Browsing by Author "Abbas, Iesrafeel"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    Employer's experiences of using the supported employment model when employing persons with disabilities in the open labour market in South Africa
    (2023) Makan, Reyna; Abbas, Iesrafeel; Engelbrecht, Madri
    Background: Persons with disabilities (PWD) face barriers to obtaining and maintaining sustainable employment in the open labour market (OLM) in South Africa (SA) and, therefore, are under-represented in the OLM. In SA currently, there are limited services available to assist PWD in acquiring or maintaining employment in the OLM. Supported employment (SE) is a model that aims to promote employment of PWD in the OLM. Research in SA found that employers directly influence the success of employment for PWD in the OLM. Employers are uniquely positioned to create either barriers or opportunities for PWD to become integrated into South African workplaces. Employers in the OLM contribute to this factor of not employing PWD into the OLM due to the feeling of being ill-equipped and lack knowledge about disability employment. The purpose of this research was to inform practice of SE partnerships with employers to increase their capacity to use the SE model in their businesses to contribute towards sustainable employment of PWD in SA. Design: A qualitative descriptive design of inquiry was selected to describe South African employers' experiences of using the SE Model when employing PWD in OLM. Research methods: six in-depth interviews were conducted. Audio recordings were used and data was transcribed verbatim. The data was analysed through thematic analysis and represented in a report format. Findings: Four themes emerged from this research study: Facilitators in using the SE model, Challenges in using SE model, Disability attitudes shaped by the SE implementation, Employer support for SE implementation. Discussion: Employers' experiences of using the SE model were discussed in regard to the facilitators and challenges of its implementation. Employers described how the partnerships formed by the stakeholders in the SE intervention, and the role of the job coach were essential in the implementation of SE. Challenges surrounding implementation of SE were the issues around the period of re-integration for employers as well as the lack of knowledge available and inclusion in policy and legislation in SA available to support employers in the OLM on SE implementation. Employers reported an increased awareness about disability and normalised the provision of support in the workplace for employees. Employers' attitudes and understanding of disability and inclusion in the workplace were increased using the SE model. Employers' suggestions regarding needs for future implementation were made to enhance the SE implementation for future employers, such as strengthening SE partnerships with stakeholders and provision of more education and inclusion of SE in SA Legislation. This aims to inform best practice of SE in SA. The ethical considerations pertaining to this research study include following the guidelines of ethical considerations outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, 2013). This research proposal was granted ethical approval by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Cape Town. The researcher was able to maintain confidentiality can be described within enhancing practice of SE within occupational therapy (OT), for employers in SA OLM, South African government legislation and policy makers and for future research in OT. Word count: 503 Key words: Supported employment, open labour market, employment, employers, persons with disabilities qualitative research, South Africa.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Open Access
    Parent perceptions of screen time use in young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
    (2022) Ebrahim, Faatima Omarjee; Gretschel, Pamela; Abbas, Iesrafeel
    Screen time (ST) relates to accessing and engaging with electronic media, technology and devices that involves any type of screen. The global advancement and increasing availability of technology, together with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on social engagement, appears to have led to a growing presence of ST in the lives of young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Excessive ST has been associated with developmental delays, sleep disturbances, reduced physical activity and other health problems which can have significant negative impacts on the occupational engagement of children with ASD. Despite these concerns, little to no research focussing on ST use by children with ASD, nor of its impacts on their engagement in other occupations, has been conducted in middle-income countries, like South Africa. A qualitative descriptive design, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with seven purposively selected participants in line with maximum variation, was used to explore and describe parents' perceptions of ST of their children with ASD. The study aimed to promote a better understanding of how and why their children used ST, what the effect of ST was on their children's lives, what strategies their parents used to mediate ST and the impact that the COVID19 pandemic had on ST use. The information gained will be used to inform intervention guidelines for the management of ST and for optimising its use, for children with ASD. Through a process of thematic analysis, four themes emerged from the data. The theme Seeking out ST opportunities described how children used ST in keeping with their interests and how their limited interest in non-ST activities made them seek opportunities for ST. Theme two, ST, a mixed blessing confirmed how parents viewed ST to have both benefits and drawbacks for their children and described how they tried to come to terms with ST as it created opposing effects in their children's lives. Theme three Striving to provide conditional access to ST found that these parents used a variety of restrictive mediation strategies to manage their child's ST, whilst trying to avoid the stress caused by limiting ST and allowing for its use under certain conditions. The fourth theme COVID-19 “intensified the whole screen time business” highlighted how ST became an appealing replacement during the pandemic adding new challenges that parents experienced with managing its use. Overall, these findings acknowledged the challenges and positive contributions that parents of children with ASD experienced because of ST of their children, which were exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study supports the need for early childhood interventionists to consider ST as a significant occupation of children with ASD, that requires attention.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Open Access
    The Impact of covid-19 on occupational therapy students in mental health practice learning placements
    (2023) Cassim, Feroza; Abbas, Iesrafeel; Sonday Amshuda
    Introduction: Practice learning (PL) is a core feature of occupational therapy (OT) students' curriculum and professional development during their undergraduate training. It promotes students' clinical reasoning abilities and enhances their reflective skills as emerging clinicians, enabling them to graduate as competent healthcare practitioners. However, the covid-19 pandemic interrupted curriculum delivery and forced blended teaching and learning methods. Globally this was recognized to have a significant impact on the training of undergraduate health science students who relied on face-to-face teaching and learning methods. This study aimed to explore the opportunities and barriers that influenced undergraduate OT students' learning experiences within mental health (MH) PL placements during the covid-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative descriptive research design was utilized to explore the barriers and opportunities occupational therapy students faced during the covid-19 pandemic in MH PL. Eight undergraduate students were purposively sampled, each participating in a 60-minute individual face-to-face interview which was transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Findings: Three key themes emerged from the study: 1) Acknowledging ME in the pandemic, describing the need for acknowledgement of what the participants were experiencing during the pandemic, 2) Setup for failure, describing the elements that participants identified as barriers to their ability to thrive in PL and 3) Stuck between a rock and a hard pandemic, demonstrating the opportunities and the barriers for learning which were present in PL placements, and which became more distinct because of the pandemic. Discussion: Complexities of PL in MH PL placements within higher education highlighted the opportunities and barriers which were present in participants' learning experiences, shaping their development as emerging healthcare practitioners. The complexities highlighted the need for additional emotional support structures in the PL learning experience. Social identity constructs, such as language, gender, and culture emerged as critical elements in the consideration of curriculum transformation work impacting PL in South Africa (SA). The context of the pandemic created space for considering how professional identity development is formed and impacted in undergraduate OT students who emerged from the pandemic. Barriers which were present because of the pandemic included feeling underprepared by the pandemic curriculum for PL. Whilst opportunities for learning were positively influenced by peer learning from fellow students. Recommendations included further development of the practice education curriculum in the current PL placements drawing on lessons learnt from the pandemic. Suggested future research is recommended to deepen the understanding on the long-lasting effects of the pandemic on emerging health professionals in a longitudinal study.