Browsing by Subject "quality of life"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Open Access
    Money and Sustainability: Examining the Potential Moderating Role of Financial Capability and Decent Work on the Relationship between Income and Quality of life
    (2021) Elliott, Amber; Meyer, Ines
    The inability of a large proportion of the working class to sustain a decent quality of life has placed increased importance on paying employees a living wage, that is, an income amount that enables meaningful participation in society above mere survival. However, while this notion seems promising, it does not account for the complexities in the relationship between income and quality of life; which, of course, is influenced by several moderating factors. This study considered two of these, financial capability and decent work, thereby assuming that the ability of income to effectively lead to a good quality of life is influenced by whether or not individuals engage in financial capability behaviours or perceive their work as decent. A cross sectional descriptive design was used and a final sample of N = 153 general salaried employees in South Africa participated in a self-report survey. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that each of the four financial capabilities (making ends meet, keeping track, planning ahead, and staying informed behaviours) were unidimensional in nature; while decent work produced a three-factor structure, inconsistent with its original five-factor conceptualisation. Spearman rho correlation results revealed that income was positively related to quality of life, and moderation analysis revealed that planning ahead was the only financial capability that influenced the relationship between income and quality of life. All other financial capabilities as well as decent work produced non-significant findings. Considering these results, study limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed, followed by outlining theoretical and practical implications.
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    Open Access
    The Assessment of quality of life in children with Tracheostomies and their families in a Low to Middle Income Country (LMIC)
    (2021) Din, Taseer Feroze; Peer, Shazia
    Introduction The Breatheasy© Tracheostomy Program based at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town, manages children mostly from poor socio-economic backgrounds. In our resource-limited setting, it is unclear how these families cope with the demands of a tracheostomised child. We aim to assess the quality of life (QOL) of tracheostomised children and their families as the first study of its kind in a low-resource setting. Methods A descriptive, observational study was done to assess the QOL of tracheostomised children managed by the Breatheasy© Program over 10 months. Children with tracheostomies for longer than 6 months, complex syndromic children, and home ventilated children were included. The validated Paediatric Tracheotomy Health Status Instrument (PTHSI) was utilised, where a higher score, implied a better outcome. Results A total of 68 families were recruited. In 57 (85.1%) of the carers, the highest level of education achieved was primary or high school. Twenty-seven (42%) families reported having an annual household income of less than $675 US Dollars (ZAR10,000). Sixteen (24%) resided within informal housing. The mean scores for the 4 PTHSI domains were: physical symptoms 24.8/35 (70.9%), frequency/financial impact of medical visits 14.2/15 (94.7%), QOL of child 8.8/15 (58.7%), QOL of carer 62.3/85 (73.3%); the overall score was 110.2/150 (73.5%). There was no significant correlation between total PTHSI and annual household income, carer's educational status or type of housing. Children with a concomitant major medical condition had a significantly poorer total PTHSI scores (p-value 0.024). Conclusion Tracheostomy care compounds challenging socio-economic circumstances. In our experience, with adequate training, home-care nursing is not necessary. Despite difficult living conditions, the Breatheasy© Program empowers children and their families to live independently of the hospital system and appear to be thriving. The decision to perform a paediatric tracheostomy should not be influenced by the carer's education level, socioeconomic status, or on the basis of formal or informal housing. Children with major medical comorbidities represent a group that requires more support.
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    Open Access
    The relationship between quality of work-life and quality of life based on the centrality and value of work in an individual’s life
    (2019) Petersen, Rejeanne; Meyer, Ines
    The study sought to examine the relationship between quality of work-life and quality of life depending on how central work is in an individual’s life and what value work holds for them. Literature internationally has shown that because work forms such an integral part of individuals’ lives, that this could influence their experience of quality of life, indicating that a high quality of work life could lead to a high quality of life. Similarly, if work is a central life interest and dependent on the value that work holds, the loss of work could potentially influence quality of life. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used, with a correlational approach. Snowball sampling was used to gather a sample of 163 working adults in South Africa, through a personal network of family and friends. Participants completed scales assessing the four variables of interest provided in an online questionnaire. The results indicated that individuals who experienced their quality of work-life as more positive also indicated a higher quality of life. This relationship was stronger when individuals saw work as having intrinsic value. However, the degree to which work was central to a person’s life, and to which work was seen as having value as it provided monetary rewards (extrinsic value), social connections and relationships (social value), or status (prestige value) were not found to alter the relationship between quality of work-life and quality of life. As shown previously in both international and local literature, work is always placed second to family in importance. Based on these findings, limitations and recommendations were suggested, as well as theoretical and practical implications.