National University of Lesotho
National University of Lesotho Institutional RepositoryNot a member yet
806 research outputs found
Sort by
Exploring perceived factors of nurse midwives regarding postpartum depression in Quthing hospital, Lesotho
Get PDFBackground: Despite the increasing awareness of Postpartum Depression (PPD) worldwide, health providers continue to ignore the impact of PPD on the mother and child during the postnatal period. Nurse-midwives are the first care providers and have contact with women during pregnancy and after birth. They must be able to identify women at risk and those who already have PPD and educate women and their relatives about PPD and risk factors.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore perceived factors of nurse midwives regarding PPD in Quthing District.
Methodology: This study used a qualitative, descriptive, explorative, and contextual design. Data collection was conducted through individual interviews and data saturation was reached on the ninth participant. An audio - recorder was used to record interviews from purposefully selected participants. The study participants were nurse-midwives working at Quthing Hospital in the Quthing District. The data organization was done, followed by transcribing the audio data into text, and lastly thematic data analysis.
Results: Thematic analysis of the data resulted in themes and sub-themes. The six themes which emerged from the study findings are empowerment, stigma, screening /assessment of PPD, family support, lack of resources and home visits. Participants had different perceived factors regarding PPD at Quthing District.
Conclusion: The nurses-midwives’ perceived factors regarding PPD were expressions of empowerment, stigma, screening /assessment of PPD, family support, lack of resources and home visits. The research findings have significant implications for decision-makers and policymakers to solve problems in maternal mental health service provision. Nurse-midwives perceived that they could be better supported to carry out their important work by having access to continued education, training, and mentorship regarding PPD.National Manpower Development Secretaria
The extent to which non-compete agreement impede development
Get PDFThe use of non-compete agreements has faced some criticism. Research has shown that non-
compete agreements block employees from freely switching jobs. This may suppress wages and
deprive them of better working opportunities. They further result in the lack of mobility and
competition, which may reduce bargaining power for employees, consequently leading to lower
wages. As a result, development is hindered. This study aims to determine the extent to which non-
compete agreements impede development. The study has predominantly relied on secondary data
through the desk study method of data collection and the information has come from sources such
as journal articles, books, case studies, international instruments and reports. The results indicate
that non-compete agreements impede development. On this basis, it is recommended that
employers and employees use alternatives to non-compete agreements as they are less restrictive
to employee’s career growtNational Manpower Development Secretaria
The response of layers to dietary supplementation with activated charcoal
Get PDFThe study was conducted at the Animal Farm of the Teaching and Research Farm, The National
University of Lesotho Roma to determine the effect of graded levels of activated charcoal in the
diets of laying hens on performance response, internal and external egg qualities. A total of 120
Hyline white hens, 44-week-old with a mean body weight of 2060.70 g and egg production level
of 88.92% were randomly allotted into five treatment groups, with three replicates per treatment
and 8 hens per replicate. Hens were fed ad libitum on a basal diet supplemented with activated
charcoal at five different levels of 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2% to give treatments T1, T2, T3, T4 and
T5, respectively for 42 days. Data collected on nutrient composition profile of the activated
charcoal supplemented diets, performance response, and external and internal egg qualities were
subjected to the One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Supplementation of the basal diet of
laying hens with 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2% activated charcoal produced significantly (p<0.05) increased
dietary salt (NaCl) as the percentage of activated charcoal supplementation increased, but varied
significant (p0.05)
nutritional advantage of feeding activated charcoal to laying hens on the performance response,
feed intake and final body weight. Activated charcoal supplementation significantly (p<0.05)
improved egg weight, egg width and shell weight which are external egg indices at 2% level, and
also significantly (p<0.05) improved some internal egg quality characteristics, yolk height,
albumen weight and yolk colour at 2% level. The results of the study showed that activated
charcoal supplementation of laying hens can be used at 2% level for enhancement of egg weight,
egg width, shell weight, yolk height, albumen weight and yolk colour. Further research should be
conducted to investigate the optimal supplementation level of activated charcoal which will not beadverse to the performance of hens and egg qualityNational Manpower Development Secretaria
Exploring perceived factors of nurse midwives regarding postpartum depression in Quthing hospital, Lesotho
Get PDFBackground: Despite the increasing awareness of Postpartum Depression (PPD) worldwide, health providers continue to ignore the impact of PPD on the mother and child during the postnatal period. Nurse-midwives are the first care providers and have contact with women during pregnancy and after birth. They must be able to identify women at risk and those who already have PPD and educate women and their relatives about PPD and risk factors.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore perceived factors of nurse midwives regarding PPD in Quthing District.
Methodology: This study used a qualitative, descriptive, explorative, and contextual design. Data collection was conducted through individual interviews and data saturation was reached on the ninth participant. An audio - recorder was used to record interviews from purposefully selected participants. The study participants were nurse-midwives working at Quthing Hospital in the Quthing District. The data organization was done, followed by transcribing the audio data into text, and lastly thematic data analysis.
Results: Thematic analysis of the data resulted in themes and sub-themes. The six themes which emerged from the study findings are empowerment, stigma, screening /assessment of PPD, family support, lack of resources and home visits. Participants had different perceived factors regarding PPD at Quthing District.
Conclusion: The nurses-midwives’ perceived factors regarding PPD were expressions of empowerment, stigma, screening /assessment of PPD, family support, lack of resources and home visits. The research findings have significant implications for decision-makers and policymakers to solve problems in maternal mental health service provision. Nurse-midwives perceived that they could be better supported to carry out their important work by having access to continued education, training, and mentorship regarding PPD.National Manpower Development Secretaria
The case study of tomato farmers of leribe District
Get PDFThe research focused on the factors influencing technical efficiency among tomato farmers in Leribe district. The specific objectives were to evaluate technical efficiency of horticulture farmers in Leribe and to identify factors that influence technical efficiency among horticulture farmers in the study area. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 95 tomato farmers. A combination of primary and secondary data was used to collect data for this study, and these were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographics and socio-economics characteristics of the farmers. Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) was used to measure technical efficiency while Principal Component Analysis (PCA) model was used to identify factors influencing technical efficiency. Data was captured and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0 and National Council of Statistics Software (NCSS) 2024. The SFA results revealed that tomato farmers in Leribe achieved a technical efficiency level of 83.5%, which is above the benchmark of 70%. PCA results showed that factors such as gender with a (β= 0.279, p = 0.0276), education (β = 0.114, p = 0.0451), seed quality (β = 0.364, p = 0.0009), animal power (β = -0.318, p = 0.0048), farmer experience (β= 0.113, p = 0.0283), irrigation (β= -0.141, p = 0.0385) and off-farm income (β = -0.258 and p-value 0.0279) significantly influenced technical efficiency among tomato farmers in the study area. The study concludes that tomato farmers of Leribe are technically efficient as they achieved way above the acceptable minimum TE score 70%. Furthermore, demographic characteristics and technical factors affect the technical efficiency of tomato production in the Leribe district. To boost technical efficiency among tomato farmers, there is need to promote gender equality in agriculture, efforts should be made to improve access to resources for women by implementing policies that ensure that female farmers have access to land, agricultural inputs, credit, and technology. Moreover, promotion of experience-based learning to develop mentorship and training programs to capacitate the less experienced farmers should be considered by the stakeholders. Learning from the more seasoned professionals will help emerging/inexperienced farmers to gain the skills and knowledge needed to adopt efficient production techniques. Therefore, the situation underscores the multifaceted nature of technical efficiency in horticulture and highlights the importance of addressing these specific factors to improve vegetable farming productivity in the Leribe district of Lesotho.National Manpower Development Secretaria
Insights from student nurses at the National University of Lesotho
Get PDFGlobally, student frustration and attrition rates are declining, underscoring the importance of investigating the
academic and interpersonal challenges that students face after their first year. Objectives: exploring the experiences of National
University of Lesotho student nurses on their course of education. Method: A qualitative phenomenological research design was
used to conduct research at the National University of Lesotho. Data was collected using an unstructured interview guide in two
focus groups comprising all student nurses who are enrolled in the nursing and midwifery programme from their second year into
the programme. This study employed a stratified random sampling procedure to select its respondents. This study made use of
thematic analysis. Results: The results demonstrated clinical weariness caused by a severe workload. The tasks and
responsibilities assigned to the students, which they consider to be the duties of registered nurses, frequently leave them feeling
overburdened. Variations in clinical supervision experiences include negligence; some experience sexual abuse; and some
students find the clinical setting quite unpleasant and inappropriate. On the other hand, students expressed that they are
empowered by the current nursing curriculum to face the clinical challenges. Conclusion: Despite appreciating the faculty's
supportive and inspiring environment, students had conflicting emotions about the instructional approaches and learning
environments. There were variations in both instructional quality and clinical supervisionSel
Quantitative exploration of barriers to access cancer patients in Lesotho
No full textBackground: Cancer mortality has been estimated to increase in sub-Saharan Africa to more
than a million deaths in 2023. There is a need for an increase in cancer screening, diagnosis and
treatment infrastructure to curb this rise in cancer mortality. Many people with cancer face
significant barriers to accessing treatment.
Aim: The study aimed to explore barriers to accessing cancer care services experienced by
cancer patients in Lesotho.
Setting: This study was conducted at the Senkatana oncology clinic in Maseru, Lesotho.
Methods: The study adopted a quantitative cross-sectional design. Cancer patient interviews
were conducted using a structured questionnaire.
Results: A total of 115 patients responded to the questionnaire, and 79.1% were female. Over
half of the participants (53.9%) found it difficult to access cancer services because they had to
get services from multiple healthcare facilities in different areas. All of them had to join long
queues. Distance from the healthcare facilities was also a challenge for a significant number
(64.3%), and a substantial number (66.1%) had difficulties arranging transport to such facilities.
Finally, financial issues, such as paying for transport, healthcare and diagnostic tests, were
determined to be major constraints.
Conclusion: The study concludes that most cancer patients face financial and practical barriers.
This affects access to cancer services, particularly for patients not residing in Maseru.
Contribution: The study shares information regarded as barriers to cancer services in a low-
and middle-income country.Sel
The role of Baylor and partner healthcare providers in Qacha’s Nek, Lesotho
Get PDFNon-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been instrumental in filling the gaps caused by inadequate governmental funding and bad governance, especially in developing nations' healthcare systems. Despite obstacles including scarce resources and a labor shortage, they have developed into important suppliers of healthcare services in rural and underserved areas since the 1970s. Through creative and collaborative approaches, they have improved healthcare outcomes and access; made a substantial contribution to the advancement of rural development and healthcare, but they are nevertheless confronted with challenges including staff fatigue and scarce finance.
This study investigates the efforts of Baylor and its partners to enhance healthcare outcomes through training programs, community engagement, and the recruitment and retention of rural health workers. Using purposive sampling, focus group discussions and individual interviews were conducted with healthcare professionals, community leaders, and lay counsellors in Qacha's Nek. Despite challenges like staff pressure and limited funding, the findings indicate that NGOs have made significant contributions to healthcare and rural development. The study concludes that NGOs play a vital role in addressing healthcare gaps and supporting sustainable rural development.
The Lesotho government is advised to invest in technological innovations like the E-register and mobile applications for climate and agriculture, expand training programs to include economic development skills, increase funding for the recruitment of health workers, and strengthen community engagement through partnerships with local leaders and organizations to address these issues. Improving rural healthcare and development results would be made more integrated and efficient if government policies were in line with these recommendations.National Manpower Development Secretaria
Impact of cooperative learning on teaching mensuration to senior secondary studies
Get PDFScientific and technological developments
rely strongly on mathematical skills. However,
mensuration is a challenging topic in school
mathematics, leading to poor performance by many
students. Various factors are responsible for the
unsatisfactory performance, including inappropriate
teaching methods where students passively absorb
knowledge transmitted through reading and
explanations of textbook contents. Thus, this study
examined how a cooperative learning method affected
students' performance in mensuration. A quasi-
experimental research design was used in the study.
The sample comprised two intact classes of 80
students assigned to experimental and control groups
selected from one senior secondary school in Ogun
State. Data were collected using an adopted
standardised mensuration achievement test (MAT),
which takes an analytical approach that includes
problem-solving, geometric reasoning, formula
application, and conceptual comprehension. The
results showed a statistically significant difference
between the mean score (M=11.18, SD=3.09) of students taught mensuration using the cooperative
learning method and the mean score (M=7.66, SD=3.32) of students taught mensuration without using
the learning method of teaching (t (78)=9.50, p=0.00). Also, the mean score varied statistically
significantly (M=7.66, SD=2.63) of male students taught mensuration using the cooperative learninmethod and the mean score (M=8.73, SD=3.08) of female students taught mensuration without using
the learning method of teaching (t (78) = 6.58, p=0.00). Therefore, cooperative learning in mathematics
classrooms fosters students' ability to create and achieve learning objectivesSel
Application of Lie Symmetry method in pricing Arithmetic Asian options
Get PDFThis research investigates the application of Lie symmetry method to find
analytic solutions for arithmetic Asian options, which are crucial financial
derivatives for managing risk in various commodity markets. By employing a
two state partial differential equation approach, the study uses Lie symmetry
method to enhance option pricing models. The research involves finding
determining equations, infinitesimal generators, and invariant solutions, as
well as examining the influence of parameters such as volatility, interest rates,
and time on option prices.National Manpower Development Secretaria