Researchers in Community & Health Sciences

Permanent URI for this community

https://hdl.handle.net/10566/1656

Browse

Browsing by Subject "Adolescents"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Experiences of adolescents who lost a parent to aids in the Western Cape, South Africa: a qualitative study
    (University of the Western Cape, 2015) Somsetsu,; Erasmus, Charlene; Lukelelo, Nomvuyo; Roman, Nicolette V.
    BACKGROUND: AIDS related deaths of parents have resulted in large numbers of children being orphaned. Adolescence, a particularly vulnerable period in a child's developmental life is characterised by uncertainties, role confusion and identity crises. This stage becomes even more complex when adolescents lose their parents through AIDS. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of adolescents who have lost their parents through AIDS. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 8 adolescents between 14-17 years old who had lost a parent to AIDS. A thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed. RESULTS: Some of these adolescents had to grow up quickly, so as to engage in parental roles before they were of appropriate age. The participants had to endure multiple stresses. The maternal grandparents were seen as the most suitable support compared to the paternal grandparents. CONCLUSIONS: When placing these children into foster care it is important to consider close relatives or members of the community that these children are familiar with. Trauma counselling should be afforded to adolescents who lost their parents due to AIDS. Interventions are urgently needed that are suitable to the local context and that address bereavement as well as other issues that affect the day-to-day lives of these adolescents. Additional studies are needed to identify factors that promote resilience among these adolescents and the role of paternal family in caring for adolescent orphans.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Healthcare workers’ beliefs, motivations and behaviours affecting adequate provision of sexual and reproductive healthcare services to adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa: a qualitative study
    (BioMed Central, 2018) Jonas, Kim; Crutzen, Rik; Krumeich, Anja; Roman, Nicolette V.; van den Borne, Bart; Reddy, Priscilla
    BACKGROUND: Adolescents’ sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) needs have been prioritized globally, and they have the rights to access and utilize SRH services for their needs. However, adolescents under-utilize SRH services, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Many factors play a role in the under-utilization of SRH services by adolescents, such as the attitude and behaviour of healthcare workers. The aim of this study therefore, was to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of healthcare workers’ beliefs, motivations and behaviours affecting adequate provision of these services to adolescents in South Africa. METHODS: Twenty-four healthcare workers in public SRH services in Cape Town, South Africa participated in this qualitative study through focus group discussions. To fulfill the aims of this study, nine focus group discussions were conducted among the SRH nurses. RESULTS: SRH nurses indicated that they are experiencing challenges with the concept and practice of termination of pregnancy. They explained that this practice contradicted their opposing beliefs and values. Some nurses felt that they had insufficient SRH skills, which hinder their provision of adequate SRH services to adolescents, while others described constraints within the health system such as not enough time to provide the necessary care. They also explained having limited access to schools where they can provide SRH education and pregnancy prevention services in the surrounding area. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses are faced with numerous challenges when providing SRH services to adolescents. Providing the nurses with training programmes that emphasize value clarification may help them to separate their personal beliefs and norms from the workplace practice. This may help them to focus on the needs of the adolescent in a way that is beneficial to them. At the health systems level, issues such as clinic operating hours need to be structured such that the time pressure and constraints upon the nurse is relieved.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Political socialization of the youth: an examination of the family as an agency for youth citizenship in South Africa
    (NOVA Science, 2015) Roman, Nicolette V.; Esau, M.V.
    This study examined the role of the family in the political socialization of the youth. Two hundred and seventy-five (275) youth completed the self-administered questionnaire that was adapted from the Afrobarometer Round 4. The results show that significant positive relationships between parent-adolescent communication and family active citizenship, youth active citizenship and political attitudes of the youth exist. Family active citizenship was also significantly positively related to active citizenship. Two separate hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Model 1 predicted active citizenship of youth with the final model accounting for 11% of the variance for youth active citizenship. In Model 2, using political attitudes as the predictor, the final model accounted for 26% of the variance of political attitudes of youth.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The prevalence of intimate partner violence in the family: a systematic review of the implications for adolescents in Africa
    (Oxford University Press., 2013) Roman, Nicolette V.; Frantz, Jose M.
    Background. Intimate partner violence (IPV) and its multiple effects are well documented in Western research, but these are not adequately described in Africa. The effects of IPV on adolescent health and well-being are not conclusive. Objective. The aim of this review was to systematically appraise prevalence studies conducted on the African continent to establish the prevalence of IPV and the implications of exposure on adolescents in Africa. Methods. A comprehensive search was conducted in May 2012 for the previous 10 years, using databases such as Ebscohost (Medline, CINAHL, PsyArticles), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Project Muse and BioMed Central and also specific journals Lancet, and JSTOR. Two reviewers independently evaluated the methodological quality of the studies reviewed. Results. Seven eligible epidemiological studies were included in this review. Five of the studies were conducted in South Africa, one in Liberia, and another was a multi-country study that included Egypt, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia. The prevalence of IPV in African countries ranged from approximately 26.5% to 48%. All studies reported exposure to family violence during childhood. Conclusion. The findings support the global burden of IPV. There is also a need for standardized tools to determine IPV in Africa and a clear definition that can be used in research to allow comparison with future IPV studies. In addition, the studies point to a need for interventions focusing on adolescents exposed to family violence.