WIReDSpace

Welcome to WIReDSpace (Wits Institutional Repository on DSpace)

For queries relating to content and technical issues, please contact IR specialists via this email address : openscholarship.library@wits.ac.za,
Tel: 011 717 4652 or 011 717 1954

Photo by @inspiredimages

Communities in WIReDSpace

Select a community to browse its collections.

Now showing 1 - 5 of 19

Recent Submissions

  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type:Item,
    Investigating Knowledge, Attitudes and Challenges for Digital Mental Health Interventions Among Youth in Soweto, South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Tsotetsi, Lerato; Pitman, Michael
    Background: Poor mental health in South Africa has been reported to be higher than it has been in previous years and research has shown that prevalence is mostly among adolescents and youth. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health in adolescents and young people is a major health crisis. Several studies have provided evidence that although efforts have been made mental health services are not easily available to adolescents and youth in low and middle income settings. Digital health interventions could help alleviate this gap. This study aimed to investigate knowledge, attitudes and challenges for digital mental health interventions among youth in Soweto, South Africa. Methods: Our study used a mixed-methods research design, data was collected through an online survey amongst youth (18-24 years) in Soweto, South Africa. The online survey was administered through REDCap and took +/- 30 minutes to complete. The survey included close-ended and open-ended questions using a combination of self-constructed questions and the Mental Health Literacy Scale. Descriptive analysis was conducted using the IBM SPSS Software. Open-ended questions were analysed using content analysis. Results: We had 77 participants in total who completed the survey. Most of the participants identified as female (61%), 26% identified as male and only 1 participant identified as transgender. Majority of the participants were above the age of 20 years (66.3%). We had a representation amongst the different age groups, with 18 (18.2%) and 21 (18.2%) being the most represented age groups, with a mean age of 20.14. Majority of the participants had access to mobile phones (93.5%) and had access to mobile data (87%) through prepaid cellular data (36.4). Participants had adequate knowledge of mental health (m=119.53) and available digital mental health interventions. Almost all participants (n=60) noted that access to data and mobile phones might be a challenge in implementing these interventions in the community. Participants noted that digital interventions are easily accessible and would be helpful for youth mental wellbeing and also potentially assist with stigma. However they perceived digital interventions as lacking in human interaction. Data costs, access to mobile phones, lack of knowledge, lack of trust in digital platforms and lack of interest in general health interventions were noted as barriers to the use of digital interventions. Participants recommended the use of data free platforms, more community education/awareness and using hybrid approaches to mitigate some of the key barriers mentioned above. Conclusion: Our study highlights the growing interest among young people in South Africa for digital mental health interventions, particularly in light of the accessibility and convenience these platforms offer. However, our findings also underscore the importance of addressing key barriers, such as the cost of data and limited access to reliable internet, which continue to hinder the widespread implementation of digital interventions in low-resource communities. While most participants in this study had access to mobile phones, the financial constraints associated with prepaid data plans remain a significant challenge for consistent engagement with digital mental health platforms. Furthermore, the preference for a hybrid model—integrating both digital and in-person interventions should be adopted by stakeholders when developing interventions for young people.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type:Item,
    Experiences of social workers in service delivery during COVID-19: A case study of Waterberg District, Limpopo
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Munyai, Fhumulani Precious
    During COVID-19 social workers encountered numerous challenges in rendering services to clients. The national lockdown and working from home worsened the situation. Additionally, COVID-19 instilled fear to the global population, including social workers who were supposed to offer services during this pandemic. Therefore, the current study aims to explore social workers’ experiences of service delivery during COVID-19, with a focus on case management, their feelings and fears, availability of resources, work-life balance, and support from superiors. The primary aim for exploring these experiences is to determine the extent of damage that is caused by COVI D-19. Exploring these challenges will assist in developing strategies for addressing or avoiding further damage, while enhancing social workers’ well-being. This is a qualitative study that uses a case study research design to explore social workers' experiences. Participants were 15 social workers from the Department of Social Development in Waterberg District, Limpopo Province. The study used one- on-one interviews with semi-structured interviews for data collection. Participants were selected using purposive sampling since they were already known to the researcher and available. Data was analysed using thematic data analysis. The findings indicate that services were rendered telephonically and face-to-face. Some participants were unhappy with rendering services during COVID-19, while others were happy to offer their services. Those who were unhappy indicated fear of contracting the virus and spreading it to their families. However, some had minimal fears. Some participants were also affected by poor work-life balance. Most work that social workers did during COVID-19 concerned the dispatching of food parcels. During this period there was regular telephonic supervision, which included guidance and emotional support. Social workers could also receive peer support telephonically. Most participants did not find telephonic intervention effective, however they had to adjust to such changes introduced by COVID-19 to minimise the spread. Resources were limited which resulted in participants using their own expenses. There was inconsistent supervision. The study recommend the Department of Social Development to provide enough resources to employees for rendering services. The study further suggest proper training of supervisors on supporting employees since there was inconsistency in terms of supervision. In addition, future research need to explore the challenges faced by the supervisors during COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type:Item,
    An Exploration of General Aviation Occurrences in South Africa (2015- 2017): Application of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System using Bayes’ Theorem
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-02) Tshuma, Sindy Phanankosi; Naidoo, Prevendren
    A mixed-method research design was utilised by combining thematic content analysis (TCA) and Bayesian statistical modelling. The research investigated the prevalence of adverse general aviation (GA) occurrences in the Republic of South Africa between 2015 and 2017. The study used the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework to categorise human and organisational failures. The Bayesian probability analysis was used to quantify the likelihood of failures leading to accidents, serious incidents, or incidents. The qualitative findings revealed that latent failures at the organisational, supervisory, and preconditions levels played a major role in adverse GA occurrences. Inadequate training, resource constraints, weather conditions, physiological state, poor oversight, and ineffective safety policies created conditions where active failures such as pilot decision errors, skill errors, and routine violations were more likely to occur. The Bayesian analysis confirmed that organisational level failures significantly increased the risk of adverse GA occurrences. The findings highlight a safety culture gap within the GA sector in South Africa. The physical environment, company policy, unsafe supervision, condition of the operators, and decision errors were associated with accidents. This suggests that these factors have serious consequences in the GA sector. This study could inform a multi-tiered approach to risk management and safety interventions rather than an overreliance on individual error mitigation, encourage training programmes that focus on the importance of decision-making under pressure, and error management, and encourage a safety culture, and provide evidence to the benefits of data-driven approaches such as the Bayes’ theorem. This model can be integrated into routine safety assessments to measure the effectiveness of implemented safety interventions over time.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type:Item,
    Exploring the conditions of employment of Auxiliary Child and Youth Care Workers in Non-Profit Organisations in Soweto Funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025) Ndima, Jabulile; Petersen, Laetitia
    Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs) collaborate with the government, specifically the Department of Social Development (DSD) to provide psychosocial support services to many communities. Furthermore, this partnership also enables employees of NPOs to get skills development programs such as Child and youth care work (ACYCW) learnerships. DSD has a learnership program for developing the capacity of (ACYCW and strengthening the response to many social ills addressed by DSD and NPOs. The intention ACYCW of the learnership is absorption into employment with NPOs. This study aims to explore the conditions of employment of ACYCW in NPOs in Soweto. The study employed a qualitative research approach. The research design adopted was a multiple case study design meant to gather an in-depth understanding of the conditions of employment of ACYCWs in NPOs in Soweto. The population from which the sample was drawn consisted of ten workers working at two NPOs located in Soweto and funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development. Purposive sampling technique was utilised for the sampling process. The data collection method used was the semi-structured interviews using an interview guide. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data collected from this study. The findings of the study were that indeed ACYCWs do have challenges within their employment, and they highlighted inadequate resources and salaries as main key issues. The findings of this study are that ACYCWs should be prioritised especially in terms of resource allocations to cater for their low salaries and ensure that they are always supervised by qualified ACYCWs
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item type:Item,
    Exploring social workers’ experiences in providing gender-based violence-related services in non-profit organisations in Alexandra township, Gauteng Province
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Sibiya, Nozipho Zamambo; Nkomo, Thobeka
    Social workers designated at non-profit organisations play a significant role in the provision of gender-based violence (GBV) related services. These social workers provide various GBV-related services such as awareness, psychosocial counselling, and after-care. In this study, the researcher explores social workers’ experience in providing GBV-related services in two selected non-profit organisations in Alexandra township, Gauteng. The qualitative and explorative approaches were adopted to explore and analyse the social workers’ experiences in providing GBV-related services. A total number of ten (10) social workers were interviewed from the two selected non-profit organisations. A semi-structured interview guide comprising open-ended questions was utilised for data collection. The findings indicated that there is a high level of understanding and knowledge of the roles of a social worker in GBV-related services among social workers. However, continuous training is required since policies get amended. Therefore, continuous training and provision of professional development (CPD) of social workers, especially regarding GBV, is necessary to acquire knowledge as NPOs have high social worker turnover due to poor salaries and instability. Furthermore, it was revealed that social workers’ roles in provision of GBV related services include advocating, empowering, making referrals, and educating. Social workers indicated a high level of understanding of the roles including the roles involved in current services they are assigned to render. The researcher considered the ethical guidelines as part of requesting permission to conduct a study to the committee of Social Work at the University of Witwatersrand. The collected data was analysed by identifying themes from the data collected.