Doctoral Degrees (Psychology)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10413/6475

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Analysis of policy for protection of HIV positive adolescent girls against vulnerabilities faced in using contraception in Malawi.
(2022) Bulage, Patience.; Govender, Kaymarlin.
There are challenges faced in accessing and using contraception by adolescent girls, but the reality is worse for adolescent girls living with HIV. Thus, it is important to investigate the extent to which current policies in Malawi put into account the vulnerabilities faced by this sub-population. This study therefore sought to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the structural and socio-cultural issues affecting the use of contraception among AGLHIV in Malawi? 2. What policy provisions are in place in Malawi to address the issues/risks faced by AGLHIV during reach and use of contraception? 3. What implementation challenges affect the effectiveness of the available policy provisions? This study was guided by the healthy policy triangle (HPT) framework and it was qualitative in nature, using both secondary and primary data collection methods. The findings include; • Access to contraception by adolescent girls living with HIV is hampered by several structural and socio-cultural issues, mainly; the mode of service provision, supply chain and infrastructural challenges, age restrictions, conditioned access, as well as integration challenges. The socio-cultural issues include; the high momentum for children, male dominance, social labelling, non-disclosure of HIV serostatus to sexual partners, social sensitivity, perpetuation of harmful content, and a general lack of social support, and poor risk perception. • The available provisions include those addressing gender-based violence, discrimination and stigma, community engagement, confidentiality, and emphasis on adolescent girls and young women. However, most of the provisions are broadly stated and gaps exist too. • Effective implementation is affected largely by cascading challenges, lack of sufficient funding, limited political will, low comprehension of policy directives, limited participation of target population, coordination challenges, social resistance, effects of decentralization, low capacity of implementing partners and the slow pace of behaviour change among the targeted population and communities. While the policy environment in Malawi is seemingly favourable, undertones exist around harmonization, and representation of interest groups, mainly PLHIV groups. Policy makers ought not to continue ignoring the importance of formulating HIV-sensitive policies which can give way to social protection programs for the most vulnerable within the society, given the benefits of a healthy youthful population.
Growing up in child-headed households in Ga-maja village in Limpopo province: narratives of youths and caregivers.
(2023) Lephondo, Memmeru Jacobeth.; Mkhize, Nhlanhla Jerome.
This study explored the narratives of youths heading youth-headed households, the caregivers (who support the community) and the elders living in Ga-Maja, a village in the Limpopo Province. This study is based on a qualitative research approach that is narrative in nature. The Afrocentric Theoretical Framework also guided this study. Purposive sampling was utilised to select the sample of this study which consisted of ten youths aged between 18 and 35 years, ten elders and ten caregivers from Ga-Maja Village in the Limpopo Province. Individual interviews were used to collect data from the heads of households, elders and caregivers. Thirty participants of both genders were interviewed from a sample drawn from people living in Ga-Maja, a rural area in Limpopo. Most of the participants from youth-headed households and their caregivers were female because of the gendered nature of caregiving that was seen to be culturally inclined. All the participants narrated their lived experiences, challenges and dilemmas about growing up in childheaded households in the Ga-Maja Village in the Limpopo Province. This study used narrative data analysis based on a Thematic Data Analysis Method to analyse the data collected through interviews. The results were analysed from an Afrocentric point of view and shed light on the authentic narrations of the participants. The findings of this study revealed many challenges experienced by the heads of youth-headed households and caregivers. According to the findings, the Ga- Maja community is still traditional, led by the chief, indunas and elders who support the community. Spirituality and the Ubuntu orientation of the community are among the key attributes that sustain the lives of the youths heading youth-headed households. Despite their economic hardships, narratives of hope were evident, as well as a longing for a shared or common sense of identity. A complex gendered dimension of caring emerged in the form of bathing and personal care, transactional relationships and the disproportionate burden of caring assumed by females. The study recommends that youth-headed households be improved by creating jobs for youth-headed households, training caregivers, establishing a mentorship programme, and providing financial support to them. Hopefully, this study will enhance the quality of support provided to youth-headed households, contribute to the advancement of new knowledge, motivate community leaders to improve their traditional methods of supporting youth-headed households and assist policymakers in the design of YHH programmes and policy revision.
Narratives from women using the dapivirine vaginal ring in an open label extension study by Kalendri Naidoo.
(2022) Naidoo, Kalendri.; Mansoor, Leila Essop.; Montgomery, Elizabeth T.
In sub-Saharan Africa, women and girls represented 63% of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections in 2020. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 years are twice as likely to be living with HIV as compared to young men. Therefore, efforts to develop and roll out safe, effective and acceptable HIV prevention products for women, are continuing. An important example of a female-initiated HIV prevention strategy is the dapivirine vaginal ring which showed a 27% reduction in HIV-1 incidence in the Microbicides Trials Network (MTN)-020/A Study to Prevent Infection with a Ring for Extended Use (ASPIRE) study and by 31% in the International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM)-027 The Ring study. The dapivirine vaginal ring was subsequently tested for safety and adherence in the Open Label Extension (OLE), MTN-025/HIV Open-label Prevention Extension (HOPE) study. The MTN-032/Adherence in HOPE and ASPIRE (AHA) study was a two-phase exploratory sub-study of the ASPIRE (AHA part 1, after ASPIRE and before HOPE study initiation) and HOPE (AHA part 2, after HOPE was completed) studies which utilised single qualitative indepth interviews (IDIs) to explore social conditions and issues related to participation around the use of the dapivirine vaginal ring as well as suitable approaches to market the study product. I report on the narratives from women participating in the AHA study (Part 2) within the context of known safety, partial product efficacy and choice, focusing on what motivated women to join the HOPE OLE study, women’s understanding of the vaginal rings’ efficacy, how they understood it to work in their bodies to prevent HIV and barriers and motivators to vaginal ring adherence.
Psychological strengths of spirituality and transcendence and wellbeing of managers in the automotive sector.
(2024) Singh-Modi, Jasmé.; Buitendach, Johanna Hendrina.; Reuben, Shanya.
The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of managers, drawing on the constructs of the PERMA model of wellbeing and on their respective challenges, as well as to examine the role and utilisation of the psychological strengths (PS) of transcendence, so as to overcome managerial challenges within the South African automotive manufacturing industry. This study employed a qualitative approach in its method of data collection and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis for interpretation and analyses. The data was hence analysed via an idiographic, inductive and interrogative approach. The Broaden-and-Build theoretical framework was implemented, as a broadened behavioural repertoire, over time, is said to also build skills and resources that enhance survival. Psychofortology provides a perspective of positive psychology from which this research was conducted. The study participants comprised twelve managers within the subsidiaries of the chosen company in the automotive sector, nationwide, who voluntarily participated in the research. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather data and gain insight into the managers’ experiences of wellbeing, the challenges they experienced, the positive and negative factors that were taken into account, and their use of psychological strengths to negate these challenges. The intention of the study was to propose a set of guidelines that could be used to develop a holistic wellbeing intervention for managers by investigating and building on the PS of transcendence that promote wellbeing and that facilitate the capacity of an individual to “flourish.”The findings suggest that the PS of transcendence were utilised by managers in their experience of wellbeing; however, these were not adequately utilised to cope with challenges. This was due to managers not having a good knowledge and experience of the strengths. It was established that the implementation of existing positive psychological interventions (PPIs) is not adequate. The PPIs are not standardised and customised for each of the subsidiaries, and further development is required to suit the unique requirements of each subsidiary in order to address the specific challenges experienced as noted in the findings. The following recommendations for the study were made, and discussed in three parts. The first part discusses the more commonly used PPIs in the workplace, the mainstream or traditional approach. These PPIs are currently found to be implemented within the organisations to greater and lesser extents; however, they are not uniform, customised nor standardised across all 242 subsidiaries. A more user-friendly approach to the traditional approach was recommended for how existing PPIs may be further developed, utilising PS for transcendence and incorporating a more personalised approach. The second part comprises practical activities or mindfulness exercises that can be practised by managers either within or outside of the workplace to further develop their PS of transcendence. The third part discusses a less common approach which is only practised by some and generally practised outside of the workplace. This alternative approach provides a means to connect with and develop the inner working of the body or the internal state of being. Comparative, quantitative, empirical studies with larger samples are suggested to support the findings and to further explore this interesting phenomenon.

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Psychology) by SDG "SDG3"