Magister Scientiae - MSc (Occupational Therapy)

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Browsing by Subject "Adolescents"

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    Meeting the occupational needs of recovering drug addicted adolescents
    (University of the Western Cape, 2014) Parker, Insauf; Soeker, Shaheed
    The growing phenomenon of drug abuse has alerted the attention of health professionals, addiction counsellors, school educators, the media and community members. Susceptible sub groups of the population such as adolescents have been seriously affected as addiction destroys their identities, health, daily performance, family structure and ultimately results in social disintegration. Consequently, rehabilitation facilities have been established and addicts are entering the treatment system via referrals from school principals, the judiciary court or desperate parents and family members. Despite this, after having spent a reasonable amount of time and money in rehabilitation centres, relapse rates are significantly high and addicts are returning to treatment. The question was then raised as to whether recurrent relapses were as a result of their occupational needs not being met in treatment. To understand whether the occupational needs of these recovering adolescents are met, a true client-centred approach was employed. A descriptive approach was used within a qualitative research paradigm. The participants that were selected from four drug rehabilitation facilities in the Cape Town Metropolis, included 8 recovering drug addicted adolescents, 2 rehabilitation workers employed at two different facilities, and a sum of 26 parents of recovering addicts. Purposeful sampling was used for the adolescents and rehabilitation workers while convenient sampling was used for the parents. To access the perspectives and perceptions of the participants the researcher used individual semi-structured interviews for the recovering adolescents and drug rehabilitation workers, and focus groups for the parents. The data was analysed thematically using Lincoln & Guba’s (1985) method of qualitative data analysis. All data was managed manually. The objectives of the study explored perceptions of drug addicted adolescents with regard to relapse, to describe the barriers with regard to drug rehabilitation and their occupational needs, to reveal facilitators with reference to the recovery process, and to present suitable strategies which may improve drug treatment practice. Three themes were constructed based on the findings of the study. The themes were: 1) easy to get in, difficult to get out, 2) breakdown on life caused by drug addiction, and 3) moving forward towards recovery. Since adolescence is known as a transitional period characterised by identity development, adolescents are naturally influenced by their social and physical environment, particularly their peer groups at school and in the community. Consequently, adolescents enter treatment with numerous physical, psychological, social, intrapersonal, and legal needs. The constant pursuit of drugs and its lifestyle leads to dysfunction and imbalance in the individual’s daily performances with relapse remaining a common element in the recovery process. The lack of knowledge from participants pertaining to the concept of relapse was perceived as a barrier to recovery. The physical and social environment such as the general availability and accessibility of drugs in adolescent’s community, the unfavourable influence that peers and family relationships play, organisational challenges such as staff handling principles regarding their developmental stage and ineffective communication within the rehabilitation centre, and personal barriers including manipulative and behavioural difficulties, emerged as contra-indicative to the recovery process. Many of the recovering drug addicted adolescents were unable to cope with the array of needs and triggers, and found themselves relapsing and returning to the rehabilitation facility. Among the many facilitators as perceived by the participants, the actual programme at the rehabilitation centre was significant in promoting progress. If it included education groups, where clients are taught about substance abuse, relapse and how to restructure their lifestyle of recovery, it was deemed as beneficial. Another facilitator highlighted by the participants was the involvement of family by incorporating parent support sessions, and an interesting factor suc Recommendations for the study included that adolescents who abuse substances need to be treated very differently to adults or children, and that maintaining communication or a connection with them via aftercare for example, will enable them to sustain their sobriety outside of the rehabilitation facility. Since addiction affects the individual’s identity, roles, and habits on an occupational performance level it is paramount that treatment should be addressed from an occupation-based perspective in collaboration with existing evidence-based addiction models. Occupational therapists are uniquely equipped to deal with these components. h as including spirituality as a resource was raised as valuable in their recovery process.
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    Young men’s perceptions and experiences of disengagement from gangs and the effect on their occupational performance
    (University of the Western Cape, 2020) Loubser, Cleo; Wegner, Lisa; De Jongh, Jo-Celene
    Street gangs have become a permanent feature of the social landscape in the Western Cape, South Africa. Various strategies have been developed to address the issue of gangsterism. The study focused on one strategy, disengagement. Disengagement is regarded as the process in which active gang members withdraw from their affiliated gangs and re-integrate into society. Much of the research that has been conducted in the area of disengagement has been done internationally, and there is very little research that explores how youth leave gangs within the South African context. Therefore, the current study explored young men’s perceptions and experiences of disengaging from gangs and how occupations facilitate and sustain the disengagement process. In the present study, occupation is defined as activities and tasks of everyday living that give meaning or value to one’s life. Occupation is associated with health and well-being, but occupations can also be unhealthy and dangerous. A qualitative approach, using an explorative research design, was adopted in order to explore the topic within a South African context, namely the townships of Nyanga and Langa, which are located on the Cape Flats. Through the use of purposive and convenience sampling, ten members of two groups, namely, the Peace Team and Project Playground, were invited to participate in the study. The Peace Team was established in 2013 by former gang members in response to the conflict amongst the youth of Nyanga and to encourage gang members to leave gangs. Project Playground is a Non-Governmental Organisation that services the areas of Langa and Gugulethu through a variety of community development projects and after school programmes. An initial focus group was conducted with some of the participants. Thereafter, semi structured interviews were conducted with each of the ten participants (until data saturation was reached). After the individual interviews were completed, a second focus group was conducted with some of the participants to discuss and explore issues that were uncovered during the individual interviews. All focus groups and interviews were voice recorded and transcribed verbatim, and transcriptions were then compared to the recordings to assure accurate reflections thereof. Thematic analysis was used to identify codes, categories and themes. Once transcription was completed coding was commenced. Through the use of codes, the researcher was able to reorganize data in a way that facilitated the interpretation and enabled the researcher to organize data into categories that were analytically useful to the study. Categories were then grouped in sub-themes and finally themes, based on similarities and patterns. Rigor and trustworthiness was ensured through various means including triangulation of data sources (multiple participants), data gathering methods (focus groups and individual interviews), member checking, keeping an audit trail and reflexivity. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Senate Research Committee of the University of the Western Cape, registration number 15/7/86. From the data five themes emerged to form the findings. These themes were: (1) The reason why, (2) The price of gang life… the fine print, (3) Time to get out… I didn’t sign up for this, (4) Getting out and staying out, and (5) The price of my freedom. The study contributed to current knowledge in occupational therapy and occupational science regarding how engagement in meaningful occupations promotes health and well-being. In understanding these occupations and what meaning they hold, it assists occupational therapists in planning, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions to help gang members to disengage from gangs and engage in meaningful and healthy occupations that support their reintegration into the community in pro-social ways.