3. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - All submissions

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    Social work in health care: a social development approach
    (2021) Petersen, Laetitia
    The promulgation of the Constitution in 1996 led to the inception and implementation of the White Paper on Social Welfare in 1997 and the social development approach to all social welfare sectors including social work. This implementation led to major changes that were met with resistance, challenges and confusing implementation practices. This also impacted on the role of social workers in health care. The study’s purpose was to explore, describe and explain the implementation of the social development approach to social work in the Gauteng Department of Health. Utilising the social constructivist and pragmatic paradigms in conjunction with Habermas’ theory on the two spheres of social reproduction i.e., the life world and the system, and ecological perspective, the study highlighted the state of, and the challenges experienced by social workers in health care regarding the implementation of the social developmental approach. The explanatory sequential mixed methodology research design was best suited in achieving the objectives of the study. The study was divided into four phases with regard to data collection and analysis. Phase one incorporated a quantitative approach in the form of a survey research design. Utilising saturation sampling, the cross-sectional survey was distributed to the entire social work population employed in the Gauteng Department of Health. Forty-five (45) surveys were completed. The data was analysed according to descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Science. Content analysis was utilised to code and analyse the open-ended questions of the survey. Phase two to phase four contained the qualitative approach of this research study which followed the cross-sectional survey sequentially. Interpretative phenomenology was the research design for these qualitative strategies. The samples for each of these phases employed non-probability purposive sampling. Phase two focused on collecting data via semi-structured interviews, with the use of an interview guide, from ten (10) social workers in health care. Phase three encompassed data collection from two focus groups using a focus group guide. Four and three participants respectively took part in these focus groups. Phase four focused on interviewing two key informants as highlighted from the survey, interviews and focus groups. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was utilised to analyse the data from the different qualitative strategies. The study’s findings offer clear understanding of the implementation of the social development approach to social work in health care. The social development approach is dominantly applied via its principles, awareness programmes, referrals to resources and liaison with stakeholders. The lack of consultation with social workers in the Gauteng Department of Health regarding policy implementation was raised. The absence of social investment strategies and community development are evident. Participants indicated social work in health care is a unique profession and has a pivotal role in a multidisciplinary team to enable the social development approach. Conversely, they reported that social work in health care is undervalued and seen as support staff to the rest of the multidisciplinary team. To be acknowledged as a specialist profession was implored by the participants. A framework of implementing the social development approach suitable for social work in health care should include a bottom-up approach that acknowledges the value of social work input. The need for a cultural competence model and practical examples of how to implement the social development approach in diverse health care settings were identified. It was evidenced that the implementation of the social development approach in the welfare sector impacted the roles and designated powers of social workers in health care. By virtue of this exploration social work, social development, social determinants of health and the sustainable development goals are inextricably linked through the mutual agenda of social justice, advocacy and empowerment. This study not only contributes to the field of social work in healthcare, the social determinants of health where social workers should be recognised as an instrumental role player, but also contributes to the implementation of the social development approach in health care settings in South Africa
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    Supervision - the power to save? an exploration of the role supervision can play in a social worker's decision to resign in the child protection field
    (2016) Hunter, Kirsty Anne
    Social work in South Africa is challenged by high caseloads, dangerous working environments and poor remuneration (Social Work Indaba, 2015). These challenges combined with high voluntary staff turnover rates (40.4% in 2006) have negative consequences for the protection of South Africa`s vulnerable children (Earle-Malleson (2009). In this context, supervision is often proposed as a potential cure-all for the tensions in social work. This study utilises an instrumental case study design to describe and explore child protection social workers’ perceptions of supervision and retention. The key aim of the study is to interrogate the role of effective social work supervision on a social worker’s decision to leave the employment of a child protection organisation in Gauteng. Twelve participants were identified through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Utilising a semi structured interview schedule, face to face interviews were conducted with each participant. The data obtained from the interviews was transcribed and analysed thematically. The research findings yielded concerning results on the supervision the participants had received with only 25% of the participants indicating that they found their supervision supportive and educational. High levels of organisational disengagement were noted, which created an organisational climate of neglect. This contributed indirectly to ten participant’s decision to resign as a lack of supervision heightened their frustrations with the system and their increased perceptions of child protection work as monotonous. A lack of a supportive and educational focus also closed off opportunities for participants to grow as social workers and learn adaptive coping skills. This led to some participants feeling emotionally overwhelmed. Both of these factors were cited as reasons for exiting child protection organisations. These findings reaffirm the importance of supervision as a reflexive process and provide insight into the targeting of interventions aimed at retaining child protection social workers in South Africa. Keywords: Child protection; retention; effective supervision; job embeddedness; social worker; disengagement; voluntary staff turnover
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    Exploring social workers' experiences regarding workplace violence.
    (2014-08-22) Malesa, Kgashane Johannes
    The workplace, in general, has been perceived as a comparatively violence-free environment. There have been many studies conducted on workplace violence in the helping profession in health-related occupations that involve substantial contact with clients, such as pre-hospital care, emergency medicine and nursing. However, there is a paucity of research that has explored the social workers’ experiences of workplace violence in South Africa. Workplace violence inflicted on employees may come from both internal sources, such as co-workers, and clients and external sources, such as robbers or muggers. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 15 social workers from the Limpopo Department of Social Development in the Waterberg District. The study endeavoured to explore the experiences of social workers regarding workplace by external parties. Seven overarching themes and a number of sub-themes emerged from a detailed Thematic Content analysis. The themes highlighted a wide range of psychosocial factors associated with workplace violence. The themes examined are, namely: psychosocial effects on social workers, workplace resources and environment, management of workplace violence and human supervision, and types of workplace violence. The main finding of the study highlighted a lack of organisational resources that contributed to workplace violence and led to frustrations experienced by clients and social workers. This report concludes with a brief discussion of the psychosocial impact of workplace violence and recommendations.
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    Social entrepreneurship as a pragmatic concept for social work professionals' management competence in South Africa
    (2013-05-23) Mngadi, Zanelle
    The South African Government has entrusted Social Work Professionals (SWP’s) with the responsibility of humanizing the lives of the most vulnerable groups in society. SWP’s are scrupulously trained to rehabilitate and heal the ailing community, but nowadays they are inadvertently incapacitated because their role has grown far beyond its original skill-base whilst their educational grooming and the legislation governing their role has remained stagnant. Furthermore, the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) within which they operate are unsustainable and many of them struggle for survival. The prevailing socio-economic environment imposes various demands on both the SWP profession and the non-profit sector, forcing them to provide for their survival by performing commercial duties that they are not trained to perform. This practice has resulted in a disjuncture in the roles of SWP’s and a brain-drain of professionals out of the sector. The study was split into two separate albeit related components employing a combination of qualitative methods and techniques to thoroughly investigate the source of this disjuncture and establish viable methods to address it. The first phase was designed to understand the history of social work in South Africa spanning two political dispensations, assess the legislated role that SWP’s should perform against the current role they are performing, in order to understand and explain the discrepancy in their role. Thereafter the second phase was conducted as a follow-up to explore how the concept of Social Entrepreneurship in conjunction with comprehensive management proficiency could provide possibilities of addressing and improving the shortcomings arising in the role of the SWP. ii The first phase documented that SWP’s are currently struggling in practice, with inadequate resources and lack of enterprise and management proficiency to fully facilitate their mandate. This deficiency suggested a shift in their role that is different from their usual rehabilitating role. Social Policy Frameworks were identified as the possible hindrance for the current lack of enterprising in the social sector, followed by socio-economic pressures and insufficient education and training of SWP’s. A paradigm shift to acknowledge and qualify the growth in the role of an SWP academically and legislatively was recommended, followed by relevant intellectual construction of knowledge. The second phase of the study acknowledged that Social Entrepreneurship is a fairly new concept in academic circles. In addition, most reviewed literature on Social Entrepreneurship suggested that the African landscape was either not fully understood by the authors or not yet catered for since most of the solutions were not fully commensurate with problems experienced in (South) Africa. Therefore, the researcher approached available scholars globally with primary data depicting real problems that are experienced on the ground and which seemed to challenge their presented solutions from the reviewed literature. This process systematically examined the concept of Social Entrepreneurship, accentuating how a different set of resource combinations of its aspects customized for the South African socio-economic environment could open up a new window of knowledge to enhance the impending social transformation, notwithstanding the view that further research for African needs was strongly encouraged. Findings from the first phase strongly suggested specialisation in the profession of an SWP in the short term and the development of a new cadre of enterprising SWP’s in the longer term. The second phase’s findings validated the suggestion from the first phase to split the role of an SWP, introduce entrepreneurial and management competence designed for social benefit as a new and special role, and develop a new cadre of professionals over time who will specialise in the new competence. iii Findings from both phases of the study have led to the conclusion that the role of an SWP has shifted and grown far beyond its original skill-base. This conclusion has notable policy implications for legislation governing SWP’s. Whilst this study has acknowledged and qualified the growth in the role of an SWP academically as entrepreneurial and management deficiency, to complete the acknowledgement, this growth has to be recognised legislatively within the policy frameworks. Specialisation in the profession of social work would also need to be legislated to enable academia to provide intellectual leadership on the new role, define research needs, develop a new curriculum, then recruit and develop a new cadre of enterprising SWP’s. These findings lead to a further conclusion that policy frameworks governing SWP’s are not entirely congruent with the prevailing socio-economic environment and might benefit from a review that underlines SWP’s’ core function, education and training that is commensurate with the needs of their role, especially the needs of the shift experienced in their role.
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    Understanding the work experiences, coping strategies and organisational retention of social workers in Gauteng in-patient substance abuse treatment centres.
    (2009-01-07T09:51:22Z) Vermeulen, Alexandrina
    South Africa has experienced a drastic shortage of social workers. This shortage has affected many social welfare organizations, particularly those who offer services in the area of substance abuse. According to a recent study conducted by Earle (2008) many reasons could be ascribed to the high social work turnover, these include: poor working conditions; poor compensation of work; lack of resources and support; and increased demands for services. Hence, social workers are experiencing work stress, burnout and compassion fatigue taxing their personal and professional coping strategies which could lead to staff turnover. The primary aim of this study was to understand the work experiences, coping strategies and organisational retention of social workers in Gauteng inpatient substance abuse treatment centres. The study had an exploratorydescriptive design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative paradigms to explore the work environment of the organisations and participants. Purposive sampling was used to select and divide the participants into three categories: entry level social workers; experienced social workers and social workers that had left the substance abuse field. Data was collected through conducting indepth interviews and through a questionnaire completed by the representatives from in-patient substance abuse treatment centres. This questionnaire was piloted with an in-patient treatment centre in KwaZulu Natal. The results of the quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, which were illustrated via tables and figures and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The main findings of this study confirmed most of the reasons for work stress and burnout that may lead to staff turnover identified in previous studies by Ross (1997) and Earle (2008). These findings are incorporated into a retention model developed by the researcher. The model incorporated five stages: stage one focussed on the reasons for entering the substance abuse field (personal interests, undergraduate studies and/or accidental); stage two explored preparation of social workers by organisations after entry to the field; stage three identified four general factors that effects the sustainability of social workers (external/environmental influences, organisational factors, the type of client population, career opportunities and personal factors); stage four explained the individual differences in coping responses (negative or positive) to job stress either through fight responses, self-care strategies for retention or flight responses, staff turnover; lastly, stage five focussed on what organisations can do to reduce staff turnover. These findings can assist the occupational social worker to identify these retention challenges and develop strategies to reduce the risk of staff turnover.
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