3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions
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Item An investigation into cultural factors associated to mental illness and the influence they have on help seeking behaviour.(2017) Chunga, EstherWestern theories of mental health and illness dominate current models of psychological intervention in South Africa. South Africa is a culturally diverse context and its residents make use of multiple African traditional meaning systems to organise and understand their experiences; including their beliefs about mental wellbeing and how to support and intervene. The understanding of mental illness cannot happen only within the framework of Western paradigms. If there are to be more universal understandings of mental illness; it is imperative to take into account variations in how mental illness is not only understood, but also to understand culturally informed practices and interventions of mental illness. The intention of this study was to explore the influence of cultural beliefs and practices associated to mental illness and the influence they have on help seeking behaviour. This exploratory qualitative study focused on eight caregivers' subjective experiences of childhood mental illnesses, which were gathered through individual, face to face semistructured interviews. A thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. Parents drew on both Western and African meaning systems to make sense of their children's mental health problems but there was a lack of integration of these understandings. Cultural practices and rituals emerged as potentially important to consider in understanding how parents conceptualise their children's mental health care needs. Parents seem open to alternative forms of help-seeking, including professional mental health care; however, such services are not always accessible or affordable which may result in perceptions of such services as unhelpful or irrelevant to parents. It is evident how important it is to consider African approaches to mental health and wellbeing when considering the experiences of parents whose children have been diagnosed with a mental illness as this would enable health care professionals to understand children and families through a more personalised and holistic paradigm instead of making generalised assumptions based on one social group.Item The lunar cycle and inpatient sedation usage in a psychiatric setting(2019) Mohamed, FaeezaIntroduction: This study aimed to investigate whether an association exists between the lunar cycle and the amount of sedation required by an inpatient psychiatric population. Methods: The study was a retrospective record review of psychiatric inpatient sedation usage at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, in Johannesburg, over 18 months. For each day in this period, data of the total amount of intramuscular sedation, the number of intramuscular injections administered and data of bed occupancy were collected and correlated with the days of the lunar cycle. Results: Outcomes included the amount (mg) of sedative administered and the number of intramuscular injections (per sedative and total) per bed occupied. There was no significant effect of any day of the lunar cycle on the amount of sedation dispensed or the number of intramuscular injections administered. Conclusion: Inpatient psychiatric illness severity, as measured by intramuscular sedation administered, is not exacerbated by the lunar cycle.Item Perceptions of mental illness among the Ndebele culture, in the community of Middelburg, Mpumalanga Province(2018) Mahlangu, Nonkululeko GladnessMental illness is conceptualised differently across cultural and religious groups. How it is explained, understood, diagnosed and treated depends on how society and culture interpret it. The western way in which knowledge is generated with regards to the acknowledgement of the value of African indigenous systems of knowledge, that marginalises African systems of knowledge calls for an inclusive evaluation of such culturally-based studies. African traditional societies, such as the Ndebele, are rich in indigenous knowledge systems and can contribute to practices and social values by enhancing the enactment of understanding a community, culturally, and holistically. This stipulates that perceptions of mental illness and certain specific aspects of Ndebele cultural practice and belief systems will be explored, in relation to South African research done in this area. With this said, the area of enquiry this study is dwelling upon, is that of indigenous traditional healing, as this is strongly reflected in the findings and the discussion on the perceptions of the etiology and treatment of mental illness. This study seeks to explore perceptions of mental illness among Ndebele community members in the Mpumalanga Province and the possible role that their culture plays on their perceptions. The study was directed at gaining an understanding of the experiences of treatment and overall exposure to mental illness within the community using the Biopsychosocial model and its extension, the Biopsychosocial-Spiritual model, as the theoretical framework. A qualitative research method was used, employing a non-probability snowball sample of 12 participants. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings of the study emphasise the importance of the Ndebele culture in day-to-day living. The themes that were found that relate to the Ndebele culture are the fact that mental illness is dealt with as a sub-culture; the causes and treatment of mental illness; and the stigma attached to people who suffer from mental illnesses. The results of mental illness among the Ndebele traditions show that mental illness is affected by cultural influences, social influences and environmental influences.Item Violence and the pathological third: an examination of violence in psychotic, perverse and narcissistic patients(2017) Van der Walt, Clinton MichaelThis thesis formulates symptomatically violent patients psychoanalytically using the notion of thirdness as a particular theoretical and clinical lens It examines three psychopathological cohorts, those being psychosis, pervesion and narcissism. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version]Item Sensemaking in mental health non-profit organisations: a case study focused on the idea of quality(2016-07-27) Maram, AllanSensemaking is the process through which people construct meaning around issues or events that are novel, ambiguous, confusing, or in some regard run contrary to expectations. Drawing on key insights from the work of Karl Weick on sensemaking, the aim of this study was to explore how staff members and volunteers at a non-profit human service organisation make sense of and enact the idea of quality in their environments. The study employed an interpretive approach and took the form of a single-case holistic case study. Using thematic analysis, several themes emerged from the data, which suggest that in order to deconstruct the idea of quality, as it exists in the minds and behaviours of organisational members, it is critical to obtain insight into the social and context driven processes that influence sensemaking. The findings also suggest that existing models and approaches to quality in the literature are incomplete in terms of their lack of a sensemaking focus. Practical recommendations are made for human services organisation administrators and managers to improve and monitor quality in their respective environments. The study concludes with a discussion of limitations as well as possible avenues for future research in light of the findingsItem An exploration of South African Muslim general practitioners perceptions of mental illness within Lenasia, a suburb of Johannesburg.(2013-04-17) Mohamed, ZaakiyahGeneral practitioners (GP’s) are often the first point of entry when seeking medical treatment. They are responsible for treating members of the community and thus their understanding and conceptualisation of mental illness will influence patient care. Additionally, GP’s religious and cultural affiliations play an influential role in the aetiology and treatment of mental illness. Thus this study explored perceptions of mental illness in a sample of 10 Muslim GP’s (5 male, 5 female) of Indo-Pak ancestry in the Lenasia area (Johannesburg, South Africa). Semi structured interviews were conducted with each GP which entailed 37 questions related to the GP’s context, GP’s perceptions of mental illness, the understanding of religion and culture, the treatment of mental illness and the aspect of spiritual illness. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. From the results obtained, eight themes were salient; namely definitions and aetiology of mental illness as understood by GP’s, the role of culture, the assimilated identity, Islamic beliefs regarding mental illness, GP’s beliefs regarding spiritual illness, collaboration and referral to other healthcare professionals and finally influential factors affecting GP’s. Based on the above themes it can be concluded that more awareness regarding the stigmatization of mental illness needs to be addressed. Furthermore, it is vital that healthcare professionals possess an understanding of the use of traditional healing as a mode of treatment amongst certain South African population groups. This study therefore paves the way for further research regarding the incorporation of cultural beliefs into mainstream theory.