Browsing by Author "Reddy, S."

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Incorporating indigenous knowledge into the school science curriculum.
(2006) Dharampal, Hemraj.; Reddy, S.
This case study explores a relatively new and stimulating method of incorporating
An insight into the experiences of educators living with HIV/AIDS in the context of schooling and beyond.
(2010) Appalsamy, Indrashnee Devi.; Sookrajh, Reshma.; Reddy, S.
South Africa has a severe HIV/AIDS epidemic and the majority of the people infected are in the economically active age group. The education sector is particularly affected by HIV/AIDS because both the demand for and supply of educators are affected. Women make up a great majority of the teaching fraternity and their vulnerability to HIV and AIDS will be discussed. The focus of this study is on educators living with HIV and AIDS in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. Educators are perceived as ‘icons of morality’ hence their difficulty in disclosing their HIV status. This study offers an insight into the lives of the educators in this study, and explores how educators managed their lives and the disease on a daily basis at home and in particular at school. The participants for this study were obtained through convenience sampling given the sensitive nature of the study. Through the use of a life-story approach, all five participants, (current and previous) are educators and were interviewed over a period of time. Focus group discussions were also done in selected areas with school management teams (SMTs), to ascertain attitudes towards and support for educators living with HIV. During these many interviews with my research participants, I listened to their life experiences, felt their grief and trauma, and really understood their feelings of hopelessness. During these interactions, I was able to gather first hand information on the plight of educators living with HIV and AIDS, their voices spoke of their psychological emotions, and this confirmed that the general public and more especially the school fraternity needed to be educated about the disease, in order to dispel the myths and stigma surrounding HIV and AIDS. The grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data collected. Apart from the analysis of data, the life story interview of each participant is included in this thesis. The lack of support and the secrecy that has become imperative on issues around HIV and AIDS has brought about un-savory labels like ‘us’ and ‘them.’ The data also emphasized the importance of schools and the school community to work together in order to manage HIV and AIDS. The adherence and effectiveness of school policies concerning HIV and AIDS in terms of the constitution are also discussed. In conclusion the voices in this thesis have highlighted the importance of HIV/AIDS empowerment and support, individual empowerment equals the antithesis of vulnerability. HIV/AIDS can be looked upon as a serious chronic ailment which can be handled with medication and a safe healthy lifestyle, with the express hope of keeping our educators in the classroom in a good state of health for longer.
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of healthcare workers about healthy lifestyles : a study in an urban-based district hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.
(2008) Reddy, S.; Voce, Anna Silvia.
Background: There is global concern about the impact of lifestyle related diseases which have been on a steady increase in recent years. Poor nutrition, reduced physical activity and cigarette smoking have been documented as the main lifestyle behaviors that result in an increase in prevalence of the three most common occurring chronic diseases of lifestyle namely: diabetes, hypertension and cardiac diseases. Healthcare workers are frontline personnel and are seen as role models by their family, friends and the community they serve. It is therefore important that positive healthy lifestyle behaviors are practiced and encouraged by healthcare workers themselves. Objectives: To develop an initial descriptive profile of hospital employees with regards to their general knowledge, attitudes and practices about healthy lifestyles and to make appropriate recommendations to the hospital management on how the workplace can support the adoption of healthy lifestyles. Methods: The study was conducted at one health institution using the permanently employed staff as the study population. An exploratory descriptive study design was used in context of the precede-proceed planning framework. Self-administered questionnaires and consent forms were distributed in English and isiZulu. Collection boxes were placed in all wards and departments. Data was captured using the SPSS version 13 statistical package. Results: The response rate was 42%. Respondents were classified into the administrative, general staff and health professional categories. There was a significant difference (p=0.03) between the staff body mass index and their weight perception. Knowledge and attitude had mean indices of greater than 70% and the practice indices were lower for all three categories at less than 45%. A significant difference was found between certain staff categories in the knowledge and attitude indices but no significant difference existed in their practices. Conclusion: All categories of staff possessed adequate knowledge and attitudes but this is not transferred into positive health promoting practices. The possibility of workplace health promoting interventions was well supported by staff especially with regards to healthier meal choices at the staff dining room and an onsite gym facility. The main limitations of the study were the non-standardized data collection tool, and the poor response rate, which make the generalization of the study findings difficult.