Browsing by Author "Mgoqi, Mangoyi"
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- ItemNurses’ experiences on the use of Afrikaans for nursing documentation and handovers at a central hospital in the Western Cape(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-03) Mgoqi, Mangoyi; Crowley, Talitha; Van der Heever, M.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Nursing & Midwifery.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background: A traditionally Afrikaans central hospital in the Western Cape continues to use mostly Afrikaans for handovers and documentation despite an increase in the presence of isiXhosa speaking nurses. As not all isiXhosa speaking nurses are Afrikaans competent, it was necessary to explore the experiences of nurses regarding the use of Afrikaans for documentation and handovers, and how it may influence team cohesion and the quality of patient care rendered. Methods: A qualitative approach with a descriptive phenomenological design was used to explore nurses’ experiences on the use of Afrikaans for nursing documentation and handovers at a central hospital in the Western Cape. Purposive sampling was applied to select 12 participants of different language backgrounds and nursing categories. Permission to conduct the study was granted by the Health Research Ethics Committee of Stellenbosch University, the central hospital where the study took place and the individual participants. Data collection occurred with the use of semi-structured interviews which were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Colaizzi’s seven-step phenomenological method. Results: The four themes that formed the essential structure of the phenomenon were: differences which disunite, reverberations, historical influences and language discourses. Participants from different racial and language groups had varying experiences of the use of Afrikaans in the workplace. Language incompatibilities and the hegemonic role of Afrikaans in certain wards caused feelings of being ‘othered’, isolation and team divisions. Non-Afrikaans speaking participants felt that the use of Afrikaans for handovers and documentation impeded their ability to perform certain nursing duties and contributed to instances of omitted nursing care which may affect the quality of care rendered. Participants cited historical occurrences such as Apartheid as contributing to the use of Afrikaans at the institution and implicated those in higher positions for perpetuating the disregard for non-Afrikaans speakers. Certain Afrikaans speakers were adamant about holding on to their language lest it go into extinction. Some participants from both language groups felt that a common language, preferably English, would benefit all nurses involved in patient care. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the use of Afrikaans for documentation and handovers does not contribute to team cohesion and the rendering of quality patient care. This could be attributed to the perceived lack of managers to enhance the implementation of language practices that accommodates non-Afrikaans speaking staff. It is recommended that institutions should implement language policies relevant to their nursing population demographics in order to improve quality of patient care delivered and increase cohesion of multi-cultural teams.