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The aim of this article is to inductively explore and describe the sexual health needs of learners in Makapanstad, Hammanskraal, using a phenomenological qualitative research design. Three themes and eight sub-themes were revealed during data analysis. The identified main themes were: The sexual health needs of learners, contributory factors towards teenage pregnancy and the strategies to address the identified sexual health needs. It is concluded that teenage pregnancy is a serious health concern due to inadequate parental guidance, and poverty. Parental involvement in sexual health issues, free condom distribution, sex education in schools, homes and churches, use of technology and the use of stepping stones were suggested as strategies to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy. Further research should be conducted in order to explore other strategies that will possibly promote sexual health of learners in other South African schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study's objective was to explore and describe the perceptions of midwives regarding the role of traditional birth attendants during postnatal care. The purpose of the study was to improve the standard of postnatal care, and to empower midwives with knowledge and skills regarding indigenous postnatal care practices, in order to meet the cultural care needs of postnatal patients from different cultural backgrounds. South Africa, as a developing country, has midwives who discharge postnatal patients after six hours post-delivery if the condition of both the mother and the baby is satisfactory; therefore, the traditional birth attendants render postnatal care at home. As a result, the midwives are not aware of the indigenous postnatal care practices used by the traditional birth attendants when taking care of postnatal women. Knowledge gained from this study may assist midwives to identify and address indigenous practices that are a threat to the health of women; to improve the standard of postnatal care. A qualitative approach using in-depth face-to-face interviews with midwives was followed. The findings revealed two themes, namely: (1) positive perceptions of midwives regarding the role of traditional birth attendants; and (2) negative perceptions of midwives regarding the role of traditional birth attendants. It is recommended that there should be teamwork between the midwives and the traditional birth attendants in order to strengthen the referral system of postnatal patients between the clinics or hospitals post-delivery and to enhance and maintain continuity of postnatal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the perceptions of student nurses during accompaniment in the clinical environment. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive research approach was applied on 24 student nurses' to explore their perceptions during accompaniment in the clinical environment. The participants were conveniently and purposively selected. The student nurses were registered for their first year of training. Data was generated through two focus group interviews comprising of 12 student nurses each. Unstructured focus groups interviews were conducted during data collection. Studies have confirmed that student nurses who are not adequately accompanied during placement are unable to attain the learning outcomes set by their programme most students were dissatisfied with accompaniment and failed summative practical evaluation. Persons assigned to teach and facilitate learning in this environment were not readily available to take up this responsibility. Data analysis revealed the following findings; a disregard of student status by clinical staff, hostile clinical environment, inadequate clinical supervision and lack of commitment by professional nurses in teaching students and caring for patients under their care. To achieve efficient and effective accompaniment, student status should be recognised by clinical staff, creation of conducive learning environment should be created and appropriate supervision of students be facilitated by professional nurses in the clinical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of condom will provide men and women 100% protection against HIV and AIDS infection. However, the acceptability of condom use in sexual relations including marriage is confronted with culturally entrenched barriers. Health care providers as being socialised within the communities with specific cultures also experience barriers regarding condom use. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe culture and marriage as barriers regarding condom use among health care providers in Tshwane. A qualitative, focused ethnography design was used. Data collection was through semi-structured interviews using three research questions. The population included health care providers who were responsible for provision of HIV and AIDS programmes in selected health care settings in Tshwane. Purposive sampling was used and ethical principles were upheld. Trustworthiness was ensured. Results indicated that irrespective of health care providers being knowledgeable on condom use, when faced with condom use in their sexual relationships they are confronted by culturally entrenched barriers. Marriage becomes a barrier for condom use as it is culturally embedded. Norms and values determining men and women's behaviour in a relationship stipulate that men are decision makers. As such, health care providers' sexual partners refuse to use condoms. It is recommended that culturally sensitive programmes be developed and health care providers receive appropriate training to address culture and marriage as barriers regarding condom use in their sexual relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children of school-going age are faced with multiple challenges that need professional interventions from educators and healthcare providers. This study sought to explore and describe the challenges experienced by healthcare providers with regard to the provision of school healthcare in the Tshwane sub-district, Gauteng Province. A qualitative, descriptive phenomenological design was used because of its holistic and contextualised nature. The population consisted of healthcare providers who were working in collaboration with the school health nurses, as well as being members of the community. These participants were conveniently and purposefully selected. Twenty-two healthcare providers were selected. Data were collected through the use of individual interviews until data saturation was attained. The interviews were based on the question: "What are the challenges you experience as healthcare provider regarding the provision of school health services in the Tshwane sub-district, Gauteng Province? Researchers followed the adapted Colaizzi's method (1978) of data analysis in Polit and Beck (2012). All transcripts were read repeatedly and the data was reviewed, coded and categorised into the sections applicable to the problem statement. From the challenges experienced three main themes evolved by health care providers and these included: the need for early and frequent school health visits, the lack of collaboration in school health programmes, and insuficient care provided to HIV positive children of school- going age. It was evident that the challenges school health service providers faced included limited resources, inconsistency in existing school health service rendering, and poor collaboration between the stakeholders involved. these challenges create a major barrier for the delivery of school health services in south Africa. the participants recommended that partnerships and collaboration should be established in order to establish a healthy educational environment and promote frequent and sustained school visits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marketing strategies for female condom 2 (FC2) play an important role in health care. Media, health education and campaigns have a role to play in reaching vulnerable populations who need to receive information about the use of FC2. The objective of this study was to explore and describe FC2 marketing strategies for health care workers in the Tshwane District, South Africa. A qualitative exploratory and descriptive case study method was applied. The population included health care workers, who were purposively selected. Data collection was done through in-depth individual interviews with participants in order to reach saturation. These participants included operational managers (n=3), administrator (n=1), lay counsellors (n=6) and professional nurses (n=20). Tesch's method of data analysis was used where one theme and six subcategories were identified and described. FC2 marketing strategy for health care workers to use in informing vulnerable groups emerged as a category. The six subcategories identified from the category included: maximising media coverage; extensive education of benefits to users; collaboration with other health promotion programmes to promote FC2; expanding programmes to school; educating males about female condom use; training and workshops for health care workers regarding health campaigns to individual families. The results emphasise the role of the media, health education and health campaigns in reaching vulnerable women, men and school children who need to receive information about the use of FC2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the factors influencing the utilisation of the female condom (FC2) among healthcare providers, which is part of a study that aimed at developing strategies to improve the utilisation by the patients of FC2 in prevention of STIs, HIV and AIDs and unplanned pregnancies. Like other women in the world, female healthcare providers are also biologically two to four times more vulnerable to STIs, HIV and AIDs infections than men. Women are also vulnerable to unplanned pregnancies. However, the utilisation of FC2 by healthcare providers is still inadequate. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research approach was used in this study. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants, because only healthcare providers responsible for the provision of FC2 were selected. In-depth individual interviews were used during data collection. Data were analysed following the qualitative data analysis methods. Factors influencing the utilisation of FC2 were identified as the main category during data analysis. The study confirmed that the healthcare providers are unable to utilise the FC2 because of: the shape and size of the FC2; complexities of the female genital organs hindering procedure; partners' reaction to FC2; and cultural background around accepting FC2 use. The development of strategies to enable healthcare providers to use FC2 was recommended, in order to ensure protection and prevention of STIs, HIV and AIDs and unplanned pregnancies among healthcare providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to explore and describe nurses' experiences regarding the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from a public hospital in the Thembisile area of Mpumalanga province in South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive study was conducted, using unstructured interviews to collect data. Saturation was achieved when no more new themes were elicited from participants, and the sample size was determined. One major question used throughout the interviews was: 'What were your experiences regarding the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from the hospital?' The responses were captured on an audio recorder and then transcribed verbatim. Strategies used to ensure trustworthiness included: credibility, transferability and dependability. Data analysis was done according to Tesch's method as indicated in Creswell (2003:192). The researchers and an independent qualitative data analyst agreed about the categories, sub-categories and themes. The identified major categories included the process of fetching the spirit, motivation for the ritual, emotions and inherent problems. While most nurses respected family members' rights to perform the ritual of fetching the spirit of the deceased from the place of death, namely the hospital, they also indicated that the rights of other patients had to be respected. It was recommended that this hospital should formulate policies about the performance of this ritual so that individual nurses need not make their own decisions when faced with such requests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Collaborative HIV care between the nurses and traditional health practitioners is an important strategy to improve health care of people living with HIV., Aim: To explore and describe the views of nurses regarding collaborative HIV care in primary healthcare services in the City of Tshwane, South Africa., Method: A qualitative, descriptive design was used to explore and describe the views of nurses who met the study's inclusion criteria. In-depth individual interviews were conducted to collect data from purposively selected nurses. Content analysis was used to analyse data., Results: Two main categories were developed during the data analysis stage. The views of nurses and health system challenges regarding collaborative HIV care., Discussion: The study findings revealed that there was inadequate collaborative HIV care between the nurses and the traditional health practitioners., Conclusion: It is evident that there is inadequate policy implementation, monitoring and evaluation regarding collaboration in HIV care. The study findings might influence policymakers to consider the importance of collaborative HIV care, and improve the quality of care by strengthening the referral system and follow-up of people living with HIV and AIDS, as a result the health outcomes as implied in the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 might be improved., Implications for Nursing and Health Policy: Training and involvement of traditional health practitioners in the nursing and health policy should be considered to enhance and build a trustworthy working relationship between the nurses and the traditional health practitioners in HIV care., (© 2017 International Council of Nurses.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the health education needs of educators at health promoting schools in Makapanstad in North West Province., Methodology: Qualitative, exploratory and descriptive paradigm was conducted. The population consisted of educators, at Makapanstad schools, who were directly involved with learners. The participants were purposively selected. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect relevant data from the participants. Tesch data analysis process was used to reach the findings of the research., Findings: The following categories were identified and theoretically confirmed: The need for the support by the University for the training of educators; The need for the University's acknowledgement of educators' responsibilities; The need for basic knowledge of health promotion; Common health needs of learners; and indirect health problems., Recommendation: It was recommended that a health education package be developed to assist in empowering learners in Makapanstad schools.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of informal caregivers in home-based care in the Odi Sub-District area in the Province of the North West. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study was followed to collect data from the selected population. The study population consisted of informal caregivers who conduct home visitations in the Odi Sub-District area. Participants were purposively selected. Data were collected from the participants by means of focus group interviews, which were guided by the group moderator. The experiences of informal caregivers were shared through the participants' responses to a central research question. Tesch's qualitative method of data analysis was used to analyse the data. The experiences of informal caregivers were related to emotions, social circumstances and support. The participants placed emphasis on emotions of love and caring, fulfilment, frustration, exploitation, anger and helplessness, fear, rejection, shame and denial. Social circumstances regarding finance, antagonism and stigma were also emphasised. The participants raised the issue of the necessity of the support of the family, community and clinic during home-based care. It was recommended that this support group should assist families in dealing with fear, stigma and discrimination. Furthermore, it was recommended that the government should provide the services for developing and empowering informal caregivers in home-based care.

Unlabelled: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the opinions of nurses working with tuberculosis (TB) patients regarding hospital discharge plans at Moses Kotane in North-West, South Africa., Method: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study was conducted with these nurses. The population involved registered nurses working with TB patients for more than two years. The population was purposely selected. Focus group interviews were conducted to collect data from this population. The research process was guided by the research question: What are the opinions of nurses working with TB patients regarding hospital discharge plans at Moses Kotane in the North-West Province? The group moderator guided the participants throughout the interviews in which the central research question was posed. Tesch's qualitative method of data analysis was used to analyse the data obtained., Findings: Subcategories and categories, and the following themes emerged during the data analysis: the need for education and involvement, the co-existence of TB and HIV/ Aids infections and the knowledge of continuous laboratory investigations. The participants discussed the suggestions and solutions for effective hospital discharge plans. The research findings could assist in the improvement of existing hospital discharge plans at Moses Kotane District., Conclusions: The results revealed both positive and negative opinions regarding discharge plans. The data were classified into themes, categories and subcategories. The participants' suggestions regarding discharge plans were addressed and discussed. Finally, recommendations were disseminated to concerned authorities.

Aim: The specific aims of this study were to: Propose a definition of the term cultural diversity; Validate the term cultural diversity; and Submit a term and definition for international utilisation to the International Council of Nurses (ICN) for consideration for inclusion in the ICNP., Background: South Africa was one of four African countries (Botswana, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe) funded by the WK Kellogg Foundation to participate in the ICNP project. South Africa had 2 research groups. One of the research groups identified the term cultural diversity to define., Method: This was a qualitative study where a philosophical perspective was used to explore, explain and describe nursing practice. The combined method proposed by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) was utilised to define and validate the term cultural diversity., Findings: Validation and literature review provided sufficient support for the defined characteristics and the term was finally defined and submitted to ICN in November 2002 as: CULTURAL DIVERSITY is a type of CULTURE with the specific characteristics: co-existence of different groups, e.g. ethnic, religious, linguistic and other groups each with their own values and belief systems, traditions and different lifestyles., Conclusion: The research group was informed in December 2003 of the ICNP Evaluation Committee recommendation that the term cultural diversity will be included in the ICNP.

South Africa is called "the rainbow nation" because it has so many different cultures. These have an impact on the provision of primary health care. The purpose of this research is to foster good relationships between community health nurses and traditional healers and to explore, identify and describe the attitude of community health nurses towards the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. A non-experimental, explorative and descriptive research strategy was designed to explore the working relationship between community health nurses and traditional healers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis techniques were adopted to interpret the findings. The results indicated that respondents demonstrated positive attitudes towards working with traditional healers, especially in the provision of primary health care. Positive opinions, ideas and views were provided about the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. Respect, recognition and sensitivity were emphasized by respondents.