Doctoral Degrees (Health Systems and Public Health)

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https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/100766

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Health Systems and Public Health) by browse.metadata.advisor "Eide, Arne"

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    An exploration of disability experiences and responses of disabled persons and their families within Muslim culture of the community of Strand, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Sait, Washeila; Mji, Gubela; Eide, Arne; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Global Health. Health Systems and Public Health.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Introduction: At the core of the study is the researcher’s perception that Muslim persons with disabilities and their families in the community of Strand are not participating in disability rights discourse and developments and activities of daily living within Muslim life. The perception is that they do not have the necessary knowledge and information, resulting in the practice of stifling care/or negatively impacting opportunities to engender participation. This perception required further investigation and validation, which is why this study was conducted. Study aim: This qualitative study aims to explore, understand and describe the disability experience and responses of Muslim persons with disability and their families within the religious socio-cultural constructs of the Muslim community of Strand. Study purpose: The purpose is to lift Muslim persons with disabilities out of uninformed-ness and invisibility into visibility and awareness, to bring their voices out of silence through descriptions of their specific experiences of disability into arenas of disability rights discourse and developments, and to encourage the development of enabling environments for participation and self-actualization. Methodology: The ethnography research method used describes the disability experiences of Muslim persons with disabilities and their families. Twenty-five participants selected through a blend of purposive and convenience sampling informed the study data. Data was collected using open-ended questions with participants in in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observations. The inductive/deductive analysis and descriptive interpretative narration informed the presentation of the findings. Presentation of findings: The study findings were as follows: • In the absence of disability information and rights-based approaches, the disability context is marred by struggles for participation opportunities to achieve self-actualization, experiences of negative attitudes, discrimination, exclusion and enforced isolation. • Disability ignorance within the community suggests that persons with disabilities and their families experience exclusion from participation in cultural programmes aimed at Muslim persons within the broader community. • The various negative factors that inform the disability context shows that within lived realities, being Muslim, disabled, and that of gender within Muslim religiosity and socio-cultural contexts places Muslim persons with disabilities outside the frame of belonging and of living life on the margins of their own religious, cultural and traditional daily life activities. Conclusion: Further disability research is required to improve the overall situation of Muslim persons with disabilities’ experiences to encourage their participation and self-actualization.
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    A grounded theory study exploring the participation of persons with disabilities in the Saudi Arabian culture
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Misbach, Sadia; Mji, Gubela; Kahonde, Callista; Eide, Arne; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Global Health. Health Systems and Public Health.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: This study set out to explore the ways that Saudi Arabian persons with acquired disabilities participate in society. In the context of concerns raised about value-based rehabilitation and readmissions of patients with disabilities in Saudi Arabia, suggestions have been made about harnessing indigenous knowledge to address unfulfilled needs for participation. Theoretical frameworks used to explore subjective dimensions of participation embody Western approaches, which when used in contexts other than the West such as Saudi Arabia, may not be suitable. Furthermore, rehabilitation practices have largely been underdeveloped to address the psychosocial dimensions related to participation of persons with acquired physical disabilities. This study explores an indigenous understanding of participation in everyday life to answer the research question of how participation is processed by persons with disabilities in Saudi Arabia. The study’s primary aim was to generate a substantive theory that explained the main processes involved in participation of persons with acquired disabilities in Saudi Arabia; useful for rehabilitation. The study is positioned within an indigenous interpretive paradigm using a grounded theory approach. The strengths of the interpretive indigenous grounded theory research design affirm and legitimises indigenous-based values based on Islamic religious beliefs. This project’s innovation lies in the application of key elements of indigenous research methodology scaffolded onto classical grounded theory, not found in previous studies on participation. The study was conducted at a large rehabilitation hospital in Saudi Arabia. The iterative cyclical data collection and analysis grounded theory methodology was followed. Twenty-eight persons with disabilities were interviewed, following Arab oral traditions of sharing information and lessons learnt. Three focus group discussions were held with Saudi nationals without disabilities to gain perspectives of disability. Persons with disabilities in Saudi Arabia understand participation as a process that involves their relations with others and Allah. Within the context of religious beliefs, their biographical disruption following an acquired disability, is explained as destiny. The process of overcoming is to rework their biographies within the context of religious and spiritual beliefs that provide meaning and purpose to life. Participants in the study experienced multiple tensions over time as they navigated various aspects of their life to reconstruct their identities, reinterpret participation and cultivate dignity of self. The narratives of persons with disabilities draw on their knowledge of Islamic religious beliefs, norms and expected behaviours. The Theory of Cultivating Dignity in Participation Spaces builds on the participants’ lived experiences and conceptualises a culturally embedded social process of multiple interacting transitions. The staged-transition theory describes patterns of behaviour underpinned by relational dignity, relational autonomy and interdependence for meaningful participation. The proposed theory provides a framework that demonstrate the interaction of participation, identity and dignity that can be further developed to extract active ingredients for context-based rehabilitation interventions. The study begins to inform an indigenous holistic approach to participation.