Faculty of Health Sciences
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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 The relationship between ergonomics of the office workstation and related musculoskeletal disorders in library administrative staff at the Durban University of Technology(2018) Levy, Cherise Danielle; Orton, Penelope MargaretMusculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are the most common health complaints in the working population and the advancement in technology is a big contributor. Many offices and work spaces have been revolutionised with technological advances, most notably through computer usage, which has become an integral part of life. Intensive use of computers has shown to result in MSDs. The aim of this study was to examine the occurrence of MSDs in a library setting at a University of Technology with the objectives of: determining the prevalence of MSDs in the library staff, to describe the workstations of the staff, and to describe any associations between the workstations and MSDs. This was a cross sectional study at two libraries at a University of Technology with a sample of 59 library staff. The study involved a two part process in which an observational assessment of the library staff was conducted by the researcher with each staff member individually, followed by a questionnaire completed by each participant. The observational checklist was used as a means to assess the ergonomic environment of the library staff. The questionnaire included demographic information, pain-related questions, psychosocial questions, and perception-based questions regarding the participants’ work environment. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 24), including descriptive and inferential statistics. Statistics included frequencies, measures of central tendency, and variance and measures of association for example chi-square, Cronbach’s alpha and correlation statistics. The study indicated a prevalence of 96% for some kind of MSD. One out of every two participants had reported that the MSDs or pain interferes with their work. Certain risk factors were evident from the study, namely: inappropriate desk height, reaching for items in the work place, noise, inappropriate chairs and inadequate leg room. The most commonly reported MSDs related to neck (55.9%), shoulders/upper arm (55.9%), head (49.2%), and knees/legs (49.2%). The significant associations that were present included head and neck MSDs with noise and upper arm positioning in worker posture and hand pain. Significant rates of MSDs were reported by the participants with half of them reporting that pain caused interference with their work and only a small portion of participants seeking treatment for these conditions. It would be beneficial for the library staff to become more aware of MSDs and their ergonomic environments both at work and privately and to take corrective action to better equip themselves to mitigate MSDs and seek treatment when needed.