Men in the service of humanity: Sociocultural perceptions of the nursing profession in South Africa

Background. The classification of nursing as a female-gendered profession, along with patriarchally determined cultural gender roles, makes it difficult for men to select nursing as a career and to excel in their caring capacity as nurses.Objective. To gain in-depth insights into and an understanding of male nursing students' perceptions of the nursing profession. Methods. A generic qualitative approach, which was explorative, descriptive and contextual, was used to conduct the study. Sixteen male nursing students at two nursing education institutions in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, were purposively sampled to participate in the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and unstructured observation. Thereafter, thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results. Three main themes were developed from the interview data. The participants perceived nursing as the extension of women's work, with low social status ‒ nursing is not considered to be a profession for men. During the provision of nursing care, feelings of discomfort and embarrassment were experienced. They feared misinterpretation of their care, especially when caring for the naked body when alone with a patient. They resorted to the use of cautious caring, where they do not provide physical care alone, but seek support, especially from female nurses.Conclusion. Male nursing students require role models to support them in their academic journey towards becoming competent practitioners. A male-friendly environment should be created to enable them to provide quality nursing care to all patients. The society needs to be empowered in understanding that men choose the nursing profession to provide care, and that they are capable of caring for the sick.

Health; Nutritional and Socio Cultural Status of the Nilotic Population in the Southern Sudan

This book presents the results of a large study realised between 1979 and 1984; in the Upper Nile State; on a significant sample of a southern Sudanese population belonging to three Nilotic tribes (Dinka; Nuer and Shilluk). In 1979; these populations still lived in a very traditional way and were subject to rapid changes due to the construction of the 365 km long Jonglei canal. The study was interrupted by the civil war; in February 1984. This book is divided into four distinct parts: The population and the environment are described in the first part. The objectives of the studies and their methodology are presented in the second part. The results of a cross-sectional study (300 children; men and women) and of a longitudinal study of 400 pregnant women and their newborn child until the age of three years are presented in the third part. The anthropometrical; clinical; biological and nutritional data are included.The traditional way of life; beliefs as well as the socio-cultural aspects (customs; social activities; magic; dreams; death; relationship and freedom; libido or sexual desires; diseases; and collective activities) are described in the fourth part. Genealogical trees of two families; one a Dinka and another Shilluk (from the 13th century); are presented in Annexe. This book can serves as a guide for medical doctors; public health workers; epidemiologists; NGO-s... and for comparatives studies in Africa

Sociocultural factors affecting mental health service delivery in neuropsychiatric hospital, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

The study was conducted to find out the socio-cultural factors affecting the delivery of mental health services in Neuropsychiatric Hospital; Port Harcourt. Mental health care providers encounter in everyday practice a diversity in socio-cultural beliefs and practices of their consumers which quite often serve as barriers to their effective and efficient service delivery. 50 mental health care roviders participated in the study; five hypotheses were tested using chi-square measure at the significance level of 0.05. The results showed that all the variables were significant indicating that socio-cultural factors affect the service delivery of mental health care providers. Hence; it is hereby recommended that clinicians must be well vast in the cultural diversities; to be culturally responsive to the needs of their consumers and be aware of their own cultures in order to provide culturally relevant services to their clients/patients and their relations

Social and Cultural Aspects of HIV and AIDS in West Africa: A Narrative Review of Qualitative Research

With the increasing focus on the role of social aspects of the HIV epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa; the need for an overview of existing research dealing with such issues has become more urgent. The objective of this article is to provide a thematic overview of existing qualitative research on HIV and AIDS in the West African region and to analyze the main research findings in order to identify possible gaps and recommend new research themes to inform future research-based interventions. The analysis is based on a total of 58 articles published from 2001 to 2009 in eng or French identified through a literature search in seven scientific; bibliographical databases. Searches included terms related to qualitative studies combined with various terms related to HIV/AIDS. The results of this narrative review show that there was a geographical concentration on Nigeria; Ghana; Burkina Faso and Co. e d'Ivoire and a strong urban bias; with most studies taking place in the capital cities of these countries. The majority of the studies focused on women or women and men; only four articles dealt exclusively with men; of which only two were on men who have sex with men. The main study groups were people living with HIV; young people or female sex workers. Sexual risk-taking and stigmatization were the themes that were most prominently explored in the articles we reviewed. We conclude that research needs to be strengthened in relation to the analysis of experiences with antiretroviral therapy and the non-optimal access to treatment in West Africa. Also; more research is needed on men and their exposure to HIV/AIDS; as well as on the role of concurrent partnership in the spread of HIV

A Qualitative Pilot Study of Food Insecurity among Maasai Women in Tanzania

Background: Food insecurity is an ongoing threat in rural sub-Saharan Africa and is complicated by cultural practices; the rise of chronic conditions such as HIV and land use availability. In order to develop a successful food security intervention program; it is important to be informed of the realities and needs of the target population. The purpose of this study was to pilot a qualitative method to understand food insecurity based on the lived experience of women of the Maasai population in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area of Tanzania. Methods: Short semi-structured qualitative interviews with 4 Maasai women. Results: Food insecurity was present in the Maasai community: the participants revealed that they did not always have access to safe and nutritious food that met the needs of themselves and their families. Themes that emerged from the data fell into three categories: Current practices (food sources; planning for enough; food preparation; and food preservation); food Insecurity (lack of food; emotions; coping strategies; and possible solutions); and division (co-wives; food distribution; and community relationships). Conclusion: This pilot study suggested the presence of food insecurity in the Maasai community. Larger sample studies are needed to clarify the extent and severity of food insecurity among this population. Having a detailed understanding of the various aspects of the food insecurity lived experience could inform a targeted intervention program

Enrolment and Retention of African Women in Biomedical Research: the Challenges

Background : In Africa; women have had minimal participation in biomedical research especially in clinical trials despite the epidemiologic realities of the trends andburden of diseases in the continent. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine the challenges as well as suggesting ways of over-coming them in recruiting andretaining African women in biomedical research. Methods:Relevant biomedical research literatures on Human Research Participants from Scirus; Pubmed and Medline computerized search were critically evaluated and highlighted. Information was also obtained from research ethics training as well as texts and journals in the medical libraries of the research ethics departments of the Universities of Pretoria; Kwazulu-Natal; Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics Baltimore and Kennedy Institute of Bioethics Georgetown University; Washington DC. Results: Studies reviewed have shown that African women have an unfair participation in biomedical research. Efforts in enrolling and retaining women in biomedical research are hampered by chain reactions of events viz: gender perception; cultural barriers; ignorance and fear of adverse event; limited autonomy to give consent; lack of confidentiality especially in sensitive trials; and improper research design. Conclusion:Women need to participate in clinical trials because of their different biological and physiological make-up which require proper information about the effects of drugs on their bodies. A variety of harm may therefore ensue from failure to include adequate numbers of women in biomedical research such as exposure to ineffective treatment; occurrence of unexpected sideeffects and delayed diagnosis and early treatment of disease

Examination of the psychiatric patient in general medical practice

In order to exclude psychological problems when examinating a patient in general medical settings; the doctor has to be conscious of the following questions : Is there a psychological component to presentation; what are the factors associated with the psychological problems; the doctors should enquire not only into the well known psycho-social stressors (life events) but also the not-so-obvious factors related to cultural beliefs in the supernatural. History taking has to be both investigative and therapeutic

Epilepsy pattern and clinic compliance in Sierra Leonean epileptics

Two hundred and twenty patients with epilepsy attending the neurologic clinic at Connaught Hospital were reviewed. Male predominance; greater prevalence of primary generalised seizures and low family history are consistent with reports from other African countries. Similarly the majority of patients had idiopathic epilepsy. Only 35 per cent of patients attented clinic for six months and 12 per cent for two years. Cultural attitudes; cost of medication and distance from clinic may contribute to the low level of clinic attendance. It is suggested that integrating the follow up and treatment of epileptics into primary health care programmes will make a greater impact on epilepsy control

Les facteurs socio-culturels : facteurs de risque de mortinatalite a partir de 308 cas de morts foetales in-utero

De janvier 1984 a juin 1986 une enquete prospective concernant 15.782 naissances a ete menee en vue d'etudier la mort foetale in-utero a la maternite du CHU de Lome. 308 cas ont ete enregistres. Le mode de recrutement a ete decrit. Pour chaque variable; le risque relatif a ete calcule pour un intervalle de confiance de 95 pour cent. Les differentes proportions observees ont ete soumises au test de X2 avec un degre de signification a 5 pour cent et 1 pour cent selon qu'il s'agit d'une variable ou d'un groupe de variables. Le risque de mortinatalite est plus eleve dans le groupe de femmes de conditions socio-economique et socio-culturelle defavorisees. Ce risque diminue avec l'amelioration de ces conditions. L'interet de ce travail a ete souligne

Family planning in rural Uganda: knowledge and use of modern and traditional methods in Ankole

Ankole has recorded the highest fertility in Uganda over the past several decades. One of the main proximate determinants of fertility in the area is the low level of contraception. A study of knowledge and use of modern and traditional contraceptive methods is reported in this paper. It is shown that higher proportions of women known and practice traditional methods compared with modern ones. Several factors contributing to past low use of modern contraceptives in the area are examined and current contraceptive use is also examined

Sources of information on family planning among female secondary school teachers living in Lusaka Urban; Lusaka; Zambia

The study showed that most women (48 per cent of respondents) had information on family planning from friends. Dependent on this were factors of age; marrital status; religion and residential area

Factors determining the short duration of breast feeding among mothers in an urban area

The important factors that determine the duration of breast feeding are linked with the information given to the mothers; the supportive attitudes of nursing personnel and the cultural beliefs of an individual mother as well as the new parttens of urban family structure which tends to be small