Faculty of Health Sciences
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/11
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Effect of religious beliefs on substance use among South African high school students(Pubmed, 2015-03) Ghuman, Shanaz; Hoque, Muhammad EhsanuSubstance use is a common problem among South African youth. We conducted this study to determine whether religious beliefs influenced substance use among South African youth. We conducted a cross sectional study of 704 students from five high schools in South Africa. We used a questionnaire to assess self reported substance use and religious beliefs among the study subjects. We used binary logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between the subjects' religious beliefs and substance use. Thirty-six point six percent of students reported being very religious. More female students reported being very religious than male students (p = 0.039). Fifty-four percent of students had ever consumed alcohol. Comparing alcohol and drug use between religious and non-religious students, it was found that alcohol and drug use were more common among non-religious students (28.3%, 30.4%) than very religious students (8.4%, 11.5%) (p < 0.05). Those who considered themselves religious had lower odds of substance use. Religious beliefs had an influence on substance use among South African youth in our study.Item Cervical cancer screening among University students in South Africa : a theory based study(PLOS, 2014-11) Hoque, Muhammad Ehsanu; Ghuman, Shanaz; Coopoosmay, Roger; Hal, Guido VanIntroduction: Cervical cancer is a serious public health problem in South Africa. Even though the screening is free in health facilities in South Africa, the Pap smear uptake is very low. The objective of the study is to investigate the knowledge and beliefs of female university students in South Africa. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among university women in South Africa to elicit information about knowledge and beliefs, and screening history. Results: A total of 440 students completed the questionnaire. The average age of the participants was 20.39 years (SD = 1.71 years). Regarding cervical cancer, 55.2% (n = 243) had ever heard about it. Results indicated that only 15% (22/147) of the students who had ever had sex and had heard about cervical cancer had taken a Pap test. Pearson correlation analysis showed that cervical cancer knowledge had a significantly negative relationship with barriers to cervical cancer screening. Susceptibility and seriousness score were significantly moderately correlated with benefit and motivation score as well as barrier score. Self-efficacy score also had a moderate correlation with benefit and motivation score. Students who had had a Pap test showed a significantly lower score in barriers to being screened compared to students who had not had a Pap test. Conclusion: This study showed that educated women in South Africa lack complete information on cervical cancer. Students who had had a Pap test had significantly lower barriers to cervical cancer screening than those students who had not had a Pap test.