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Ubuntu was recently adopted as the first theme for the 2020–2030 global agenda for social work, and yet little research is available to explore how it is transmitted and implemented in communities. The authors present findings of a qualitative study conducted in an academic setting in South Africa, where the transmission of Ubuntu was discussed among 30 young adult 'born frees'. Students seemed to embrace principles of Ubuntu as a whole; however, economic, social and cultural strains are documented as obstacles to its pragmatic application. Implications of community engagement through service learning as a means of strengthening Ubuntu are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does historic school engagement buffer the threats of disrupted schooling – such as those associated with the widespread COVID-19-related school closures – to school engagement equally for female and male high school students? This article responds to that pressing question. To do so, it reports a study that was conducted in 2018 and 2020 with the same sample of South African students (n = 172; 66.30% female; average age in 2020: 18.13). A moderated moderation model of the 2018 and 2020 data showed that historic levels of school engagement buffered the negative effects of disrupted schooling on subsequent school engagement (R ² =.43, β = −5.09, p <.05). This protective effect was significant for girl students at moderate and high levels of historic school engagement, but not at lower levels of historic school engagement. Disrupted schooling did not significantly affect school engagement for male students at any level of historic school engagement. In addition, student perceptions of teacher kindness were associated with higher school engagement and having experienced an adverse event at school with lower school engagement. The results point to the importance of facilitating school engagement and enabling school environments – also when schooling is disrupted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression is a leading cause of disease burden worldwide but is often undertreated in low- and middle-income countries. Reasons behind the treatment gap vary, but many highlight a lack of interventions which speak to the socio-economic and structural realties that are associated to mental health problems in many settings, including South Africa. The COURRAGE-PLUS intervention responds to this gap, by combining a collective narrative therapy (9 weeks) intervention, with a social intervention promoting group-led practical action against structural determinants of poor mental health (4 weeks), for a total of 13 sessions. The overall aim is to promote mental health, while empowering communities to acknowledge, and respond in locally meaningful ways to social adversity linked to development of mental distress. Aim: To pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of a complex intervention – COURRAGE-PLUS on symptoms of depression as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) among a sample of women facing contexts of adversity in Gauteng, South Africa. Methods: PHQ-9 scores were assessed at baseline, post collective narrative therapy (midline), and post social intervention (endline). Median scores and corresponding interquartile ranges were computed for all time points. Differences in scores between time points were tested with a non-parametric Friedman test. The impact across symptom severities was compared descriptively to identify potential differences in impact across categories of symptom severity within our sample. Results: Participants' (n = 47) median depression score at baseline was 11 (IQR = 7) and reduced to 4 at midline (IQR = 7) to 0 at endline (IQR = 2.5). The Friedman test showed a statistically significant difference between depression scores across time points, χ 2 (2) = 49.29, p <.001. Median depression scores were reduced to 0 or 1 Post-Intervention across all four severity groups. Conclusions: COURRAGE-PLUS was highly effective at reducing symptoms of depression across the spectrum of severities in this sample of women facing adversity, in Gauteng, South Africa. Findings supports the need for larger trials to investigate collective narrative storytelling and social interventions as community-based interventions for populations experiencing adversity and mental distress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little research tackles healthcare providers' experiences in conducting pre-abortion counselling sessions in circumstances where pregnant persons may request an abortion. We report on a study conducted in South Africa, in which two nurses and two counsellors were asked about how they conduct these counselling sessions. Using a synthetic narrative approach, we present these health workers' micro-narratives about their motivations for providing abortion services, the purpose of the counselling, their information-giving practices, and whether and how third parties are included in the counselling. We highlight how these micro-narratives are premised on discursive resources that problematise unintended pregnancy and abortion. These resources enable and justify directive counselling that undermines pregnant peoples' reproductive autonomy. We locate such directiveness within dominant anti-abortion discourse and call for training to reframe normative understandings of abortion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sociocultural context seems to influence the epidemiology, phenotype, treatment, and course of psychosis. However, data from low- and middle-income countries is sparse. This research is part of a multidisciplinary and multimethod study on possible mental disturbances, including hallucinations, among (apprentice) traditional health practitioners (THPs) who have experienced the "ancestral calling to become a THP" in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The aim of the current article is to examine whether the calling-related experiences can be assessed according to a psychiatric taxonomy. We included individuals who were identified with the calling and who were undergoing training to become a THP (ukuthwasa). IsiZulu-speaking formal mental health practitioners conducted thorough psychiatric interviews that measured psychological experiences with and without distress using the Community Assessment of Psychic Experiences, and psychiatric symptoms and disorders using the Schedule for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry. Of the 48 individuals who participated, 92% had psychotic experiences (PE), causing distress in 75%; and 23% met DSM-5 criteria for an unspecified psychotic disorder (15%) or mood disorder (8%). In conclusion, in rural KwaZulu-Natal, the ancestral calling may resemble phenomena that psychiatry would understand in the context of psychosis, ranging from subclinical PE to clinical psychotic disorder. Ukuthwasa might have a beneficial influence on the course of psychotic symptoms in some individuals, potentially because it reduces stigma and promotes recovery. Further multidisciplinary research is needed to investigate the psychopathology of the apprentice THPs and the underlying processes of ukuthwasa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies on the role of migration within sub-Saharan Africa and its relation to the development of mental illness. We investigated post-resettlement adaptation and mental health challenges of African refugees/migrants in Durban, South Africa. We interviewed 335 African help-seeking refugees/migrants for anxiety, depression (25-item Hopkins Symptom Checklist) and post-traumatic stress symptoms (30-item Harvard Trauma Questionnaire). Socio-demographic and migration history, focusing on post-migration circumstances and experiences of discrimination in the host country, were obtained. Association between migration and post-settlement factors and mental health outcomes were assessed using adjusted logistic regression models. Prevalence of mental distress was high: 49.4% anxiety, 54.6% depression and 24.9% post-traumatic stress symptoms. After adjustment for family separation since migration, recent arrival in South Africa was associated with increased risk for depression (aOR = 4.0, 95% CI:1.3–11.8) and post-traumatic stress (aOR = 5.2, 95% CI:1.7–15.9), while in unadjusted models, older age on arrival was associated with anxiety (aOR = 5.3, 95% CI:1.4–19.8) and depression (aOR = 6.2, 95% CI:1.6–24.3). History of family separation since migration was independently associated with depression and post-traumatic stress in all models. Discriminatory experiences since migration was also an independent risk factor for all three mental health outcomes. Finally, being divorced/widowed was associated with an increased risk for post-traumatic stress, while higher income earners were protected against post-traumatic symptoms, even after adjustment. Refugees/migrants in South Africa show a significant burden of mental distress that is linked to challenges of adjustment in an often hostile context. Services addressing these and other health-related, social-economic needs should be developed as a priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban South Africa is a major destination for refugees across sub-Saharan Africa. Based on interviews with urban refugees, this study identified significant barriers to achieving livelihood security for this population, including community violence, crowding, fear of xenophobia, exploitation from officials and oversaturated markets for small businesses. Nevertheless, refugees identified several aspects of service provision from a non-governmental organization which proved helpful, especially through material assistance in helping establish viable, profit-generating small businesses. Recommendations for service delivery to this population include assessing refugees’ level of environmental vulnerability and providing a package of supports that address a clients’ particular living situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migration, particularly when triggered by economic or political hardship, has significant psychological and socio-economic consequences for the individuals concerned. While an impressive amount of research has been conducted by social workers into migration in North America, Europe and Asia, the same cannot be said for Africa. The continent has high numbers of displaced people and refugees, yet no Africa-linked research on migration has been published by the social work profession. This article addresses this gap in the literature by focusing specifically on Zimbabwean day labourers in South Africa. Survey results reveal that these migrants face intense competition for scarce jobs, and thus economic uncertainty, and are often victimised. It is incumbent upon the social work profession to expose the vulnerable conditions in which day labourers have to operate, and to mobilise a coordinated response from relevant government and non-profit organisations in the interests of greater social justice and harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which looked at experience of recovery from first-episode psychosis in schizophrenia among various patients. Topics mentioned include the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis in data analysis, the role of patient support and having to care for another as contributors to patient recovery, and the increasing view of patients with schizophrenia as active agents in their own treatment.

The reading skills of many deaf children lag several years behind those of hearing children, and there is a need for identifying reading difficulties and implementing effective reading support strategies in this population. This study embraces a balanced reading approach, and investigates the efficacy of applying multi-sensory coding strategies and reading scaffolding to facilitate elementary phase deaf readers’ reading development. Sign language – in combination with multiple visual, tactile and kinaesthetic coding strategies and reading scaffolding techniques – was used to facilitate literacy and vocabulary development. Participants were 64 children, diagnosed with severe to profound bilateral hearing loss and aged from 6;03 to 11;08 years (mean age 9.37 years). Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. There were no significant differences between the groups pre-intervention on measures of sight word fluency, word recognition, receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Results demonstrated a significant increase in reading and vocabulary skills of deaf readers who received the balanced reading approach intervention, as compared to the control group who received usual classroom instruction. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and pedagogical implications these findings have for deaf children’s reading and literacy development. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Historically, spirituality has shared a tenuous position with social work. Scholarship underpinning its relevance to client well-being and anti-oppressive practice has proliferated, entrenching its niche in education. In South Africa, very little empirical work exists except for a survey with final year social work students. This article presents findings made with a national survey of academics: 66 educators from 16 universities participated indicating positive views on spirituality in education and practice in South Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Camberwell Assessment of Need (CAN) is a widely used instrument to assess the service needs for people with a severe mental illness. No reliability data are available for its use in South Africa.Method: Interrater and test-retest reliability were documented for a sub-sample of 194 patients participating in a needs assessment study among people receiving mental health services. Initially, the CAN was administered by one field worker, while another observed and also made ratings. The participant was then re-interviewed approximately one week after the initial interview.Results: With the exception of ‘psychotic symptoms’ (κ = -0.4) and ‘looking after home’ (κ = 0.008), Cohen’s κ coefficients for interrater reliability ranged from 0.150 to 0.760 for Section 1 of the CAN. Test-retest reliabilities for Section 1 resulted in moderate to substantial agreement, with Cohen’s κ coefficient ranging from 0.25 to 0.81. High correlations were reported for the test-retest reliabilities of the remaining sections of the CAN (r = 0.719–0.845). However, the figures for the interrater reliabilities were lower and more variable (r = −0.082–0.408).Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that with additional interviewer training, the CAN is a relatively reliable instrument for assessing the needs of youths with severe mental illness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]