Theses and dissertations (Health Sciences)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/12
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Item The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of the chiropractic students in South Africa(2024) Strydom, Danica; Varatharajullu, Desiree; Van Heerden, KirstenBackground: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an impact on tertiary education, especially the practical courses, such as Chiropractics. Learning platforms were moved online and exposure to practice, such as clinic interactions, was limited. Aim: To determine the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of Chiropractic students in South Africa Methodology: A QuestionPro® survey link was sent to Chiropractic students registered at Durban University of Technology and the University of Johannesburg. A total of 187 students completed the survey and the data were captured for statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet Software. Result: Of the 187 who responded, 60.10% expressed discomfort if individuals did not wear masks and 73.4% reported they experienced conflicts due to prolonged time spent with household members in limited personal space. The pandemic also had personal effects, such as 69% reported having reduced productivity, 42% increased financial difficulties, 50% decreased physical activity, and 80.85% spending more time on social media. They reported these challenges had detrimental effects on mental health, including increased anxiety (92.02%), difficulties in thought control (75.5%), withdrawal from social interactions (80.32%), decreased motivation (90.96%), and concentration issues (89.89%). A portion of the students (43.62%) experienced a decline in academic marks. Conclusion: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic lockdown had a negative effect on the majority of Chiropractic students, especially in terms of their academic progress, mental health, social and personal functioning.Item The relationship between work stress and years of experience amongst male mental health care practitioners within tertiary psychiatric hospitals in the uMgungundlovu Health District(2020-11-30) Smith, Mark Albert; Orton, Penelope; Adams, CarolPsychiatric nursing is a speciality within the nursing profession in which the nurse directs his or her efforts to the early identification of and intervention in emotional problems and work towards the promotion of mental health. In addition, effort is placed on the prevention of mental disturbances, and follow - up care to minimize long - term effects of mental disturbance (Uys and Middleton, 2014:18-20). According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) (2015), 16.5% of South Africans suffer from common mental disorders like depression and anxiety. Even more concerning is the fact that 17% of children and adolescents suffer from mental disorders. Mental illness adversely affects the person’s brain and at times requires long-term treatment. In this study a total of 158 male mental health care nurse practitioners’ were questioned and a quantitative non- experimental cross sectional descriptive survey was conducted to describe male mental health care nurse’s practitioners’ years of experience in psychiatric nursing and the levels of stress of these nurses was identified. The researcher also determined whether there was any relationship between the stress reported and the years of experience amongst male mental health care nursing practitioners in tertiary psychiatric hospitals in Pietermaritzburg.Item Experiences of patients with depression who are receiving psychotherapy in selected public hospitals in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal(2020-11-30) Ndokweni, Ntokozo Pearl; Sibiya, M. N.; Nkosi, P. B.Background Psychotherapy is one of the methods used to treat patients diagnosed with depression. Results of quantitative research on psychotherapy supported the assumption that generally, there is insignificant progress in the outcome of psychotherapy. The question of the influence of psychotherapy orientation on treatment effectiveness has been long-standing and debated. There is a gap of knowledge on the effectiveness of psychotherapy from a patient’s point of view. Aim of the study The study aimed to explore and describe the experiences of patients with depression who are receiving psychotherapy in selected public hospitals in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and to make recommendations to improve patients’ experiences of psychotherapy. Methodology A qualitative research design, with a descriptive phenomenological approach, was employed in the study. The study was conducted at three different public hospitals selected at eThekwini district in KZN. A minimum of 17 participants were selected from these hospitals, using a maximum variation sampling technique. This study utilised one-on-one, semi-structured in-depth interviews, using open-ended questions to collect data from participants. Colaizzi’s method of data analysis was used to identify themes. Findings Five themes emerged from the analysed data, namely an understanding of psychotherapy, benefits of psychotherapy sessions, challenges with consultation, socio-cultural taboos and beliefs and therapeutic outcomes. The findings of this study indicated that South Africa's government hospitals are still faced with the challenge of providing adequate mental health services. Nonetheless, participants also acknowledged the positive outcomes of their experiences of psychotherapy. Participants admitted that after psychotherapy, there were behavioral and attitude changes and that they had a more positive view of life, regardless of the challenges they encountered. Conclusion Although the findings indicated the significant impact of undergoing psychotherapy, there is still a need to address the gap of the imbalanced ratio of psychologists to patients in South Africa. It was recommended that the Department of Health should integrate mental health into primary health care facilities to balance the shortage of psychotherapy services. Additionally, a coordinating body is needed to oversee public education in South Africa on mental health and mental disorders to reduce the stigma of seeking psychotherapy interventions.Item Experiences of family members caring for mentally ill relatives at uMsunduzi Municipality in the province of KwaZulu-Natal(2019-09-05) Mjajubana, Avela; Sibiya, M. N.; Naidoo, V.Background Individuals diagnosed with mental illness differ due to treatment approaches and the difference in diagnoses and symptoms. Mental illness does not only affect relationships, occupation, recreation and finances, but also the overall routine of the individual’s daily life and the lives of their family members. The shortage of skilled and experienced health workers, lack of facilities, limited psychiatric care and inaccessible mental health care services are causes of concern. The uMsunduzi Municipality in Northern KwaZulu-Natal is one such outlying area, with limited access to health services and resources, where family members have to take care of the mentally ill. These underlying problems have warranted the need to explore the experiences of family members living with mentally ill relatives. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to explore and describe family members’ experiences of caring for their mentally ill relatives and to identify their coping strategies. Methodology A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design was used to explore and describe the experiences of family members living with mentally ill patients in the uMsunduzi Municipality and purposive sampling was used to select participants .Data was collected by in-depth face to face one-on-one interviews with 20 family members caring for mentally ill patients and the findings were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Findings Three major themes that emerged from the data analysis were a) caring for a mentally ill relative, b) challenges arising from caring for a mentally ill relative and c) family members’ coping mechanisms with caring for a mentally ill relative). Conclusion This study showed that the research setting, a rural area in the uMsunduzi Municipality, needs resources to assist family members who care for their mentally ill relatives. It further revealed that the family members were inexperienced, lacking the skills, knowledge and capacity to care, treat and rehabilitate their loved ones. Compounded by inadequate mental health facilities and infrastructure, the implications of the non-implementation of the acts, policies, processes and procedure in the mental health discourse are evidently cause for concern in the uMsunduzi Municipality.