Tshilidzi Mashamba’s research while affiliated with University of Venda and other places

Research is a critical component in the curriculum for post-graduate students. The mentees are assigned supervisors for guidance. The present study sought to investigate the experiences of mentors for postgraduate students undertaking research. The research design was a survey. Purposive sampling was used to select five mentors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. The study found that the majority of the mentors did not receive training on how to supervise postgraduate research students. The mentors reported that their mentees were not pro-active, lacked knowledge, lacked English expressive skills, poorly referenced their work, submitted unedited work and used outdated sources. They indicated that mentoring postgraduate students enhanced their research skills, resulted in joint publication of articles, positive relationship with mentees and sharing of experiences. The departments and faculties need to adequately prepare mentors to effectively supervise postgraduate research students.

The study sought to explore university students' perceptions of the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) programme. Ninety-nine Black African students were randomly selected from a class of students majoring in psychology to take part in the survey. A questionnaire was used to gather data on the st udents' perceptions of VCT. Data were analysed in terms of response frequencies and percentages. The study showed that most of the participants knew about the VCT programme that was offered by both the government and pr ivate organisations. The students indicated that the VCT programme was important because they were vulnerable to HIV infection. However, most of the students in this study reported that they were not testing for HIV because of leakage of results, fear of knowing their status, stigma tisation and labelling. Participants reported that peer educators, radio and television were their source of information for HIV prevention. Further research with a larger sample is recommended to get generalisable results.

The aim of the study was to develop an HIV and AIDS training manual, and to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and management of faith healers of Apostolic churches regarding HIV and AIDS, before and after they attended an HIV and AIDS training programme. A quasi-experimental intervention design was used with faith healers affiliated with the United African Apostolic Church (UAAC) in the Thulamela and Musina municipalities of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 103 faith healers were included in this study, 58 were systematically assigned to an intervention and 45 to a control group. The intervention group received training for 2 days. At follow-up after 2 months, intervention effects were significant for HIV knowledge and to a lesser extent TB knowledge. No significant improvement was found in HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) management strategies such as HIV/STI risk behaviour counselling, referral of clients for HIV testing, keeping condoms at stock in church, and church community HIV/AIDS/STI education. It is important to note that faith healers address some of the major known behavioural risk and protective factors such as partner reduction and condom use. Therefore, faith healers could be more widely utilized in HIV prevention programmes as risk reduction counsellors, in particular on matters of community-level education.

The aim of the study was to investigate traditional healing practices among the Venda and Tsonga speaking people of Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study employed a qualitative design. Four traditional healers, selected through purposive sampling were asked to participate in the present study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the participants. Seven themes emerged from the narratives of the four participants. The seven themes identified are: a) the process of becoming a traditional healer; b) family and community reactions to the chosen career; c) patients treated; d) types of illnesses treated; e) diagnostic procedures used; f) treatment methods used; and, g) the notion of ethics by traditional healers. The study puts in perspective the ethical issues of competence, dealing with minor children and confidentiality. Some of the challenges associated with collaboration between traditional healing and the Western health care system are highlighted by the traditional healers.