Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Family and Society (CFS)

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10566/6150

Vision

The vision of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Family and Society is to provide highly skilled human capital in the field of child, youth, family, community and society development, health and well-being and thus build important bridges of learning with regard to the acquisition and application of knowledge to ultimately benefit individuals and communities everywhere.

Mission

The CISCFS is an interdisciplinary entity which aims to study families (including children and youth) and society (including communities and other environmental and contextual factors which may affect the family). Specifically, the Centre aims to provide a holistic understanding of the interplay between the South African family (and its members) and the diverse contexts and societal structures in which it is located and with which it interacts for the purposes of development, health and well-being as well as decision-making processes affecting each of these domains.

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Browsing by Subject "Access"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Access to early childhood development services: perceptions, experiences and challenges of early childhood practitioners and parents
    (University of the Western Cape, 2021) Vuyokazi, Mpumela; Erasmus, C. J.
    Children’s learning and development takes place in a range of contexts and this includes at Early Childhood Development centers and at home with family. Parent involvement in their children’s education has been viewed as an important variable that positively influence children’s education. Young children need quality childcare to develop their innate potential and prepare for formal education. Quality care provides nurturing relationships, a mentally stimulating environment, basic health and safety. The formal provisioning of Early Childhood Development falls under the mandate of the Department of Social Development for registered early childhood development centers and the Department of Education for Grade R, the preparatory grade for primary education. The study investigated the perceptions, experiences, and challenges of parents and early childhood development practitioners with regards to their access of early childhood services. The theory underpinning this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system, which is based on the principle of interconnectedness within settings and the link between settings that affect individual development. The study utilised a qualitative approach and data were collected from parents and early childhood practitioners within the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. The findings regarding the perceptions of practitioners, principals and parents included perception of Early Childhood Development services, affordability, and contentment with ECD education, proximity of the centers and the role of the practitioners. The experiences of the parents, principals and practitioners highlighted in the study includes involvement of parents, training of practitioners, limited support from stakeholders, and scarce resources. In addition, lack of sufficient infrastructure, lack of adequate learning materials, underqualified practitioners and shortage of funds were noted as the challenges affecting the practitioners and the parents. The study recommended training of practitioners, infrastructure development.
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    Developing a framework for parents and educators in low-income communities to enhance access to resources that educate children presenting with autism spectrum disorder
    (University of the Western Cape, 2019) Mthimunye, Bronwyn Sarah; Pedro, Athena Sheila
    The policy for Inclusive Education in South Africa, the White Paper 6, states that all children can learn with support. Research suggests that there is a lack of access to education and resources for children with ASD living in low socio-economic communities. Education support services are under-resourced and unable to deal with the enormous number of learners with special needs. Globally, there is an appalling lack of dedicated school and learning facilities for children affected by autism. In special needs schools, children with autism are placed in classes with children with other disabilities. This is often as a result of either little understanding of their learning needs or resource constraints such as no schools close by to accommodate autistic learners.
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    Stakeholders’ perspectives on the barriers to accessing health care services in rural settings: A human capabilities approach
    (Bentham Science Publishers, 2021-04-12) Chinyakata, Rachel; Roman, Nicolette V.; Msiza, Fikile B.
    Despite efforts to achieve universal access to health care by various stakeholders globally, most developing countries continue to face serious health delivery challenges, especially in rural areas. Introduction: These inhibit individuals and communities’ ability to obtain health care services when needed and the freedom to use health care. Although issues of access to health care have been widely researched in South Africa, a detailed account on access to health care in particular communities is necessary for developing interventions that are tailored to the specific needs of that community. Understanding the accounts of stakeholders to the perceived barriers to access to health care services can help comprehend the issues that hinder people from accessing health care. Therefore, this study explored the stakeholders’ perspectives on the barriers to accessing health care services in rural settings in South Africa. Methods: A qualitative approach was used to guide the collection and analysis of the data. Data were collected from a sample of stakeholders selected from three rural areas in South Africa and analysed through thematic analysis. According to the stakeholders interviewed, there are some barriers that exist in the community that impede access to health. Reusults: These are limited or lack of health care facilities and personnel, shortages of medicine, distrust in the health care providers, opening hours of health care facilities and financial constraints, which resulted in the perceived poor health status of the people in those rural areas. Conclusion: This study calls for multifaceted health care reforms and strategies to address infrastructure deficiencies, human resources and medicine shortages to ensure equitable provision of high-quality public services. These strategies or measures must be tailored to the specific needs of rural communities. © 2021 Chinyakata et al.
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    Utilization of cervical cancer screening services and its associated factors in Iran: a case–control study
    (BMC, 2023) Dadipoor, Sara; Alav, Azin; Kader, Zeinab; Kakhak, Hadi Eshaghi Sani; Mohseni, Shokrollah; Shahabi, Nahid
    Background Considering the high incidence rate of cervical cancer (CC) in Iran, screening is an efective way of reducing the impact of the disease due to early detection. Thus, the recognition of the factors afecting the use of cervical cancer screening (CCS) services is essential.The present study aimed to determine the associated factors of CCS in women living in the suburbs of Bandar Abbas in the south of Iran. Methods The present case–control study was conducted between January and March 2022 in the suburban areas of Bandar abbas. Two hundred participants were assigned to the case group and 400 participants were assigned to the control group. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to collect the data. This questionnaire contained demographic information, reproductive information, knowledge of CC, knowledge of CCS and access to the screening. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were run to analyze the data. The data were analyzed in STATA 14.2 at a signifcance level of p<0.05. Results The mean and standard deviation of participants’ age in the case group was 30.33±4.892, and in the control group was 31.35±6.149. The mean and standard deviation of knowledge in the case group was 10.21±1.815 and in the control group was 7.24±2.447. The mean and standard deviation of access was 43.72±6.339 in the case and 37.17±4.828 in the control group. The results of multivariate regression analysis showed the following factors increased the odds of CCS: knowledge (OR medium=18.697, OR high=13.413), access (OR medium=4.028, OR high=8.126), being married (OR=3.193), being educated (OR diploma=2.587, OR university degree=1.432), middle and high SES (OR Middle=6.078, OR Upper=6.608), and not smoking (OR=1.144). Also, women’s reproductive status, including history of sexually transmitted diseases (OR=2.612), use of oral contraceptives (OR=1.579), sexual hygiene (OR=8.718). Conclusions In the light of the present fndings, it can be concluded that besides increasing suburban women’s knowledge, their access to screening facilities should be improved. The present fndings showed the need to remove the barriers to CCS in women of low SES to increase the rate of CCS. The present fndings contribute to a better understanding of factors involved in CCS.