Browsing by Author "Muller-Kluits, Noreth"

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    Caregiver burden as depicted by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities
    (Stellenbosch University, Department of Social Work, 2018) Muller-Kluits, Noreth; Slabbert, Ilze
    South Africa is experiencing a high incidence of child abuse and neglect. The care and protection of children require of social workers to deliver child protection services including compiling reports for Children’s Court hearings. This paper focuses on how the Family Assessment for Least Developed Countries (FA-LDC) instrument can be used as evidenced-based practice to assist social workers in statutory investigations. Findings indicate that this instrument directed information gathering more effectively for the finalisation of investigations. The paper concludes by indicating how the utilisation of assessment instruments can assist social workers in dealing with high caseloads
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    Experiences of adults with acquired physical disabilities of social work support in a South African context
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Muller-Kluits, Noreth; Slabbert, Ilze; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Almost every person will experience a form of impairment or disability at some point in their lives. Different types of impairment could occur at any given moment. In a New York University Hospital study with persons who acquired paraplegia, a four-stage process similar to the stages of grief identified by Kübler-Ross was identified for person with disabilities coming to terms with their disability, these being shock, denial, anger and depression. This correlation could assist in understanding the adjustments persons who acquire a disability later in life must make as they ‘grieve’ the life prior to the disability onset. It is further argued that the social worker’s task is to help people with disabilities through these adjustment phases. Taking this into account, the research question for this study was identified after a reviewing of previous research done on similar topics. The COVID-19 pandemic also influenced the research design and approach. Accordingly, this study stemmed from the research question: What are the experiences of adults with acquired physical disabilities with regards to social work support (especially in assisting them after they acquired the physical disability)? A combination of descriptive and exploratory research was implemented to answer this research question. The research study made use of a qualitative approach with some quantitative elements in terms of the identifying particulars of participants. Qualitative research is seen as a valuable social work approach. It is helpful in researching social problems and vulnerable populations. Further it allows for the social work profession to learn from those they serve. Both of these aspects were true for this study as the qualitative research was done in part with a vulnerable service user group (adults with an acquired physical disability) regarding their experiences of social work services. This information derived from the perspectives of these participants can be utilised to plan future social work services to this group. Within this research approach both deductive and inductive reasoning were used. The literature review in this research study took place over three chapters aligned with the first three objectives of the study. During the literature review similar studies were explored and discussed, although, there were no studies available with the same researchable variables as this study. Despite this limitation, the literature review provided valuable insight on similar topics. Due to the impact and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the three methods that were decided on for this research study, once it was restructured to be done remotely, included cell phone calls, WhatsApp or Zoom. The research project took place with two Cohorts. The first Cohort included nineteen adults with acquired physical disabilities and the second five social workers who had experience working with persons with disabilities. While most participants were identified through purposive sampling some were included through snowball sampling. One participant from Cohort One also shared a story they had written on acquiring a disability which they offered to be used for the study. Another participant from Cohort Two did both a questionnaire interview (through e-mail) and an interview by means of Zoom. This essentially provided 26 sources with 24 participants. From the literature review and the empirical data collected six themes were developed. These themes include: biological experiences of adults with an acquired physical disability according to the biopsychosocial and ICF model, psychological experiences of adults with an acquired disability, support services used by adults with an acquired disability according to the ecological perspective, support needs of adults with an acquired disability according to the ecological perspective, cultural experiences of adults with an acquired disability within their community as well as social work support services to persons with acquired physical disabilities aligned with policies in South Africa. The themes were further divided into sub-themes and categories. The study provided conclusions and recommendations in the last chapter based on the findings of the empirical study. It was found that the participating organisation, provided services aligned with policies and the roles of the social worker. An overall bottom-up approach was suggested in service delivery and planning to adults with an acquired physical disability in terms of social work services. A few limitations to the study were discussed and recommendations for future studies made.
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    The experiences of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2017-12) Muller-Kluits, Noreth; Slabbert, Ilze; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Almost everyone will experience a form of impairment or disability some or other time in their lives. Different types of impairment could occur at any given moment. For example, parents might find out their baby was born with cerebral palsy, a person might be injured in a motor vehicle accident or a person who suffered a stroke is left paralysed on the one side. This disability can persist for years or even life-long, requiring family members to act as informal caregivers. Living with a person with a disability can have significant effects on the family members. This unique shared experience can affect all aspects of family functioning in both a positive and a negative manner. Many previous research studies have investigated the needs of persons with disabilities but very few have focused on the family members who care for them. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of the experiences of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. This goal was achieved by discussing the experiences of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities from previous studies. The ecological perspective was utilised to explore the different social support needs and services of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. An analysis was done of the experiences of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities regarding their support needs and the barriers they experience. Finally, relevant recommendations were made on how to improve social support to family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. It was decided to make use of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological perspective when investigating the experiences of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. This perspective, which sees families as social environments, identifies four systems of a person’s social environment: the micro-, meso-, exo- and macrosystem. The study also used the Parents’ Supportive Care Needs Framework that identifies social, emotional, practical, physical, psychological and informational needs as parts of supportive needs of parents. The research study used a qualitative approach with some elements of a quantitative approach with regard to identifying particulars of the participants. It used a combination of descriptive and exploratory research design. The reasoning of the research study was both deductive and inductive. The data collection was done by means of a semi-structured interview that was done with a sample of 20 participants of family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za iii identified by the Tygerberg Association for Persons with physical disabilities in the Cape Town area. The research study used purposive sampling for 19 of the participants. One participant identified him/herself through snowball sampling. During the empirical study, five themes were identified, namely support services used, support needs, general experiences of family caregivers, barriers experienced by family caregivers, and coping mechanisms of family caregivers. Although the research study had five different themes, these themes interlinked with one another in many cases, with a few exceptions. The first link was between support services used, positive experiences, and coping mechanisms used by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. The second was link between support needs, negative experiences, and barriers experienced by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities. Throughout the research study, the researcher was able to identify many needs and barriers experienced by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities but two main findings emerged: the lack of information on various aspects for family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities, and the need for more long-term care centres for persons with physical disabilities, especially adults. Recommendations are aimed at overcoming the barriers experienced by family caregivers of persons with physical disabilities as well as at addressing the needs that were identified by them. Recommendations are made to certain service providers and there are also suggestions for future research. One of the main recommendations is that more research be conducted on similar topics. More similar studies on the experiences of family caregivers could be valuable to disability advocacy.