The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of... more
The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of admissions. Therefore, this study sought to explore and describe the nurse managers’ experiences during COVID-19 in order to identify gaps and lessons learnt. A descriptive phenomenological research approach was used to explore the experiences of ten nurse managers who were purposively selected from different units of a selected district hospital. Data was collected through telephonic unstructured individual interviews and analysed using Colaizzi’s seven steps method. The study revealed that nurse managers experienced human resource related challenges during COVID-19, worsened by the fact that vacant posts were frozen. It also emerged that there was a shortage of material resources that affected patient care. Nurse managers also indicated that COVID...
Globally, rape is regarded as the most demoralizing type of trauma, and it has negative implications for victims and their families. Although rape affects the community in general, there is a paucity of literature on rape victimization of... more
Globally, rape is regarded as the most demoralizing type of trauma, and it has negative implications for victims and their families. Although rape affects the community in general, there is a paucity of literature on rape victimization of men. As a result, the types of rape experienced by them are not understood, and thus it is often difficult to develop contextually relevant interventions to prevent male rape and to support male rape victims. The objective of this study was to first determine and then describe, the types of rape experienced by men. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) qualitative approach was used to collect and analyze data from a purposive sample of 11 participants, using semistructured individual interviews. The findings of the study reveal six themes and related subthemes as six types and related subtypes of rape experienced by men as follows: acquaintance rape, including familial rape; stranger rape; gang rape, including corrective-gang rape, drug...
Fathers of young infants have a crucial role to play in the promotion, support and protection of breastfeeding as women often face many challenges during the post-partum period. The World Health Organization recommends paying particular... more
Fathers of young infants have a crucial role to play in the promotion, support and protection of breastfeeding as women often face many challenges during the post-partum period. The World Health Organization recommends paying particular attention to participation by the male partners in child and maternal health as they also have responsibilities and roles to play in nurturing their young ones and supporting their families. The focus of this research was to explore and to describe the perceived roles of fathers in the support, protection and promotion of breastfeeding. This study adopted a qualitative method using an explorative and descriptive design, and the sample included twelve fathers of infants aged less than six months at Schoonoord Village, Sekhukhune District, Limpopo province, South Africa. Using in-depth individual unstructured interviews, data were collected until data saturation was attained and analysed using Tesch’s open-coding method. The findings show that fathers ...
Background: The implementation of the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative (MBFI) strategy demonstrated its capabilities to improve global children’s health and maternal survival. However, its implementation in primary healthcare (PHC)... more
Background: The implementation of the Mother-Baby Friendly Initiative (MBFI) strategy demonstrated its capabilities to improve global children’s health and maternal survival. However, its implementation in primary healthcare (PHC) facilities remains a challenge as many nurses are reluctant to adopt it for the improvement of child and maternal healthcare services in their respective clinics.Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to determine the attitudes of nurses towards the implementation of the MBFI in selected PHC facilities in the Makhuduthamaga Municipality, Limpopo province.Method: This study used a quantitative, descriptive design, and all respondents were conveniently sampled. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. One-hundred and seventy-seven questionnaires were distributed, and 153 nurses responded and completed the questionnaire. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 was used to analyse data.Results: Results show that t...
The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of... more
The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of admissions. Therefore, this study sought to explore and describe the nurse managers’ experiences during COVID-19 in order to identify gaps and lessons learnt. A descriptive phenomenological research approach was used to explore the experiences of ten nurse managers who were purposively selected from different units of a selected district hospital. Data was collected through telephonic unstructured individual interviews and analysed using Colaizzi’s seven steps method. The study revealed that nurse managers experienced human resource related challenges during COVID-19, worsened by the fact that vacant posts were frozen. It also emerged that there was a shortage of material resources that affected patient care. Nurse managers also indicated that COVID...
The implementation of skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby immediately after birth is associated with the successful initiation of exclusive breastfeeding. Midwives have the responsibility to promote and support breastfeeding... more
The implementation of skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby immediately after birth is associated with the successful initiation of exclusive breastfeeding. Midwives have the responsibility to promote and support breastfeeding and ensure that the mother and baby are in a satisfactory condition. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of midwives regarding the implementation of skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby after birth in selected primary health care facilities in Schoonoord, Makhuduthamaga Sub-district of the Limpopo province, South Africa. This study employed a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive approach to understand the perceptions of midwives with regards to implementation of skin-to-skin contact between the mother and baby after birth. Face-to-face individual interviews were used to collect data and Tesch’s method of data analysis was applied to analyse data. Three themes emanated from the study, namely: awareness...
The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of... more
The South African health care system was hard hit by the second wave of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which affected nurse managers as healthcare facilities became overwhelmed due to an increased workload emanating from the overflow of admissions. Therefore, this study sought to explore and describe the nurse managers’ experiences during COVID-19 in order to identify gaps and lessons learnt. A descriptive phenomenological research approach was used to explore the experiences of ten nurse managers who were purposively selected from different units of a selected district hospital. Data was collected through telephonic unstructured individual interviews and analysed using Colaizzi’s seven steps method. The study revealed that nurse managers experienced human resource related challenges during COVID-19, worsened by the fact that vacant posts were frozen. It also emerged that there was a shortage of material resources that affected patient care. Nurse managers also indicated that COVID...
The evolution of the abbreviation LGBTQI+ comes on the backdrop of numerous studies that were conducted as a form of advocacy to promote the inclusion of LGBTQI+ individuals into society. Objective: This study sought to explore the terms... more
The evolution of the abbreviation LGBTQI+ comes on the backdrop of numerous studies that were conducted as a form of advocacy to promote the inclusion of LGBTQI+ individuals into society. Objective: This study sought to explore the terms that LGBTQI+ individuals prefer to be called and those they hate to be called by. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative approach underpinned by Husserl's descriptive phenomenological research design. Data was collected through WhatsApp-based semi-structured individual interviews from a 19 participants who were sampled using purposive and snowballing sampling methods. Data analysis was done using Collaizzi's phenomenological analysis method, and all ethical considerations to safeguard participants were adhered to. Results: The analysis yielded two main themes as preferred terminologies and terms that are hated by the LGBTQI+ persons. The findings show an evolution in the terminologies used in relation to the LGBTQI+ identifying persons. Terms such as Queer, LGBTQI+ community, terms confirming gender identity, SOGI neutral, and preferred pronouns emerged as terms that LGBTQI+ people preferred to be called or addressed by. On the other side of the coin, the findings revealed terms that the LBGTQI + people hated as these were perceived to be discriminatory and derogatory, such as terms like "moffie" and "stabane". Conclusion: LGBTQI+ terms are forever evolving and there is a need to raise community awareness and conscientisation towards moving away from the use of derogatory and hateful terms. The hated terms continue to perpetuate verbal abuse, stigmatisation and discrimination of the LGBTQI+ community. Therefore, a nuanced approach to develop and adopt inclusive language policies to promote diversity in public and private spheres.
Background: Women refugees are mostly affected due to their specific needs for reproductive health services. In their attempt to utilize reproductive health care services, women refugees face medical xenophobia by the health care... more
Background: Women refugees are mostly affected due to their specific needs for reproductive health services. In their attempt to utilize reproductive health care services, women refugees face medical xenophobia by the health care professionals. Upon their arrival in South Africa, refugee women do not undergo any screening, and this exposes them to health risks making them more prone to all different types of diseases, as many of them are survivors of rape and other acts of sexual violence. Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the voices of women refugees regarding reproductive health services in public health institutions in Durban KwaZulu-Natal Methods: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews with eight women refugees living in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Thematic content analysis guided the study. Results: Two main themes emerged from the data: negative experiences/challenges, and positive experiences. The negative exper...
INTRODUCTION: Mental health conditions have been reported to be common in people living with HIV (PLWH). Research has shown that the chances of PLWH experiencing mental health disorders is very high. It is claimed that there exists a link... more
INTRODUCTION: Mental health conditions have been reported to be common in people living with HIV (PLWH). Research has shown that the chances of PLWH experiencing mental health disorders is very high. It is claimed that there exists a link between mental health and HIV, given the neurotoxic effects of treatment on the HIV patients’ central nervous systems. The justification for the incorporation of mental health services into other medical services at the primary health care level is founded on epidemiologic data, which shows that psychiatric conditions are prevalent in primary health care. METHODS: The study adopted a mixed method approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The target population included nurses, doctors, psychologists and experts on mental health and HIV attending to patients on a daily basis, at primary health care centres and in mental Health care institutions and HIV service centres. Questionnaires were administered to 200 participants. Focus group ...
Background: Reproductive health services are essential for everyone worldwide. In South Africa, the available literature does not address reproductive health as a full package for women refugees and their experiences. This study addressed... more
Background: Reproductive health services are essential for everyone worldwide. In South Africa, the available literature does not address reproductive health as a full package for women refugees and their experiences. This study addressed women refugees in relation to reproductive healthcare services they receive from public healthcare facilities.Aim: The aim of the study was to document the day-to-day experiences of women refugees and uncover their challenges regarding utilisation of reproductive health services in public institutions of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.Setting: The study was conducted in eThekwini district, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, and did not consider participants who are located beyond the above-mentioned city’s borders.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive design was used. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data through face-to-face in-depth interviews with eight women refugees. Thematic content analysis guided the study.Results: Two major themes emerged: n...
