to 304 registered midwives. Two-hundred and sixty respondents returned the questionnaire representing a response rate of 86.6 % which was statistically significant. The majority of Midwives in South Africa displayed a low level of knowledge (mean = 41.8, SD=1.7) on the role and practices of traditional birth attendants). Only 30.8 % (n = 80) of midwives knew of the roles of traditional birth attendants for maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) services. With respect to knowledge, there was significant associated with the Professional category (p < 0.015). In terms of attitude, registered midwives displayed negative attitudes towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants (mean = 46.8, SD=2.1). Approximately half (54.2 %, n = 140) of midwives were amenable towards collaborating in the provision of antenatal care, and 70.4 % (n = 183) of midwives agreed to collaborate with traditional birth attendants for extended roles such as accompanying women to health facilities. Association of demographic data and level of attitude showed there was significant relationship (p < 0.05) between registered midwivesā level of education and their attitude towards collaboration.
KEY CONCLUSIONS : Midwives demonstrated positive attitude towards collaborating with traditional birth attendants at the antenatal care level only. Midwives were not amenable to collaboration at the level of intrapartum and postpartum care.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE : Based on our results, collaboration should be at antenatal care level to allow for early detection, treatment, and prevention of antenatal complications thus reducing maternal mortality and morbidity.Part of PhD scholarship funded by the Black Academic Advancement Programme grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF).https://www.elsevier.com/locate/midwhj2024Nursing ScienceSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein
Perceived Motivating Factors towards a Positive Working Environment in Rural Hospital at Vhembe District in the Limpopo Province
One of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to improve maternal health with the target of reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters between 1990ā2015. The rendering of quality patient care requires the whole healthcare system to be functional with well-trained, motivated staff, adequate services, equipment and skilled competent leadership. However, work environment in rural hospitals is poorly resourced, thus leading to many nurses becoming de-motivated. This paper describes the factors that the nurses would like to see in their working environment which could improve quality patient care in rural hospitals. An appreciative inquiry qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research design was used. Data were collected through focus group interviews whereby thirty six participants were interviewed. The researcher used the open coding technique to analyse data. The findings revealed that nurses are motivated by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors in their working environment.Department of HE and Training approved lis
Indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of caregivers in Vhembe district, Limpopo Province
BACKGROUND : Caregivers are offered health information on neonatal care before they are
discharged from the healthcare facilities after giving birth. However, they continue to feed
and bath neonates in ways that are informed by indigenous traditions. Notably, these ways
include the provision of supplementary feeds before 6 months and bathing the neonate as
early as possible, which are practices that contradict the World Health Organization (WHO)
recommendations of neonatal care.
OBJECTIVES : This study aimed to explore and describe the indigenous neonatal feeding and
bathing practices of caregivers in Vhembe District, Limpopo province.
SETTING : This study was conducted in Limpopo province at Vhembe District, Makhado
Municipality.
METHODOLOGY : A qualitative, explorative and descriptive enquiry was used to conduct 18
semi-structured individual interviews to explore and describe their indigenous neonatal
feeding and bathing practices. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to select
participants. Creswellās method of data analysis was used to analyse data. Ethical principles
were maintained.
RESULTS : Two themes with sub-themes resulted from data analysis presenting indigenous
neonatal feeding practices and indigenous neonatal bathing practices.
CONCLUSION : This study revealed that caregivers use indigenous neonatal feeding and
bathing practices across age groups and social standing. Younger mothers receive
guidance from older women in their families or community. Midwives should know the
indigenous neonatal feeding and bathing practices of the communities they serve to offer relevant culture-sensitive health education.
CONTRIBUTIONS : This study contributes to the creation of knowledge about indigenous neonatal
care practices amongst mothers and caregivers.The National Research Fundhttps://www.hsag.co.zaam2022Nursing Scienc
The perceptions of traditional healers of cervical cancer care GA Mothapo village in Limpopo province
The purpose of this article is to explore and describe the perceptions of traditional healers
of cervical cancer care. The incidence of cervical cancer, especially among black South
African females, is among the highest in the world. Women report at clinics and hospitals
on a daily basis with advanced stages (stages III and IV) of cervical cancer. Black women
consult traditional healers first, before they consult health-care professionals. Although
cervical cancer survival rates are said to be improving across South Africa, not all women
benefit from the screening programme for early detection of cervical cancer. Traditional
healers perform an indispensable role in the delivery of health care, especially in rural
areas where access to biomedical care is limited. The article is based on a qualitative,
descriptive, and exploratory study. The study population included traditional healers who
were chosen through snowball sampling. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews.
Data was analysed using Teschās method. The findings of this study demonstrated
that the traditional health practitioners have good knowledge about cervical cancer care.
This was shown by the knowledge they had of naming the disease, predisposing factors
and causes, of cancer care, symptoms of diseases, diagnostic measures and methods of
treatment. The findings of this study provided valuable information on the perceptions of
traditional healers of cervical cancer care. In view of the knowledge that the traditional
healers possess, this study recommended that there be sharing of knowledge and collaboration
between modern health-care practitioners and traditional healers. Collaboration may
assist in early detection and treatment of cervical cancer, thereby improving the mortality
rate.http://www.indilinga.org.zahb201
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