The experiences of persons with AIDS within the St. Francis Care Centre
- Authors: Mostert, Willem Thomas
- Date: 2012-08-20
- Subjects: Terminal care facilities - South Africa , Hospices (Terminal care) - South Africa , St. Francis Care Centre , AIDS (Disease) - Patients - Services for - South Africa
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:2735 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6176
- Description: M.A. , The rapid spread of HIV in South Africa has necessitated the creation of hospice-like care centres for those who have already developed full blown AIDS in the most severely affected areas. These centres face unique difficulties and problems that need to be addressed in a sensitive and understanding manner. Little is known or has been recorded about the interactions within and problems facing these centres. The St. Francis Care Centre is one such a hospice where mostly AIDS patients come to find relief from pain and sometimes, eternal rest. It is situated on the East Rand and serves members of all communities, white and black, rich and poor, male and female, old and young. The centre can take up to forty patients — twenty adults and twenty babies. Twenty-four permanent paid staff members and a number of volunteers run the centre. Together they cater for all the physical and emotional needs of the patients. As this is an emerging phenomenon and a subject rarely touched by sociological investigation, I decided to conduct an inductive study with the care centre experience as the primary focus, in order to gain a clear understanding of the care giving process in such a centre. To study this care centre and its occupants, it would be most appropriate to employ qualitative techniques. The two most important techniques used were qualitative interviewing and participant observation. The duration of the study was nine months. During February 1998, I started to work at the care centre in order to establish a relationship with the personnel and the patients. From March to July I conducted all the qualitative interviews while working at the centre as a volunteer counsellor. This gave me the opportunity to interact closely with the patients and the centre staff. The remaining three months were dedicated to the interpretation and analysis of the data I collected. From the information gathered regarding the experiences and social relationships of the patients and the personnel during the six months that I worked closely with the centre, I have come to the following conclusions: The social relationships in the care centre: Most patients have very close bonds with their mothers, who generally assume the most active role in the care-giving process. The sisters of these patients would generally be the person who gives the most assistance to the patient and the mother of the patient. )=. The fathers of some patient assisted with the emotional support of the patient, but would play a small role in the physical care of the patient. )%. Brothers played insignificant roles in all cases at the centre. Patients often have quarrels with the nursing staff. â Patients tend to forge friendships with other patients and volunteers rather than with the nursing staff. Important problems that face the care centre are as follows: Even though patients were very happy with the care they received at the centre, some of them were bothered by the restrictive measures taken by the centre to ensure their safety. The most important problem facing the patients is boredom. Steps need to be taken to occupy the patients during the day. Problems were experienced regarding the interactions between patients and personnel. Due to revisions in the training programme for nurses in South Africa, most nurses are ill equipped to deal with the emotional requirements of palliative care, and this factor causes some stress between patients and nursing staff. This may be rectified through the appointment of a qualified social worker that can train both nurses and patients to sustain better relationships. A problem affecting the volunteer group is the tendency of certain patients to manipulate volunteers. This lead to cases of 'burnout' among the volunteer group. Once again, the appointment of a qualified social worker may offer a workable solution, by training volunteers to recognise the signs of manipulation. The parents of some patients also expressed the feeling that they are being excluded from the care giving process. The recommendations made in this report were done to benefit the centre, which could in turn use the results of this study to develop a strategy of care that may benefit the patients and the community it serves.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Mostert, Willem Thomas
- Date: 2012-08-20
- Subjects: Terminal care facilities - South Africa , Hospices (Terminal care) - South Africa , St. Francis Care Centre , AIDS (Disease) - Patients - Services for - South Africa
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:2735 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6176
- Description: M.A. , The rapid spread of HIV in South Africa has necessitated the creation of hospice-like care centres for those who have already developed full blown AIDS in the most severely affected areas. These centres face unique difficulties and problems that need to be addressed in a sensitive and understanding manner. Little is known or has been recorded about the interactions within and problems facing these centres. The St. Francis Care Centre is one such a hospice where mostly AIDS patients come to find relief from pain and sometimes, eternal rest. It is situated on the East Rand and serves members of all communities, white and black, rich and poor, male and female, old and young. The centre can take up to forty patients — twenty adults and twenty babies. Twenty-four permanent paid staff members and a number of volunteers run the centre. Together they cater for all the physical and emotional needs of the patients. As this is an emerging phenomenon and a subject rarely touched by sociological investigation, I decided to conduct an inductive study with the care centre experience as the primary focus, in order to gain a clear understanding of the care giving process in such a centre. To study this care centre and its occupants, it would be most appropriate to employ qualitative techniques. The two most important techniques used were qualitative interviewing and participant observation. The duration of the study was nine months. During February 1998, I started to work at the care centre in order to establish a relationship with the personnel and the patients. From March to July I conducted all the qualitative interviews while working at the centre as a volunteer counsellor. This gave me the opportunity to interact closely with the patients and the centre staff. The remaining three months were dedicated to the interpretation and analysis of the data I collected. From the information gathered regarding the experiences and social relationships of the patients and the personnel during the six months that I worked closely with the centre, I have come to the following conclusions: The social relationships in the care centre: Most patients have very close bonds with their mothers, who generally assume the most active role in the care-giving process. The sisters of these patients would generally be the person who gives the most assistance to the patient and the mother of the patient. )=. The fathers of some patient assisted with the emotional support of the patient, but would play a small role in the physical care of the patient. )%. Brothers played insignificant roles in all cases at the centre. Patients often have quarrels with the nursing staff. â Patients tend to forge friendships with other patients and volunteers rather than with the nursing staff. Important problems that face the care centre are as follows: Even though patients were very happy with the care they received at the centre, some of them were bothered by the restrictive measures taken by the centre to ensure their safety. The most important problem facing the patients is boredom. Steps need to be taken to occupy the patients during the day. Problems were experienced regarding the interactions between patients and personnel. Due to revisions in the training programme for nurses in South Africa, most nurses are ill equipped to deal with the emotional requirements of palliative care, and this factor causes some stress between patients and nursing staff. This may be rectified through the appointment of a qualified social worker that can train both nurses and patients to sustain better relationships. A problem affecting the volunteer group is the tendency of certain patients to manipulate volunteers. This lead to cases of 'burnout' among the volunteer group. Once again, the appointment of a qualified social worker may offer a workable solution, by training volunteers to recognise the signs of manipulation. The parents of some patients also expressed the feeling that they are being excluded from the care giving process. The recommendations made in this report were done to benefit the centre, which could in turn use the results of this study to develop a strategy of care that may benefit the patients and the community it serves.
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Die invloed van omgewingsveranderlikes op die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die landbousektor
- Authors: Rautenbach, Johannes Jurie
- Date: 2012-09-12
- Subjects: Agriculture - Economic aspects - South Africa , Labor laws and legislation - Influence - South Africa , Unemployment - Social aspects - South Africa , Industrial relations - South Africa , Crime - Influence - South Africa , South Africa - Economic policy
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:10204 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7579
- Description: M.A. , Die gewilde media skep die persepsie dat arbeid in die Iandbousektor ten gunste van meganisasie afgeskaal word. Die navorsingsvraag wat hieruit voortgespruit het, is die volgende: wat is die invloed van omgewingsveranderlikes op die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die Iandbousektor? Meganisasie word nie hier gesien as die veranderlike wat direk aanleiding gee tot die afname van werkgeleenthede in die Iandbousektor nie, maar dat Iaasgenoemde eerder die gevoig van bepaalde omgewingsveranderlikes soos onder andere, onlangse arbeidswetgewing is. Arbeidswetgewing word hier dus gesien as die oorsaak van 'n verlaging in die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die Iandbousektor terwyl meganisasie gesien word as die metode waardeur die Iandbousektor in reaksie op die arbeidswetgewing poog om sy ekonomiese oorlewing te verseker. 'n Newe effek hiervan is noodwendig 'n verlaagde werkskeppingspotensiaal in dielandbousektor. Gedurende die regeringstermyn van die huidige regering, is daar abeids- en ander wetgewing op die Iandbousektor van toepassing gemaak wat die vraag Iaat ontstaan wat die impak van hierdie soort veranderinge in die taakomgewing van die Iandbou-organisasie op die werkskeppingspotensiaal van hierdie sektor gaan wees. 'n Hipotese-stelling is soos voig geformuleer: 'n verandering in die taakomgewing van 'n organisasie, in hierdie geval die Suid-Afrikaanse Landbousektor, gaan noodwendig tot gevoig he dat die organisasie veranderinge sal moet aanbring om te kan oorleef. Hierdie veranderinge word geantisipeer in die rigting van 'n verlaging van die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die betrokke organisasie, in hierdie geval die landbousektor, te wees. Verandering is in die arbeids- en ander wetgewing wat op die landbousektor van toepassing is, aangebring. Daar word ook na ander invloede, soos misdaad, grondhervorming en klimatologiese veranderinge gekyk, om te bepaal of al hierdie faktore gesamentlik aanleiding gee tot die verlaging in die werk-skeppingspotensiaal van die landbousektor.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Rautenbach, Johannes Jurie
- Date: 2012-09-12
- Subjects: Agriculture - Economic aspects - South Africa , Labor laws and legislation - Influence - South Africa , Unemployment - Social aspects - South Africa , Industrial relations - South Africa , Crime - Influence - South Africa , South Africa - Economic policy
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:10204 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/7579
- Description: M.A. , Die gewilde media skep die persepsie dat arbeid in die Iandbousektor ten gunste van meganisasie afgeskaal word. Die navorsingsvraag wat hieruit voortgespruit het, is die volgende: wat is die invloed van omgewingsveranderlikes op die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die Iandbousektor? Meganisasie word nie hier gesien as die veranderlike wat direk aanleiding gee tot die afname van werkgeleenthede in die Iandbousektor nie, maar dat Iaasgenoemde eerder die gevoig van bepaalde omgewingsveranderlikes soos onder andere, onlangse arbeidswetgewing is. Arbeidswetgewing word hier dus gesien as die oorsaak van 'n verlaging in die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die Iandbousektor terwyl meganisasie gesien word as die metode waardeur die Iandbousektor in reaksie op die arbeidswetgewing poog om sy ekonomiese oorlewing te verseker. 'n Newe effek hiervan is noodwendig 'n verlaagde werkskeppingspotensiaal in dielandbousektor. Gedurende die regeringstermyn van die huidige regering, is daar abeids- en ander wetgewing op die Iandbousektor van toepassing gemaak wat die vraag Iaat ontstaan wat die impak van hierdie soort veranderinge in die taakomgewing van die Iandbou-organisasie op die werkskeppingspotensiaal van hierdie sektor gaan wees. 'n Hipotese-stelling is soos voig geformuleer: 'n verandering in die taakomgewing van 'n organisasie, in hierdie geval die Suid-Afrikaanse Landbousektor, gaan noodwendig tot gevoig he dat die organisasie veranderinge sal moet aanbring om te kan oorleef. Hierdie veranderinge word geantisipeer in die rigting van 'n verlaging van die werkskeppingspotensiaal van die betrokke organisasie, in hierdie geval die landbousektor, te wees. Verandering is in die arbeids- en ander wetgewing wat op die landbousektor van toepassing is, aangebring. Daar word ook na ander invloede, soos misdaad, grondhervorming en klimatologiese veranderinge gekyk, om te bepaal of al hierdie faktore gesamentlik aanleiding gee tot die verlaging in die werk-skeppingspotensiaal van die landbousektor.
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The impact of police suicide on family and colleagues in selected Johannesburg Police Departments
- Authors: Cooper, Alexan
- Date: 2012-08-17
- Subjects: Suicide victims -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- Psychology , Police -- Suicidal behavior -- South Africa -- Johannesburg
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:2665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6109
- Description: M.A. , From the literature on suicide, clearly the incidence of suicide is highest amongst police officials compared to other occupational groups. Individuals with the high-risk careers - such as police officials in South Africa - are seen to be more prone to commit suicide more often than those whose careers do not involve danger, violence and death on a daily basis. However, apart from this, other important issues must be understood about the police culture when discussing police suicide. Currently, the SAPS have made the investigation of police suicide a high priority project for 1998. This piece of research could contribute to the National Suicide Prevention Strategy by looking at another focus of police suicide namely the impact on family and colleagues when members of the SAPS commit suicide. The main belief before this research was carried out was that the family would suffer a loss while colleagues will just have low work morale. However, is this the full reality of the situation or are there other factors such as family disintegration, identity confusion and so on, which needed investigation? However, once the research was completed it was realized that there are other factors, which included emotional impact, social impact, economic impact and cultural impact. This study has also been an effort to contribute to further research that is being developed by the police. It may lead to prevention strategies; programs and so on being developed to help both the family and the colleagues. This research was carried out by the use of in-depth interviews with family members and colleagues of SAPS officials that worked for police stations in the Johannesburg area namely the Langlaagte and Johannesburg Central police departments and who had committed suicide between 1996 and 1998. This research focused on the emotional, social, economic and cultural impact. It was found that the families are affected by the emotional, social, economic and cultural impact in some way while the colleagues are only affected in the emotional and social aspects.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Cooper, Alexan
- Date: 2012-08-17
- Subjects: Suicide victims -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- Psychology , Police -- Suicidal behavior -- South Africa -- Johannesburg
- Type: Mini-Dissertation
- Identifier: uj:2665 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6109
- Description: M.A. , From the literature on suicide, clearly the incidence of suicide is highest amongst police officials compared to other occupational groups. Individuals with the high-risk careers - such as police officials in South Africa - are seen to be more prone to commit suicide more often than those whose careers do not involve danger, violence and death on a daily basis. However, apart from this, other important issues must be understood about the police culture when discussing police suicide. Currently, the SAPS have made the investigation of police suicide a high priority project for 1998. This piece of research could contribute to the National Suicide Prevention Strategy by looking at another focus of police suicide namely the impact on family and colleagues when members of the SAPS commit suicide. The main belief before this research was carried out was that the family would suffer a loss while colleagues will just have low work morale. However, is this the full reality of the situation or are there other factors such as family disintegration, identity confusion and so on, which needed investigation? However, once the research was completed it was realized that there are other factors, which included emotional impact, social impact, economic impact and cultural impact. This study has also been an effort to contribute to further research that is being developed by the police. It may lead to prevention strategies; programs and so on being developed to help both the family and the colleagues. This research was carried out by the use of in-depth interviews with family members and colleagues of SAPS officials that worked for police stations in the Johannesburg area namely the Langlaagte and Johannesburg Central police departments and who had committed suicide between 1996 and 1998. This research focused on the emotional, social, economic and cultural impact. It was found that the families are affected by the emotional, social, economic and cultural impact in some way while the colleagues are only affected in the emotional and social aspects.
- Full Text:
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