Faculty of Health Sciences
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Item Assessment of vicarious post-traumatic stress in nurses caring for victims of sexual abuse in Thuthuzela Care Centres in KwaZulu-Natal(2024) Hlomuka, Nonhlanhla; Orton, Penelope MargaretThe aim of this study was to determine whether nurses working in Thuthuzela Care Centres experience vicarious post-traumatic stress. Thuthuzela is a Xhosa word which means comfort. The word comfort awakens feelings of warmth, freedom from emotional and physical concerns, safety, security, being pampered and above all reinforcing dignity, hope and positive expectations for the victims Thuthuzela Care Centres are one stop facilities that have been introduced as a critical part of South Africa’s anti –rape strategy. There have been a number of studies exploring vicarious post-traumatic stress for health care workers other than nurses caring for victims’ sexual abuse but little is known about the risk for nurses. A non-experimental descriptive survey design was used to assess vicarious post-traumatic stress of nurses caring for victims of sexual abuse who report to the Thuthuzela Care Centres in KwaZulu Natal. 6.Data was collected in this quantitative study through the administration of a questionnaire. The professional quality of life (ProQol) questionnaire was used to answer the research questions. In this study a convenience method of sampling was used. A convenience sampling is referred to as availability sampling and it involves the choice of readily available respondents for the study. The sample included all nurses working in Thuthuzela Care Centres irrespective of their category following repeated exposure and listening to different scenarios while executing their duty of caring for victims of sexual abuse in KwaZulu Natal. 10. The sample size was 31 nurses working in Thuthuzela Care Centres. The data collection instrument of this study measured all the aspects included in vicarious post-traumatic stress, secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction and burnout. All of these being in line with the objectives of the study. Factor analysis with Promax rotation was applied to the 30 items measuring the three constructs (compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary traumatic stress) in order to elicit the latent structure that applies to the current study. The KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) measure of sampling adequacy yielded a relatively low value of .521 which was likely due to the limited sample size. It is, however, considered by some to be adequate and indicates adequacy of the data. Bartlett’s test of sphericity was significant thus indicating that the variables are related and therefore suitable for factor analysis. Rotation converged in 5 iterations. The reliability of compassion satisfaction and secondary traumatic stress are shown to be adequate. Cronbach’s alpha of .567 for burnout indicates that results need to be interpreted with a little caution Data was analysed using SPSS version 17. The data derived from this study revealed that a little over half of respondents 54.8% (n=17) working in Thuthuzela Care Centres are very often happy about nursing victims of sexual abuse. Less than a half 38.7% (n = 12), of respondents indicated that they are not productive at work because they are losing sleep related to traumatic experiences of the people they nurse. Less than a half of the respondents 45.2% (n=14) reported that they sometimes, have intrusive, and/or frightening thoughts related to caring for victims of sexual abuse. (p<.005). In this study the respondents were protected from any harm by a full explanation about the aim of the study, their rights to voluntarily participate and their freedom to withdraw from the study at any time during the study. This study attended the ethical principle related to right to fair treatment because ethical approval was sought from and granted by DUT Institutional Research Ethics Committee to the researcher before the research was commenced. In this study, the participants were not required to give their personal details to the researchers. The researcher used numbers to identify questionnaire distributed to the respondents. Recommendations Recommendations arising from this study are 22. (a) a mandatory programme of psychological intervention for the nurses is necessary. 23. (b) a psychologist should be readily available at the Thuthuzela Care Centres for counselling sessions, and 24. (c) all health districts should have Thuthuzela Care Centres. 25.Wellbeing of the nurses allocated to work in Thuthuzela Care Centres should be considered. Conclusion 26.Findings from this data can be used to strengthen awareness programs and emphasize self-care techniques to minimize vicarious trauma in nurses caring for victims of sexual abuse in Thuthuzela Care Centres. 27.Consistent training and ongoing discussions about signs of vicarious trauma are important for nurses and other health professionals caring for victims of sexual abuseItem Experiences of non-critical care trained professional nurses deployed to work in the intensive care units during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic(2023-05) Sivnarain, Rena; Naidoo, V.; Zikalala, Nomusa PeniccaBackground South Africa has been greatly affected by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic causing a crippling effect on the country’s healthcare system as it was not adequately prepared in terms of staffing, equipment and disaster planning. Due to the nature of the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent mitigation plans, nonspecialist nurses were deployed to the intensive care units (ICUs) to assist with patient care, control sophisticated therapeutic assist devices and assume multiple roles that were beyond their scope of practice. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to describe the experiences of non-critical care trained nurses, deployed to work in the ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic, at a private hospital in the KwaZulu-Natal region. Methodology A qualitative, descriptive design guided the study. Fifteen non-critical care trained nurses were purposively sampled and interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis framework. Findings The experiences of non-critical care trained nurses deployed to work in the ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic yielded four main themes, namely, deployed nurses working in an unfamiliar environment; nurses lack of ICU experience, skills and knowledge; the lack of supervision, mentorship and leadership for the deployed nurses and the psychosocial impact of the deployment of nurses to the ICUs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion Nurses deployed to work during the COVID-19 pandemic endured overwhelming responsibilities while they provided care to the critically ill and infected patients in the ICU. These roles were executed without proper intensive care training, qualification, skills and leadership. Thus, there is a dire need for disaster management training for all staff, especially nurses in the healthcare setting. Supervision, peer-mentorship and support systems such as counselling should be readily available during disaster management.Item Factors contributing to poor performance of student nurses in anatomy and physiology(South African Medical Association NPC, 2020) Mhlongo, X. L.; Masango, T. E.Student nurses in South Africa view anatomy and physiology (A&P) as the most complex subject in the nursing curriculum. Objective. To describe the factors contributing toward inconsistent and fluctuating performance among student nurses doing A&P as a subject. Methods. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive design. Census sampling was used to draw a sample size of 114 respondents. A structured self-administered questionnaire with close-ended questions was used to collect data from the six nursing campuses under study. Raw data were captured using Excel spreadsheets, and descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Results. The key findings were: (i) poor teaching strategies contributed to subject failure; (ii) lack of after-class sessions had an impact on failure; (iii) a shorter study period for examinations contributed to failure; and (iv) a language barrier also played an important role in students’ failure in A&P. Conclusion. Student nurses struggle with and find A&P in nursing programmes challenging and anxiety-provoking. Nurse educators need to come up with innovative teaching strategies that will ensure an integrative approach to link theory to practice and to link sciences throughout curricula. Support programmes are needed to help students enhance performance in A&P. The examination schedules should be adjusted so that student nurses have enough time to study, and nurse educators should engage students in active learningItem The relationship between occupational coping self- efficacy of nurses and patient satisfaction scores in a private hospital in KwaZulu-Natal(2022-05-09) Ghirdhari, Sewak; Orton, Penelope Margaret; Naidoo, Vasanthrie; Orton, Penelope; Naidoo, VaBrief background of the Study The nursing profession is faced with high levels of work stress such as staff shortages, poor working conditions, lack of resources, job dissatisfaction and burnout, which tends to compromise quality of care rendered to patients. The research was to establish whether nurses’ occupational coping self- efficacy had any association with patient satisfaction scores. Aim of the study The aim of this research was to describe any relationship between occupational coping self- efficacy of nurses and patient satisfaction scores in a selection of wards in a private hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. Methodology A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive survey design was used to conduct the study. Data was collected using questionnaires. The quantitative data was analysed statistically. The statistics used included descriptive statistics such as frequencies, measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion. Factor analysis was used to explore the structure of the data and in order to test for significant trends in the data, inferential statistics were applied. Results The results revealed that although the recording was done objectively, the outcome was not positively achieved due to the unforeseen covid-19 pandemic. Results were skewed due to all wards unable to participate in research. The nurses completed their tool but unable to meet the expected patient ratio. Sample realization of 100% was achieved.Item Exploring the working environment of enrolled nursing auxiliaries in private hospitals in the eThekwini District(2020-10) Ramiah, Vanitha; Ngxongo, Thembelihle Sylvia Patience; Naidoo, V.Background: The nursing professionals are recognised worldwide as being critical to the delivery of high quality, efficient nursing management and patient care in the healthcare services. However, shortage of skilled nurses in most countries, including South Africa, has led to an overburdened healthcare system with certain nursing categories doing much more than they are trained to do. The enrolled nursing auxiliaries (ENAs) are junior members of the nursing team who, on completion of a one-year basic nursing certificate programme, work either in public or private healthcare sectors. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to explore the working environment of ENAs, in private hospitals in the eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methodology: An exploratory descriptive design was used. Data was collected by in-depth one-on-one interviews with ENAs, Registered Nurses (RNs) and Unit Managers (UMs) working in the medical and surgical units of the selected healthcare institutions and were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Findings: Three major themes that emerged from the data analysis were a) working experiences of the ENA, b) challenges experienced by the ENA, c) supervision of the ENA. This study found that due to the shortage of skilled nurses in the country, brain drain and cost containment in the private health sector, the dynamic healthcare environment resulted in ENAs endangering their professional status by functioning out of their scope of practice and performing a role for which they were never intended or academically prepared. The ENAs under study were dissatisfied by a lack of clear career development pathways from the private healthcare group to assist them with transitioning to the next level of qualification. They also felt that they were not recognised or rewarded for their contributions to nursing. Conclusion The private healthcare group under study should, as a priority, communicate to ENAs the plans for career development and funding which will allow ENAs to undertake training to the next level of qualification. The nursing agency utilisation should decrease from 40% to the benchmark of 25% to ensure sufficient numbers of skilled staff are working in the general nursing units. The emphasis by nursing leadership must be on teamwork to build a motivated workforce.Item A comprehensive healthcare managerial framework that explicates the manner in which workload factors influence the nurses’ well-being : a case study of a Saudi Arabian hospital(2021-05-27) Chetty, Krishnavellie; Sibiya, M. N.; Naidoo, V.The shortage of specialized intensive care unit (ICU) nurses is a workload factor that negatively influences the provision of quality nursing care by compromising workplace productivity and job satisfaction. Work pressures are evident in health systems throughout the world, where there is growing concern over a nursing shortage in relation to the country's disease profile, population increases, chronic disease growth and increased life expectancies. Although workload plays a fundamental role in staff and patient well-being, minimal research has been conducted on the evaluation of workload effects and its impact on nurses' wellbeing among Saudi Arabian ICU nurses. Aim The aim of the study were to determine the various workload factors that influence the well-being of ICU nurses working in a Saudi Arabian Hospital and to develop a comprehensive healthcare managerial framework that explicates the way workload factors influence nurses’ well-being. Methodology Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, data were collected by means of semi structured interviews, with 20 participants in the qualitative phase. A survey questionnaire, that was developed and adapted from the Job Demand Resource (JDR) Model, was used to collect to data from 200 participants. The quantitative data were analysed using the latest version 25 of SPSS and qualitative data were analysed using Tesch’s method of data analysis. Findings The findings from the study were aligned to the JDR Model and provided evidence that ICU nurses experienced various workload factors that influenced their well-being and productivity. It was found that the high job demands cause strain and health impairment, which are associated with decreased job satisfaction of staff working in the ICUs of Saudi Arabian hospitals. On the basis of these findings, the researcher proposed and developed guidelines for the implementation of a comprehensive managerial framework that explicated workload factors that influence the well-being of the ICU nurses. The proposed framework can be utilized as an interactive tool that will set out clear actionable steps, providing ongoing guidelines on how healthcare organisations should plan and implement suitable workloads, efficiently and effectively, to ensure staff health and well-being.