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Prognostic factors of survival time for breast cancer patients in Pietersburg Hospital in Limpopo Province of South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M. Sc. (Statistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024The breast cancer metastasis in women had devastating disease throughout the world with patient goals aimed at improving quality of life and prolonged survival. Advanced treatments have been impressive for women with early-stage disease, and women diagnosed with advanced forms of breast cancer have also benefitted. To achieve this goal, more information is needed. Hence, the purpose of the study was to apply survival models and methods to identify breast cancer-related survival factors. These models were exponential, Weibull, log-normal, log-logistic, Cox proportional hazard and Kaplan-Meier method. The findings revealed that pre-menopause, human epidemic growth factor 2, positive oestrogen receptor, positive progesterone receptor, AJCC stage 4, endocrine therapy, surgery, N-stage, M1 stage, T-stage were significantly associated with better prognosis in Petersburg Oncology Hospital. It was further concluded that breast cancer patients who experienced lower survival are those breast cancer women who were diagnosed at late-stage when cancer cells had already advanced.University of Limpop
Screening of carpobrotus edulis extracts for anticancer activity against cervical cancer cells
Get PDFThesis (M. Sc. (Biochemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024Introduction: Cancer is a primary cause of death and a significant impediment towards extending the life expectancy of human-kind. In terms of both incidence and fatality rates, cervical cancer is the fourth most common malignancy after lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer, worldwide. It is the second most common cancer and the primary cause of cancer fatalities in South African women. This cancer is primarily attributed to the cancer-causing Human papilloma virus (HPV). However, not all cases of cervical cancer are credited to this oncovirus. The soaring numbers can be ascribed to both inefficiencies associated with the current therapeutic strategies that are also related with adverse effects, and inadequacies linked to cancer diagnostic tools. Therefore, the development of novel anticancer medicines with improved efficacy and fewer side effects is critical. Thus, this study was aimed at evaluating the potential anticancer activity of Carpobrotus edulis extracts (C. edulis) against different cervical cancer cell lines.
Methodology: C. edulis extracts were screened for the presence of various phytochemicals using the standard conventional phytochemical tests. The potential antioxidant activities of the plant extracts were quantified using both the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The probable identities of the compounds found in C. edulis extracts was determined utilizing the Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrophotometry (LC-MS) for identification of compounds in C. edulis. The 3-(4,5-dimethyl-thiozol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolim bromide (MTT) assay was utilized to assess the effects of the C. edulis extracts on HeLa, CaSki and non-cancerous (Hek-293) cell lines. To further validate the cytotoxic effects of the extracts (IC50s) against the mentioned cells, the Muse™ Count & Viability assay was utilized. The Annexin V Apoptosis analysis was employed to investigate the potential cell death-inducing capacity of the C. edulis water extract against the cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, the proteome profiler human angiogenesis array was used to examine the potential effect of the water extract of C. edulis on angiogenesis in cervical cancer cell lines.
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Results and Discussion: All the extracts were proven to possess various phytochemicals. C. edulis root extracts (acetone and ethanol) promoted the viability of cervical cancer cells while the aqueous extract had reduced the viability of both HeLa (IC50 = 1000μg/mL) and CaSki (IC50 = 1000μg/mL) cells but showed no effect against the non-cancer cells (Hek293).. The C. edulis aqueous extract induced minimal apoptosis in both CaSki (7.950 ± 1.422) and HeLa (8.933 ± 0.361) cells studied. C. edulis root water extract (1000 μg/ml) treated cells had higher levels of urokinase type-plasminogen activator (uPA), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was somewhat higher in C. edulis root water extract treated cells than in curcumin-treated and untreated cells.
Conclusion: The C. edulis root water extract was found to have potential anticancer effects on HeLa and CaSki cells, but safe against non-cancerous Hek-293 cells. Extracts from the roots of C. edulis in acetone or ethanol did not have any cytotoxic effects on HeLa or CaSki cells. HeLa or CaSki cell death were unaffected by the C. edulis root water extract, while VEGF and uPA protein levels, which promote angiogenesis, were modestly elevated
Exploring the availability of support strategies for unemployed-community services professional nurses in Bojanala District North West Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M. (Nursing Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2025The research study was carried out in North-West Province Bojanala district to explore and describe the availability of support strategies for unemployed post-community service professional nurses. A qualitative, explorative and descriptive method was used to explore and describe the availability of support strategies for unemployed post-community service professional nurses in Bojanala district North-West Province. In this study, the researcher applied snowball sampling to sample all unemployed post-com-munity service professional nurses in Bojanala district North-West Province according to the inclusion criteria. The sample included all unemployed post-community service professional nurses in Bojanala District, who were available and consenting to form part of the study as they have knowledge and experience in the phenomenon investigated, that is, unemployment after completion of community service and those who were unemployed for six months after completion of the community service. Data collected was done using semi-structured interviews. The ethical principles relevant to the study were observed. The measures to ensure trustworthiness were adhered to. The two themes and nine sub-themes emerged from the data collection. The results of the study are as follows; (1) Professional nurses expressed the challenges faced regarding the employment as post-community service and (2) expectations about sup-port from various stakeholders. The study revealed that the post-community service professional nurses who become unemployed struggle to get a job after the completion of community service. Post-community service professional nurses reported several challenges encountered in seeking for employment. These challenges resulted in a psychological and emotional drain on the participants. Recommendations were made to Nursing practice, Nursing Research, the National Department of Health and the South African Nursing Council to assist post-community service professional nurses
Experiences of health care professionals on the implementation of Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and programme at Bafokeng Health Centre, North West Province
No full textThesis (MPH.) -- University of Limpopo, 2024Introduction and background: Overcrowding in the health facilities has impacted the quality of health services that is rendered to patients. Different strategies aiming to reduce the number of patients at health facilities were adopted including the CCMDD programme. Aim: To determine the experiences of Health care professionals on the implementation of the Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution programme. Methodology: A qualitative exploratory study design has been used to explore the experiences of HCPs on the implementation of Central Chronic Medicine Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD). Unstructured one-on-one interviews were used to gather the data from health care professionals implementing the CCMDD programme at Bafokeng health centre, North West. Nine registered nurses and one pharmacist were sampled through a non probability sampling method. Open-ended questions were asked, and the interview was recorded for further analysis. Thematic analysis method was used to analyse the collected data. The data was coded by the researcher and co-coded by a professional coder. Results: The study revealed that CCMDD has decongested health care facility, reduced staff workload and patients waiting time. Challenges experienced during the implementation of CCMDD were revealed and recommendations were made to the department of health, nursing education and future researches.
Conclusion
The study findings indicate that the CCMDD programme is an effective strategy that has benefited the patients, health care professionals and the department of health. The conclusion is drawn from participants’ unanimous agreements that the programme has brought significant change on them and the patients. The researcher further concludes that the programme plays a role in motivating patients to adhere to their treatmen
Development of strategies to alleviate caregivers' burden of visually impaired patients at Mankweng Tertiary Hospital, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (Ph.D. (Health Sciences)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024Background: Sociodemography and socioeconomic status are directly linked with whether one can adequately provide care to those needing such care. Unfortunately, caregivers, including those in the lower social class, provide caregiving services to their loved ones, thus leading to various challenges that may be considered burdensome and the development of depressive symptoms. Depressive symptomatology amongst family caregivers can occur due to taking up primary responsibility to support the patients while maintaining their daily responsibilities. However, it is unfortunate that there is a lack of knowledge on family members caring for a patient with visual impairment, considering the constraints of eye care services such as specialised optometric and ophthalmological services in the current study site. Therefore, a holistic approach for those providing care is needed. Purpose: This study sought to determine the relationship between sociodemographic information, socioeconomic status, caregiver burden and depressive symptomatology of caregiver’s for the visually impaired as they provide prolonged care in a developing country and develop intervention strategies to alleviate the caregiver's burden at the Mankweng Tertiary Hospital. Methods: The current study followed a mixed-method sequential explanatory research design. Therefore, purposive sampling was subsequently adopted, with 253 caregivers enumerated as participants following the criterion-I-strategy. The current study used the Modified Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Scale, Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire and Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive scale questionnaire consisting of 22 and 20 Likert questions to determine the socioeconomic status, caregivers' burden, and depressive symptoms, respectively. The caregiver's burden and depressive symptomatology were categorised into little to mild, mild to moderate, moderate to severe, and severe. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and generalised linear logistic regression analysis; p <0.05 was considered statistically significant. After quantifying the problem, high and low extreme cases were selected for an in-depth semi-structured interview to give meaning to the established phenomenon under investigation. Thematic analysis was used to interpret data following a deductive approach. Data integration for quantitative and qualitative data were presented and triangulated in side-by-side tables. The Delphi method validated the developed strategies for the problem under investigation.
Results: The participants were informal, unpaid family caregivers for the visually impaired patients consulting at the Mankweng Tertiary Academic Hospital. The mean age of participants was 45.11±14.128. The female proportion was 70% and 30% males. Approximately 34% of study participants suffered little to mild, followed by 50.6%, 13.4% and 1.6% of participants who suffered mild to moderate, moderate to severe, and severe caregiver burden, respectively. This study found that 66.4%, 17.8%, and 4.7% of caregivers were in the upper lower, upper middle and upper socioeconomic class, respectively (p=0.001). Of the above caregivers, 53%, 57.8%, and 66.7% had mild to moderate, moderate to severe, and moderate to severe caregiver burden, respectively (p<0.001). Caregivers in the upper lower social class were at a higher risk of experiencing caregiver burden. Regarding depressive symptomatology, approximately 29.2% and 28% experienced moderate to severe and mild to moderate depressive symptoms. At the same time, 21.3% was shared among little to mild and severe depressive symptoms. Of these caregivers, 22.4% of males and 20.9% of females experienced severe depressive symptoms, p<0.0019. 58.3% and 48.9% were in upper and upper middle social class, p<0.001. Integrated results confirmed each strand and the close link between both data sets; it also revealed a disintegration of family relationships, responsibility neglect, lack of family support, overthinking about the future, lack of economic participation, and limited leisure and social time—a financial burden emanating from transportation costs to the treating facility. Conclusion: The study found that males are equally caregivers as females and are susceptible to caregivers' depressive symptoms. Also, those in the higher social class were experiencing more symptoms than those in the lower social class. Therefore, caregivers caring for visually impaired relatives should be screened for depressive symptoms and referred to a mental health practitioner. Therefore, caregiving role responsibility needs to be defined within a family unit by elucidating the nuances that blur the role responsibility, group belonging for discussion and emotional support and the social modelling by providing respite services. Further, re-orientate and decentralise eyecare services to primary health care centres and provide leisure activities for caregivers by providing short-term respite services. Contribution: This study provided the relationship between sociodemographic information, socioeconomic status, and magnitude of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms amongst the informal caregivers for the visually impaired in the rural Limpopo Province as they care for the people with visual impairment attending the Mankweng Hospital and developed intervention strategies to promote prolonged caregiving
Investigating challenges faced by grade 7 progressed learners when writing TshiVenda home language essay questions at Luvuvhu Circuit, Vhembe East District in Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M.Ed. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024The ability of learners to develop their writing skill in language subjects is not an easy task for learners, especially for progressed learners in the Tshivenda Home Language (TSVHL) classroom. The main purpose of this study was to investigate challenges that are faced by grade 7 progressed learners when writing Tshivenda Home Language essay questions at Luvuvhu Circuit, Vhembe East District in Limpopo Province. Current literature in the South African context has not focused on the support being implemented to help progressed learners who are experiencing lack of writing skills. However the main specific objective of this study was to gain insight into the teaching strategies that can help progressed learners with their writing difficulties. This study adopted Social Constructivism Theory (1978) by Lev Vygotsky of which the main idea is that knowledge is constructed by group discourse. In this study the researcher has adopted a qualitative research approach. The target population was Tshivenda Home Language progressed learners in grade 7. A stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting the sample for the study. Thus, a sample of five progressed learners, two Tshivenda Home Language Educators, one Departmental Head of language subjects and one Curriculum Advisor of language subjects were used as the participants of the study. Data was collected by the use of interviews and document analysis.
Inductive data analysis was applied to compile an abstract unit of information while building categories and themes in an organisation of data. Key findings of this research suggest that progressed learners are incompetent in syntax, spelling, punctuation and the writing of topic sentences. They lack vocabulary or use vocabulary inappropriately in Tshivenda Home Language essay writing. The main recommendation was that progressed learners should be provided with learning resources such as textbooks at the beginning of each year, this will enable effective learning on how to improve their writing skills in language subjects. Furthermore based on the study, recommendations were made to enable Tshivenda Home Language educators, the Departmental Head of language subjects, curriculum developers and policy makers to come up with approaches to address the challenges progressed learners face when writing essay questions in the Tshivenda Home Language classroom
The implications of electricity outages for the principle of work, no pay in South Africa
Get PDFThesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024In South Africa, the advent of electricity outages, colloquially known as load-shedding, has affected every sector. It has had severe implications for businesses and labour alike. It has presented an unprecedented problem for labour relations. In particular, the problem has affected the longstanding principle of no work, no pay. This principle has formed the core of labour law in South Africa since time immemorial. In terms of this principle, the employee is only entitled to receive their salary for the services rendered to the employer. However, the advent of electricity outages has presented a situation wherein the employees come to work, but due to circumstances outside their control, namely the intermittent supply of electricity, they cannot tender their services to the employer. Thus, it raises the question of whether the employees are entitled to receive their salary in these situations. While the principle of no work, no pay may seem straightforward, where the employee chooses not to present himself or herself for work. It often brings complications in no-fault situations. Hence, there is a need to research this principle in the context of electricity outages. Since no direct legislative framework regulates it, it becomes necessary to develop the common law on the principle and the ancillary case law applicable to such circumstances. A key finding of this study is that there is no direct case law dealing with a situation of no work, no pay in a no-fault situation, such as in the case of an electricity outage in South Africa. Therefore, it is imperative to use derivative jurisprudence to make recommendations and a possible conclusion to the study. The MacSteel and Mhonipheni decisions are two derivative court cases that can be cited in this case. While these two decisions are relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the no work, no pay principles, the reasoning laid out in them can apply to the study's subject matter. This is because, while they may appear to be contradictory in the sense that one may be considered the general norm, MacSteel, for example, with minor alterations, could be considered the exception to the general rule. The exception should be slightly modified in that the employer must have taken reasonable steps to guarantee that he is in a reasonable position to accept the employees’ services
Physical appearance self-worth contingency as moderator of skin-tone surveillance consequences among university students in Polokwane
Get PDFThesis (M. A. (Clinical Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024Socially and culturally constructed skin tone-based notions of beauty reflect an extant Western gradation of physical beauty between peoples. The beliefs perpetuate biased attitudes and practices favouring fair skin. Consequently, skin-tone surveillance has become a norm among women in multicultural societies, each woman seeking to determine her station on the scale of beauty. Personal ways and means used by women who are pressured to constantly monitor their skin-tone are yet to be identified and clearly explained. This study investigated the moderator role of physical appearance contingent self-worth among female, black African university students in Limpopo, South Africa (N = 356). The students completed measures of skin-tone surveillance, physical appearance self-worth contingency, body modification behaviour and authentic happiness within a cross-sectional, correlational design. Correlation analysis found that authentic happiness was not related to any of the study variables. For that reason, it was excluded from the main analysis of the study. The results of moderation analysis show that the Appearance dimension of the Contingencies of Self-Worth do not act as moderator in the relationship between skin-tone surveillance and skin-related modification (bleaching) behaviour. The study results suggest that there is a need to further identify intervening factors that may ameliorate the burden of skin-tone monitorin
Teaching the sketching of quadratic functions online : a case of a rural school in Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M. Ed. (Mathematics Education)) --University of Limpopo, 2024This study presents an exploration of the integration of technology, pedagogy,
content knowledge and learners’ mathematical competencies when sketching
quadratic functions online. The outbreak of COVID-19 became stressful to the
education system, and this motivated me to conduct this study. The situation was
dire in rural schools because there were no technological means implemented by
the government to assist in curriculum coverage. The study was approached
qualitatively guided by the following research question: 1) What are the learners’
competencies in sketching quadratic functions online? 2) How to teach the sketching
of quadratic functions online using the GeoGebra software?
Participants in the study were eight Grade 11 learners doing Mathematics. The school
had ten learners doing Mathematics, one did not show interest and the other one
decided to stop attending online lessons. Data were generated using five video lesson
recordings that included learners’ responses to lesson activities and individual semi structured interviews that consist of nine questions, and I analysed data using thematic
analysis. Themes that emerged from the theoretical framework guided the analysis.
The main findings of the study revealed that the educator’s technological knowledge
is the basic requirement in integrating technology, pedagogical and content knowledge
in conducting online lessons. In this study, I used GeoGebra to sketch quadratic
functions because it is user friendly and has a free version available. The study
revealed that sketching quadratic functions using the GeoGebra software saved time
and assisted learners to visualise quadratic functions quickly, accurately, efficiently,
and thus enabling comprehension. Learners’ understanding of sketching quadratic
functions was improved using the GeoGebra software. Thinking mathematically,
representing mathematical entities, handling mathematical symbols and formulas,
communicating in, with and about Mathematics and making use of aids and tools were
the mathematical competencies derived mostly from different questions of the
activities. However, it was also revealed that online lessons can have negative impact
on the effective teaching and learning when conducted in a poor network connectivity
site.
In this study, teaching sketching of quadratic functions online resulted in many
challenges. Firstly, due to poor technology infrastructure, there were limited
technological devices available for smooth running of online lessons. Secondly, lack
of technological knowledge to integrate with other knowledge by the participants
affected teaching and learning online poorly. Lastly, poor network connectivity and
power cut by Eskom were consistently experienced and affected the online lessons
negatively
The effects of urbanisation on the availability of medical plants at Malamulele Area, Limpopo Province, South Africa
Get PDFThesis (M.A. (Anthropology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2024Medicinal plants are important to humanity and continue to be used worldwide as a source of food and basic healthcare. However, most of them are under threat of extinction. This was prompted by several negative factors contributing to the extinction of these [Medicinal] plants. These factors are, among others, demarcated to habitat loss, population increase, urbanisation and threats brought by climatic change. The purpose of this study was to ‘explore the effects of urbanisation on the availability of medicinal plants in Malamulele area of Limpopo Province, South Africa (SA). From a qualitative standpoint, this study employed exploratory research design. This study used non-probability sampling, also known as purposive sampling, and snowball sampling and to select twenty participants. These twenty participants comprised five traditional health practitioners and fifteen community members. Further, the study employed semi-structured In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) and documentary studies to collect data. Additionally, the study was underpinned by the Afrocentric Theory and Dependency Theory. For data analysis, the Spiral data was adopted to organise data and identify study themes aligned to the aim and objective of this study.
The findings of this study highlight that the availability of medicinal plants in the Malamulele were threatened by urban development, leading to their extinction. All the participants reached a consensus that the ‘indigenous medicinal plants’ in Malamulele suffer a great loss due to urbanisation and lack of implementation of available conservation methods to prevent them from possible extinctions. The study found that these conservation methods are improperly implemented or not implemented at all. Again, it was found that the discovered rapid loss of these plants might negatively affect future preservations and protections. Apparently, urbanisation contributes to the witnessed decreases of natural resources, and medicinal plants are not immune. It is also shared that although the majority of Malamulele residents still heavily rely on positive use of medicinal plants such as sources of food, herbalism, medicinal activities, primary health care needs and therapeutic values; nevertheless, residents are often unable to protect these plants from threats imposed by urbanisation.
This study concludes and recommends that lack of information regarding the importance of these plants, necessary conservation methods and awareness should be urgently looked at by relevant stakeholders in this sector. Therefore, this study
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reveals that indigenous people and Collins Chabane Local Municipality (CCLM) should take actions to protect these plants from extinctions. For Malamulele residents to achieve this, biodiversity knowledge and management skills are urgently required; also, responsive interventions should be introduced to better local current situations in the selected rural areas of Malamulele.National Research Foundation (NRF