Clinical Psychology

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/12890

Browse

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Community caregivers: a thematic analysis of the perceived psychological impact that community caregiving has on the caregivers.
(2016) Mncube, Zamalotshwa.; Buthelezi, Nontobeko Precious Angela.
This study focused on the impact of community caregiving work on caregivers. The HIV/AIDS pandemic and other health crises have led to an increased number of orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa. There is hence a growing need for community care workers to assist vulnerable families and children. While it is acknowledged that community caregivers face difficult and ambiguous situations in their work environment, there is a paucity of research on the impact of their work on CCGs. This study adopted a qualitative approach to explore the work experiences of CCGs and the impact of these experiences on their well-being. Motivational theory and the effort reward model were adopted to provide a framework to examine this question. Twenty eight community caregivers participated in focus group discussions in Pietermaritzburg, KwaMashu, and Osizweni in KwaZulu-Natal. The findings indicate that community caregivers’ psychological well-being is negatively affected by the challenges they encounter in their work. These leave them feeling exploited, undermined, and vulnerable to harm. The study concludes that poorly functioning referral systems, undermining of caregivers’ roles, a lack of adequate support to deal with work-related stress, and inadequate rewards are some of the challenges that lead to distress among community caregivers. The caregivers felt that increased recognition, adequate rewards, psychological support, and ensuring their safety would have a positive impact on their well-being. While the findings are generalizable, future studies could sample caregivers from various non-governmental organisations and across sectors to strengthen generalizability.
Promotion of students’ knowledge and utilization of the Billings Ovulation Method of natural fertility management: An experimental study.
(2016) Ruhukwa, Cardwick.; Nwoye, Augustine.; Buthelezi, Nontobeko Precious Angela.
This study investigated two teaching methods of enhancing the knowledge and use of the Billings’ Ovulation Method (BOM) at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. A sample of 60 male and female post-graduate students was used in a quasi-experimental post-test only control group design. Two experimental groups were evaluated based on a test that was written after exposure to either direct teaching or self-directed learning. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyse the data. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the performances of the different groups. For triangulation purposes, the Friedman tests and the Wilcoxon singed ranks tests were also used to analyse the data. The results indicated that when teaching, BOM as a lecture method produces a higher performance as compared to assigning homework. Participants that engaged in self-directed learning perform better in comparison with those that were not exposed to any teaching method. It was concluded that the results of the study concur with the findings of existing literature that for people to adopt the use of BOM, they require active teaching on an ongoing basis until they are competent to continue independently. Furthermore, the results of the current study reveal that assigning homework can be used for those people who are not able to attend classes due to time factors. Based on these findings, a number of recommendations were made on how to improve policy and practice people’s use of the BOM. These included a strong need for the adoption and use of the BOM in South Africa, a call for stakeholders in the health sector and government can contribute to the enhancement of the knowledge and use of BOM. The Department of Health and maternity clinics can take on the initiative of encouraging the use of BOM and providing many fertility management options to adults in Africa to improve contraception and reduction of sexually transmitted diseases in South Africa.
Towards a framework to facilitate child sexual abuse disclosure within an African context: a qualitative study.
(2020) Mbhele, Nondumiso.; Buthelezi, Nontobeko Precious Angela.
South Africa has achieved international acknowledgment for making many favourable strides towards constitutional reform. However, the country has also become internationally infamous for its high prevalence of gender-based violence. It is violence against children in particular which is at the forefront. Surviving trauma has been shown to have lasting psychological and physical effects, especially when it is kept as a secret. As the world grapples with alleviating a pandemic, so too are the child survivors of gender-based violence, who often do not disclose the sexual trauma they have experienced. The purpose of the current study was to work towards creating a uniquely African framework for the disclosure of child sexual abuse (CSA). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten community health workers. The participants were selected using purposive sampling, a technique of non-probability sampling. VCRM was used to analyse the data collected indicating five prevailing themes. The themes revealed the understanding of CSA disclosure, facilitators of CSA disclosure, current methods of obtaining disclosure, factors which hinder CSA disclosure and offered recommendations towards an African centred framework. Recommendations of the study brought out proposed solutions and areas of concern which need to be addressed. Much of the work which needs to be done was suggested to derive from a systemic level. This implies that families and governmental institutions need to make strides towards change for the betterment of children’s safety and psychological well-being.

Browse

Browsing Clinical Psychology by Author "Buthelezi, Nontobeko Precious Angela."