OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Swartz, Leslie"

Browsing by Author "Swartz, Leslie"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 51

Open Access
A psychometric investigation of the Bem sex role inventory among Western Cape psychology one students
(1989) Betts, John David; Swartz, Leslie
The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the performance of the Bern Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) (Bern, 1974) amongst South African students. Little information exists about student sex roles in this country. The BSRI is. widely used as a research instrument in South Africa, without investigation of the applicability of the American norms on which it is based to the behaviour of the instrument in South Africa. The primary aims were twofold: firstly, to describe the inventory's behaviour and establish norms for local students; and secondly, to translate the BSRI into the Afrikaans language and establish norms for Afrikaans students. Subjects were two samples of students (N=lSO, n females = 10.9, n males = 41, each). All subjects were classified '·'white", were full time bona fide Psychology One students from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch. Stratified random samples were drawn from the student populations. Quantitative methods were used to gather the data, namely the BSRI. The BSRI was translated into Afrikaans using backtranslation and decentring methods. A BSRI protocol, a. letter of motivation, and a stamped, addressed envelope were sent to the subjects by mail. Completed protocols were mailed to the researcher. All results were anonymous. Completed protocols were coded, scored, and analysed using statistical software resident on the UCT Sperry-Univac mainframe. The main findings were that the University of Stellenbosch (US) male students were more masculine sex typed than their University of Cape Town (UCT) counterparts. UCT students were found to be more androgynous than US; the BSRI demonstrated high internal reliability, with subscale internal reliability scores demonstrating strong homogeneity of items. The UCT BSRI protocols were factor analysed into two clearly independent dimensions called masculinity and femininity. It was found that the US BSRI protocols did not factor analyse into two clearly independent dimensions. A large factor in the US sample is representative of an androgynous individual in that the factor loaded with positive masculine and feminine BSRI items that Bern (1974) regarded as indicative of androgyny. The implications of the study are that the BSRI masculinity norms developed in the United States are not applicable to South African students. The Afrikaans translation of the BSRI cannot be used to determine sex roles in the same manner as the original BSRI intends. Future research could ·involve the qualitative assessment of sex role, especially in a multi-cultural design.
Open Access
Adolescent suicidal behaviour in the 'lost city' : the experiences of mental health workers
(1995) Welsh, Merran; Swartz, Leslie
This study examines the high levels of anxiety and stress of mental health workers when dealing with cases involving adolescent suicidal behaviour. Mental health workers including nursing sisters, social workers and paraprofessionals were interviewed: Initially an unstructured interview schedule was used to explore the nature of adolescent suicidal behaviour in the course of their work. A semi-structured interview schedule, using focus groups was utilised to elicit the experiences and reactions of mental health workers to adolescent suicidal behaviour. A year after the initial interviews a few respondents were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The aim was to evaluate the effects of the research intervention. A thematic analysis highlights factors which disorganise the work of mental health professionals and paraprofessionals and contribute to their high levels of anxiety and stress.
Open Access
Aspects of culture in South African psychiatry
(1989) Swartz, Leslie; Foster, Don
A review of the South African psychiatric literature reveals that the concept of culture is commonly reified. It is also used by the South African state to legitimate apartheid. The concept of cultural relativism, though often associated with liberal views internationally, is linked with state policies in South Africa. Some South African social scientists, therefore, strongly question the notion of relativism. This reaction unfortunately does not engage with the social reality of the widespread perception of cultural differences, in psychiatric settings and elsewhere. Issues of race and culture in psychiatric practice were explored in a psychiatry department of a liberal South African university. Observation of ward-rounds in a psychiatric casualty (emergency) facility over six months revealed that, as elsewhere in the world, a major cultural factor influencing clinicians is the relationship between psychiatry and general medicine. A cultural understanding of South African psychiatry must take account of this relationship. Ward-rounds in a facility treating Black psychiatric patients were observed over fifteen months. Black and white clinicians in these rounds were often in conflict over constructions of the concept of culture. Some appeared deeply ambivalent about cultural relativism. Psychiatric registrars (residents) attached to the department under study participated in loosely structured interviews exploring issues of race and culture in their work. They also responded to vignettes dealing with white, coloured and Black patients. Registrars felt uncomfortable about the role of the concept of cultural difference in affecting the welfare of Black patients, and in maintaining discrimination. Their own socialisation as practitioners in an individualising and medicalising discipline seems a major factor contributing to their ongoing reproduction of this discrimination. The study reveals the importance of exploring the views and experiences of practitioners. South African work focussing on the need for fundamental change in mental health care has generally glossed over details of extant practice. This dissertation shows, however, that a major site for mobilisation for change in South African mental health-care must be the psychiatric institution itself.
Open Access
Attitudes to food and weight : a survey in a women's residence at the University of Cape Town
(1986) Robinson, Christopher John; Swartz, Leslie
Epidemiological research in the past decade has indicated that clinical and subclinical eating disorders are widespread amongst the female population of many Western countries. Following an introductory overview of some of the literature on anorexia nervosa and bulimia, highlighting the lack of diagnostic clarity in this area, previous epidemiological findings are reviewed. The eating attitudes and dietary behaviour of a female student population in a residence at the University of Cape Town are then detailed. The sample comprised 123 women, shown to be a representative sample of the residence population, and data were collected by means of the Eating Attitudes Test (Garner and Garfinkel, 1979). Results indicate that 13.8% of the sample population scored above the threshold score of 30 on this test; results are discussed with particular focus on specific attitudes and behaviours possibly indicative of anorexic or bulimic symptomatology, and which are elicited by EAT responses. Clinical interviews were conducted with those women who scored over 30 and who supplied their names (9 students); qualitative data obtained from these interviews augment the quantitative analysis of the EAT data, particularly with respect to the phenomenon of binge-eating behaviour. Findings of the present study accord overall with results obtained elsewhere amongst similar populations. The study does, however, call into question presently held assumptions about the nature of binge-eating, and the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa and bulimia.
Open Access
Barriers to the participation of people with psychosocial disability in mental health policy development in South Africa: a qualitative study of perspectives of policy makers, professionals, religious leaders and academics
(BioMed Central Ltd, 2013) Kleintjes, Sharon; Lund, Crick; Swartz, Leslie
BACKGROUND: This paper outlines stakeholder views on environmental barriers that prevent people who live with psychosocial disability from participating in mental health policy development in South Africa.METHOD:Fifty-six semi-structured interviews with national, provincial and local South African mental health stakeholders were conducted between August 2006 and August 2009. Respondents included public sector policy makers, professional regulatory council representatives, and representatives from non-profit organisations (NPOs), disabled people's organisations (DPOs), mental health interest groups, religious organisations, professional associations, universities and research institutions. RESULTS: Respondents identified three main environmental barriers to participation in policy development: (a) stigmatization and low priority of mental health, (b) poverty, and (c) ineffective recovery and community supports. CONCLUSION: A number of attitudes, practices and structures undermine the equal participation of South Africans with psychosocial disability in society. A human rights paradigm and multi-system approach is required to enable full social engagement by people with psychosocial disability, including their involvement in policy development.
Open Access
Black clinical psychologists in the Western Cape : their perspectives on their work
(1998) Mokutu, Molefi Peter; Swartz, Leslie
Being a Black, African language-speaking trainee clinical psychologist and fluent in different languages can have both its advantages and challenges. Challenges include, among others, working in one's own mother tongue after having been trained in other languages; ethnic and/or cultural differences from trainers and clients; and the burden of what may at times be a misperception that there are similarities between the client and clinician who apparently come from the same background. There are also other difficulties that come with working in a multi-cultural society. This study examines how four Black clinicians (two interns and two qualified psychologists) in the Western Cape, trained in English, deal or dealt with some of the challenges posed by working with Black, African language-speaking patients and/or clients. Results are based on semi-structured interviews with these clinicians about their experiences mainly with Black clients, and about their experiences of training.
Open Access
Black clinical psychology interns at a 'white' university : their experience of colour during training
(1991) Kleintjes, Sharon Rose; Swartz, Leslie
This study examines whether black clinical psychology interns at a "white" university experience issues during training which they perceive to be colour-related, and suggests ways of dealing with these issues as part of training. The results are based on 22 one-hour semi-structured interviews conducted with four male and three female black ('Coloured', 'Asian' and 'Black') interns drawn from a group of 12 who had completed their first year of the Clinical Psychology Master's programme at the Child Guidance Clinic (CGC), University of Cape Town, between 1976 and 1990. At the time of interviewing four respondents were registered psychologists and three were intern psychologists. Interviews were taped and transcribed verbatim. The data was analysed qualitatively. Emergent themes are: Not feeling good enough, language and articulation, relating to classmates and trainers, working with clients, and talking about black concerns. There was substantial variation between interns within these themes in terms of the perceived impact of colour-related issues during their training. While provision should be made for the black intern who does experience significant effects from racially-related issues during training to work through these, interns (and trainers) should avoid overlabelling training difficulties as racially based. Other suggestions include the following: (a) Preselection information sent to applicants for the course could outline the CGC's informal policy on training interns from all races. (b) Reading and seminars held during orientation could include literature and discussion which would facilitate talking about black concerns. (c) Black staff could be appointed to the clinical training team. (d) Supervisors need to become more aware of the ways in which colour-related issues may affect interns' training, and of ways to facilitate interns' dealing with these issues where necessary. One possible model of the supervisor's role in the development of the intern's professional identity, including black interns, is briefly outlined.
Open Access
Caregivers' experience of caring for a family member with schizophrenia in conditions of poverty
(2008) Breen, Alison; Kaminer, Debbie; Swartz, Leslie
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of South African caregivers caring for a family member with schizophrenia, living in conditions of poverty. Of particular interest in this research was to explore the factors that present challenges to their capacity to care and the factors that facilitate coping. A qualitative methodology was utilized, making use of semi-structured interviews which were conducted with ten caregivers caring for a family member with schizophrenia. Data were analysed using analytic techniques from grounded theory. Six broad themes emerged during analysis, namely: caregivers' assistance with activities of daily living; involvement with illness management; knowledge of illness; consequences of caregiving; coping with care giving; and the impact of poverty on care giving.
Open Access
Caregiving experiences of South African mothers of adults with intellectual disability who display aggression: clinical case studies
(2016) Coetzee, Jacobus (Ockert); Adnams, Colleen; Swartz, Leslie
Background: Adults who have an intellectual disability (ID) often continue to live with their parents long after their siblings have left home. While an increasing body of research has described positive parental experiences, research has also found that parents of adults who have ID and behavioural difficulties are more vulnerable to develop parental stress and depression. Aggression is one of the most difficult forms of problem behaviours to manage and could have a negative impact on the parent-child relationship, the child's social inclusivity and the psychological well-being of parents. Method: A case-based psychotherapy design was used to explore maternal experiences among mothers of adults with ID and aggression who access a specialised mental health service in Cape Town. Psychotherapy was used with six participants to attempt to reduce parental stress and other negative psychological states. In an area of research that has received scant attention in South Africa, the study extensively describes the psychotherapy process and the role of contextual factors in the lives of the participating mothers. The study used a mixed methods design which included psychometric measurements that were conducted at various intervals of intervention. Thematic analysis was used in all the case studies and interviews were scheduled before and after completing psychotherapy. External credibility was enhanced through the use of different qualitative strategies that included peer supervision and reflexivity. Findings: Besides elevated parental stress, the majority of participants presented with symptoms of depression and other mental health problems that varied according to their individual profiles. Although parental stress showed a discernible relationship with the child's behavioural difficulties, other significant life stressors contributed to maternal stress and depressive symptoms. Psychotherapy produced only modest improvement of parental stress among some of the participants. However, therapeutic input appeared to be more effective in reducing depressive symptoms among the majority of mothers. Critical reflection and discussion are centred on the clinical implications and meaning of findings on a psychological level.
Open Access
Children of mothers with physical disabilities : perceptions of parenting, the mother-adolescent relationship and the adolescent's engagement in risky behaviour : five case studies
(2006) Deglon, Under; Wild, Lauren; Swartz, Leslie
This qualitative study investigated the effect of a mother's physical disability on the mother-adolescent relationship, parenting and the adolescent's engagement in risky behaviour. Interviews were conducted with five mothers with visible physical disabilities and with their adolescent children. The adolescents comprised two boys and three girls between the ages of 12 and 15 years. All five mother-adolescent dyads were black, with low maternal educational levels, from low socio-economic backgrounds, and lived in neighbourhoods characterised by unemployment, gangsterism, substance abuse, violence and crime. The multiple case study design was used to compare and contrast evidence from the individual cases. Two separate semistructured interviews, covering the same topics, were conducted with both the mother and the adolescent in order to triangulate the data. The interviews focused on perceptions of (a) the impact of the mother's disability for mother-adolescent relations; (b) disability-related stigma and the adolescent's awareness of the mother's difference on the mother-adolescent relationship; (c) the ways in which the mother's disability and other contextual factors affect parenting and the adolescent's engagement in risky behaviour. The results illuminated a range of barriers andfacilitators to parenting with a physical disability but the variability notwithstanding, the majority of the families reported positive relationships and experiences given the cumulative stressors that they face.
Open Access
Clinical psychology in a general hospital : conflicts and paradoxes
(1988) Miller, Tracey Deborah; Swartz, Leslie
Over the past decade clinical psychologists have increasingly begun to work in general hospital settings, but little published research has dealt in depth with the adjustments and negotiations that need to occur at the interface of clinical psychology and medicine. In this dissertation, the relationship of the psychosocial to medicine and the professional relationships of psychologists and doctors are discussed. Consultation- liaison psychiatry and multidisciplinary treatment teams are presented as two ways in which medicine has attempted to deal with the psychosocial, and which provide potentially useful models of practice for psychologists. Four cases that were referred to the author while working as an intern clinical psychologist in a Neurosurgery unit are discussed in terms of the insight they provide in understanding implicit assumptions about and expectations of psychology. In addition, the head of this Department of Neurosurgery and the two clinical psychologists working in this department were interviewed, and these interviews, together with the cases, provide the material for a discussion of various issues which face clinical psychologists in this unit. These include: the power structures and relationships in the unit; the use of consultation-liaison psychiatry and multidisciplinary treatment team models of practice; the inability of psychologists to fulfil present demands for their services; and the issue of reactive or proactive definition of psychological functions. Finally, some suggestions for enhancing the psychological contribution to patient care in Neurosurgery are made, based on the principles that arise out of the discussion.
Open Access
Community Support for Persons with Disabilities in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review
(2022-07-06) Hunt, Xanthe; Bradshaw, Melissa; Vogel, Steyn Lodewyk; Encalada, Alberto Vasquez; Eksteen, Shanice; Schneider, Marguerite; Chunga, Kelly; Swartz, Leslie
Over the life course, persons with disabilities require a range of supports to be integrated into their communities, to participate in activities that are meaningful and necessary, and to have access, on an equal basis to persons without disabilities, to community living. We conducted a scoping review of the peer-reviewed and grey literature on community support for persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The main findings of this review concern the following: there are gaps in access to community support for persons with disabilities in LMICs; there are barriers to the provision of such support; formal and informal strategies and interventions for the provision of community support exist across the life cycle and different life domains, but evidence concerning their effectiveness and coverage is limited; and the role of community-based rehabilitation and Organisations of Persons with Disabilities in the assessment of needs for, and the development and provision of, community support, needs to be more clearly articulated. Research needs a more robust theory of change models with a focus on evaluating different aspects of complex interventions to allow for effective community support practices to be identified.
Open Access
Community-clinical psychological consultation with teachers in an "African" lower primary school : discourses and future directions
(1989) Wood, Rosemary Jane; Swartz, Sally; Swartz, Leslie
Following the action research tradition, a series of four workshops was conducted with 14 - 20 teachers at Songeze Lower Primary School in Guguletu. The workshops were in response to a preceding 'fact-finding' study as to the teachers' perceptions and attributions regarding common emotional and behavioural problems of pupils at their school. This pilot study arose from debate about the relevance of psychological practice in the South African context and in an attempt to identify feasible means of extending the services of the University of Cape Town's Child Guidance Clinic to "oppressed communities" in the Cape Peninsula. It was hypothesized that workshops would be a resource-efficient means of triadic, community - clinical consultation. This workshop series was negotiated with the teachers and comprised: 'Problem Identification and Assessment', 'Discipline', 'Listening Skills' and 'Referral Resources and Group Consultation'. During each workshop, didactic input was supported with hand-outs while large group discussion and problem solving was also stimulated. The last three workshops were quantitatively evaluated by the teachers and in a fifth meeting their qualitative feedback was elicited. An important variable in the above study involved its having been conducted by two researchers, one being "black" and the author being "white". Issues of language barriers, credibility, trust and differing perceptions and expectations between researchers and the participant teachers complicated the workshop process. The teachers' differential responses to the researchers, based on their 'colour', resulted in each experiencing and interpreting their role and relevance differently. It was found that the teachers' most pressing needs concern basic teaching skills and that clinical psychologists have a relatively minor contribution to make via simple, directive input along behaviour modification principles. Workshops were not found to be an optimal mode of intervention. It is suggested that inter-disciplinary team consultation, with clinical psychology interns playing a role in psychological and psychometric assessment and providing workshops on topics such as Discipline may be a more appropriate means of extending the Child Guidance Clinic's services to schools in the Guguletu community. A strong recommendation is made that the study of an "African" language be included in the Clinical Psychology training program. A further suggestion of exploring the need for, and feasibility of, interns conducting teacher support groups is also forwarded.
Open Access
Consultation and training challenges at the Mamre Community Health Project
(1994) Holdsworth, Marion; Swartz, Leslie
South African mental health services are in a crisis. Rural areas are particularly neglected. While shortage of resources is readily acknowledged, there have been various suggestions mooted to address these inadequacies. These solutions include: decentralisation, promotion of primary mental health care, encouraging community participation and involvement of indigenous helpers. Psychological consultation and training is a valuable way of implementing most of these suggestions as it is estimated that many mental health disorders are not diagnosed or treated because front-line workers do not have the knowledge or skill to do so. Although consultation and training is accepted as a useful way of working, it is not without problems. Certain factors make it more or less possible to implement. These factors are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the topic of hierarchical relations inherent in intra-and interprofessional contexts. It is believed that these relations may interfere with the creation of equitable consultant-consultee partnerships, and therefore hinder the consultation and training process. The present research evaluates factors which facilitate or hinder the consultation and training programme at the Mamre Community Health Project. This project is a non-government organisation aiming to improve of the health of the community of Mamre, a small rural town on the west coast of the Western Cape. Target consultees, including nursing sisters, social workers and paraprofessionals, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The aim was to elicit experiences and opinions of consultation and training. Psychological consultants who had worked at the Mamre Community Health Project were also interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule to elicit their experiences of consultation. Athematic analysis highlights factors which facilitate and factors which inhibit the process. Results are discussed in the light of the literature review, and recommendations are made regarding the future practice of consultation and training.
Open Access
Coping with mental illness : a case study in initiating a support group in Mamre
(1993) Benjamin, Ereshia; Swartz, Leslie
The aim of this dissertation is to provide a detailed description and partial evaluation of a support group for psychiatric outpatients and their relatives in Mamre. The first nineteen sessions of the support group are described in detail, and the evaluation information was obtained from the participants at the evaluation workshop held in February 1992, as well as the facilitator's observations. The nineteen group sessions were usually held once. a month, .but not every month, between June 1990 and February 1992. The sessions were all held on Sunday afternoons and usually lasted two to two-and-a-half hours. · All known psychiatric out-patients in Mamre and their families were invited to all the meetings. Attendance varied, but a group of approximately 11 regular attenders emerged over the nineteen sessions. Three community workers also joined the group at various stages and became regular participants in the group. The preliminary evaluation of the group revealed that the group is functioning within the working phase of group development, and that the group provided a number of benefits to the regular participants. The evaluation also highlighted issues of autonomy, heterogeneity and non-adherence. Suggestions for further research and group aims, focusing around these issues, are made.
Open Access
A critical evaluation of a community based mother-infant intervention project with special emphasis on infant attachment
(1999) Tomlinson, Mark; Swartz, Leslie
This dissertation critically evaluates a community based mother-infant intervention project in Hanover Park, a deprived area of Cape Town, characterised by poverty, gangsterism and high levels of unemployment. The aim of the project was to assess the impact of an intervention programme in preventing child abuse and neglect and promoting more nurturing parent-child relationships. The sample was drawn from clinic records at the Hanover Park Mid-Obstetric Unit. Twenty-five mother-infant dyads were initially chosen based on high levels of stress and assigned to the intervention group. A control group was subsequently chosen, also drawn from clinic records as well as being matched with the intervention group. Subjects in the intervention group received weekly visits for a two-year period from family support workers, all of whom lived in Hanover Park. The intervention was based on the Healthy Start Programme as developed in Hawaii. A basic socio-demographic questionnaire was administered at the beginning of the project. Mothers were assessed for postnatal depression using the Edinburgh Postnatal . Depression Scale. Anthropometric data was collected throughout the project. At the end of the two-year intervention, infants were assessed using the Griffiths Scales of Mental Development and Ainsworth's Strange Situation. The results were statistically analysed for relationships and differences according to group. Findings revealed that there were no significant differences between the intervention group and the control group on any of the outcome measures. A trend was detected with the Strange Situation results and a power analysis was conducted in order to determine requisite sample size for significance to have been achieved. The result of this algorithm were that for significance to have been achieved (assuming the trend were to continue) a sample size of 74 in each group would have been required. A discussion is presented in terms of the implications of the findings for the utilisation of the Strange Situation measure in a diverse cultural context such as South Africa, as well as the broader cultural implications for the study of attachment in future studies. A detailed methodological and theoretical critique of the Hanover Park Project is also presented in order to glean important lessons for future intervention studies, and more particularly for a treatment-trial which is at present being conducted in Khayelitsha.
Open Access
Disability and participation in physical activity and non-elite sport environments: a critical investigation of persons with disabilities experiences
(2022) Brand, Dominique; Watermeyer, Brian; Swartz, Leslie
Sport is often praised for its capacity to alleviate social exclusion. However, for many persons with disabilities and people trapped within the poverty cycle, sport remains elusive in terms of accessible process and practice. To better understand sport's wider inclusionary and exclusionary outcomes this study explored experiences of persons with disabilities and the assumptions, distinctions and ideologies surrounding sport as a means for social inclusion. Saxton (2018) argues that we continue to hold a narrow understanding of the nature of participation for athletes with disabilities, especially non-elite athletes. Such participation often involves barriers and exclusion, denying persons with disabilities access to psychological and physiological benefits of participation. The position that sport has gained, and held, in development reflects an understanding that sport can be a steppingstone to upward social mobility, potentially providing a means for material advancement, increased social status and occupational prestige (Carrington, 1986; Hartmann & Kwauk, 2011; Spaaij, Magee, & Jeanes, 2014). My research acknowledges the influential role sport has gained in society, whether it be for the purposes of competition, enjoyment, or development (Eitzen, 2005). The significance of this exploratory study is to contribute to the gap in knowledge surrounding persons with disabilities' perspectives and experiences of sport and physical activity participation; this will add to the sports research knowledge base from a Global South perspective, nuanced with the diversity these environments provide. The study utilised a biographical narrative approach to investigate the diverse nature of non-elite sport participation by persons with disabilities. Emphasis was placed on understanding the variety of experiences of participants from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. The research has generated ten narratives of participants from Cape Town, South Africa, all of whom indicated that sport participation was fundamentally important in their lives. Although the interviewees identified with sport participation as a core value, they also showed how opportunities to play sport are not readily available to them. In sharing their lived experiences, their unique narratives contributed to the identification of a participation framework, which is part of the main findings of the study. Key findings of the study: The participation framework acknowledges how different societal responses to disability influence a person's experiences of participation, while providing a new language to facilitate an expanded understanding of how role-players within sport environments perpetuate exclusionary practices. Within non-elite sport environments there currently remain very limited options and opportunities for persons with disabilities. In the process of gaining access to participate, the distress of navigating material/non-material barriers means that persons with disabilities often pay a premium (psychoemotional cost) for the privilege of access, with its associated positive outcomes (achieving a sense of self or being able to recast one's identity). Passive inclusion occurs in organisations that assume they practice authentic inclusivity simply by virtue of having persons with disabilities present in their structures. This approach side-steps the more complex task of unpacking exclusionary practices; it pushes the responsibility back to persons with disabilities when all they want to do is participate in sport. When saddled with the task of understanding and addressing their own exclusion it is easy to see why some persons with disabilities may withdraw and demonstrate an instinctual need to self-protect against further oppressive treatment. As reflected in current critiques of the global sport for development agenda, persons with disabilities are still only represented on the periphery of programmes and research. The framework and language produced in this study can be the starting point to support future sport for development programmes by engaging with inclusivity through understanding exclusionary practices. The theoretical and methodological implications of the study urgently call on global role-players within sport and development to take responsibility for the role they have in perpetuating such practices. A drive towards quick results and efficiency rather than a focus on changing people's lives predominates in the development world. This approach is inflicted on the Global South by virtue of vulnerability created by our need for resources from the Global North. This study offers steps towards facilitating a conversation surrounding the experiences of persons with disabilities within sport environments and the implications of these for a collective agenda to create a more inclusive, transformed society.
Open Access
Disability and social change: a South African agenda
(2011) Watermeyer, Brian; Swartz, Leslie; Lorenzo, Theresa; Schneider, Marguerite; Priestley, Mark
This powerful volume represents the broadest engagement with disability issues in South Africa yet. It covers a wide range of perspectives of disability, from theoretical perspectives on disability, to disability in education, to disability's relationship with and effect on people living in poverty. This text can be used to support students in disability studies especially in the South African context.
Open Access
Explanatory models of illness amongst primary health care users in Mamre
(1992) Rogers, Philippa; Swartz, Leslie
This study explores the illness experiences of twenty one patients who presented for treatment at primary health care settings in Mamre, a small "coloured" community approximately 50km from Cape Town, with the aim of investigating the possible contribution of psychological factors to presentation for primary health care. It also attempts to investigate how, psychologically, we may understand the process of illness identification and help-seeking. Selected literature on psychological issues in primary health care is reviewed. A hermeneutically-oriented medical anthropological approach to the study of illness and health care is outlined. The participants for the study were selected from all patients presenting at general practitioners in Mamre and for O.P.D treatment at Wesfleur hospital over a period of one week. A semi-structured interview, consisting mainly of open-ended questions aild focussing on their illness explanations, experiences of treatment, and their understanding and/or experience of "nerves", was conducted within ten days, in their own homes. The analysis of the interview material drew on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The quantitative analysis provides indications of the frequency of types of illness and patient responses to treatment. The qualitative analysis draws on Kleinman's (1980) explanatory model/ framework with the aim of understanding the illness experience of each participant. The participants' understanding and/or experience of nerves is also described. This study provides additional insights in understanding the process of illness identification r and help-seeking and the contribution of psychological issues in the presentation for , primary health care.
Open Access
Exploration of eye movement desensitization as part of treatment of traumatic memories/post traumatic stress disorder in rape survivors in South Africa
(1995) Mongale, Kealogetswe Maureen; Swartz, Leslie
This study documents eye movement desensitization (EMD) therapy sessions of 2 female in-patients suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of rape. The literature review considers the three main approaches to understanding and treating PTSD (psychodynamic, crisis, and behavioural), before consideration of EMD. A brief comparison of EMD and Hypnosis is also presented in this section. The case material provides an account of the application of EMD and its therapeutic outcome. The patients' verbal reports and nurses' observations were used as measurement strategies to estimate the therapeutic success. The discussion explores various factors which influenced the therapeutic outcome. In conclusion it is hypothesized that EMD has a cathartic effect which needs to be further explored and considered in its theorization. Finally, implications of the findings for clinical work with PTSD in South Africa are discussed.