Being a Postgraduate Nursing Student in Limpopo Province, South Africa: An Exploratory Study.

Research proficiencies for nurses include the ability to search for and evaluate evidence, disseminate findings, and apply findings to practice within the context of caring. Aim: This study explored the experiences of distant postgraduate nursing students in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: The population consists of all students registered for postgraduation studies in a nursing programme at two South African universities in Limpopo Province. Purposive sampling was used to select 23 registered postgraduate nursing students. Data were collected through unstructured one-on-one interviews, including an audio recorder and field notes. The narrative data from interviews were analysed qualitatively through Tesch's open coding descriptive qualitative data analysis method. Results: Three main themes emerged: the reasons behind engaging in postgraduate studies, factors impacting postgraduate studies' success, and a description of challenges associated with conducting research. Conclusions: The students generally have varied experiences about whether or not completing a research project is a valuable learning experience. The relationship between a postgraduate student and their research supervisor is crucial to ensuring that the students advance consistently and complete their theses on time. The study will, therefore, assist HEIs offering postgraduate programmes in nursing in realising the challenges faced by students and coming up with strategies to combat the challenges.

Do the parents of the youth abusing substances need to be supported? A literature review study.

BACKGROUND:  Substance abuse negatively affects the youth who use substances, their families and especially their parents. The use of substances impairs the health of the youth and is linked to an increase in noncommunicable diseases. Parents become stressed and they need help. Parents fail to carry out daily plans and routines because they are not sure what the substance abuser can do or what can happen to the substance abuser. When the parents' well-being is taken care of, they will be able to take care of their youth when they need help. Unfortunately, little is known about the psychosocial needs of the parents, especially when their child abuses substances. OBJECTIVES:  This article aims to review the literature to explore the need for support for parents of youth abusing substances. METHOD:  The study adopted the narrative literature review (NLR) methodology. Literature was retrieved from the following databases and search engines: electronic databases, search engines and hand searches. RESULTS:  Substance abuse has been found to affect the youth abusing substances and their families negatively. The parents, being the most affected, need support. The involvement of health professionals can assist the parents in feeling supported. CONCLUSION:  Parents need support programmes that will give support and strength to their existing abilities.Contribution: Focusing on the support needs of the parents of youth abusing substances will help to ensure parents are supported and mentally healthy.

Support Needs of Parents of Adolescents Abusing Substances in Selected Hospitals in Limpopo Province.

Parents with adolescents who abuse substances need support. They have high stress levels and low quality of life compared to other parents. This is because they have unmet support needs, do not know what to do to help their adolescents, and are distressed. Most studies focus on the support needs of adolescents. Less is known about the specific support needs of their parents. This study explores the support needs of parents of adolescents abusing substances and being treated in five hospitals in Limpopo Province. A qualitative research approach was applied with an explorative, descriptive, and contextual design using semi-structured interviews to understand parents' views. Data saturation was reached at the 14th parent. Data were analyzed using the Tesch method. The parents mainly wanted informational and emotional support. The study identified specific parent-related support needs and adolescent-related support needs. This study is the first to explore the support needs of parents of adolescents abusing substances in a South African rural context.

Do Quality Reviews Play a Role during the Implementation of Health Sciences Programmes? A Document Analysis Study.

BACKGROUND: A programme review is a process that assesses the status, efficacy, and advancement of academic programmes and aids in determining their future needs, priorities, and direction. The purpose of the academic programme review is to demonstrate that the programmehas appropriate quality assurance processes and procedures in place in accordance with the applicable established criteria and to offer ongoing guidance for the development of academic programmes to ensure that they remain responsive and relevant. The study, therefore, sought to investigate the role of quality reviews during the implementation of health sciences programmes at a rural University in Limpopo Province, South Africa. METHODS: Data were collected using the document analysis review technique to assess the Self-Evaluation Review reports for three programmes in the faculty of health sciences. The study's descriptive qualitative data were analysed using a thematic analysis approach in six stages. All-inclusive purposive sampling was used to select the documents for review. RESULTS: Three health sciences programmes were reviewed; two of the programmes met the minimum standards whereas one needed improvement. The review showed inadequate staffing, poor student support, and inadequate marketing of the programmes among others. CONCLUSIONS: The study has shown that conducting a review is crucial for maintaining and enhancing quality provisioning of programmes. The quality gaps identified by the panellists while reviewing the programmes can be used to improve and enhance quality of the programmes to a higher level if properly implemented. Thus, quality review does play a significant role during the implementation of health sciences programmes.

Navigating through COVID-19 Pandemic Period in Implementing Quality Teaching and Learning for Higher Education Programmes: A Document Analysis Study.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, has caused a swift change in the higher education system giving way to a rise in instituting multimodal teaching and learning approaches. These approaches have demonstrated an inadequate capacity for multimodal teaching, particularly through online instruction by many institutions. The Department of Higher Education in South Africa did its utmost best to equip the institutions with the required resources to continue with the provision of education. Methods: A descriptive qualitative research design was followed in the study. The study data source included the South African government's COVID-19 regulations relating to higher education and training. The purposive sampling method was used to select (8) several government documents relating to the regulation of COVID-19 in higher education and training institutions Document analysis technique was used to collect data from the COVID-19 pandemic regulation documents. Results: the study showed that most HEIs in South Africa adhere to safety measures, ensure business continuity in teaching and learning, continued with the distribution of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) allowances as allocated by the government, and followed procedures for returning certain categories of students on campuses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The study has evaluated the support for quality higher education teaching and learning during the pandemic period in South Africa. The study, therefore, recommends the continuing of online teaching as part of blended learning so that institutions could always be ready should situations like this occurs again in the future and above be in sync with digital transformation.

How Is It to Live with Diabetes Mellitus? The Voices of the Diabetes Mellitus Clients.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is described as a chronic disease resulting from failure of the pancreas to generate enough insulin or inability of the body to efficiently utilize the insulin it generates. Diabetes clients must adjust their lives to live healthy with the diseases for the rest of their lives. Optimizing diabetic knowledge and awareness among people living with diabetes will yield better health outcomes. This study seeks to investigate the knowledge, practices, and challenges of diabetes mellitus clients regarding management of the disease at selected clinics in the Capricorn District of Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: This study used a qualitative research approach and a phenomenological research design. A purposive sampling method was used to acquire the 18 participants for this study. Semi-structured interviews with a guide were used to collect data. Tesch's coding method was employed for data analysis. Results: The study findings revealed that there are comparable explanations of what it means to follow medication instructions by diabetes mellitus clients, and challenges living with DM. The findings also indicate that there are problems related to conceptualization of medication instructions among diabetes clients. Conclusion: This study indicated that diabetes mellitus clients have poor knowledge regarding management of the disease and its process, and problems related to medication instructions. Therefore, proper teaching of clients and guidance regarding diabetes and its management are required to improve compliance and delay of long-term complications.