Browsing by Author "Monne, Retselisitsoe"

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    Social work services provided to children with physical disabilities in Lesotho: An ecological perspective
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-12) Monne, Retselisitsoe; Slabbert, Ilze; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Children with physical disabilities fall under one of the most vulnerable population groups in the world. They face numerous challenges that prevent them from living normal lives and attaining opportunities to improve their quality of life. Social work services have been known to help them improve their wellbeing and to attain improved livelihoods. These are backed up by relevant policies which, if implemented, can improve the lives of children with disabilities. Social work services can be provided to children with physical disabilities at different ecological levels, namely the micro, meso and macro levels. The study was aimed at gaining an understanding of social work services provided to children with physical disabilities in Lesotho. To this end, the ecological perspective and some disability models were used as theoretical frameworks. The study used a qualitative research approach with some quantitative elements, as well as a combination of descriptive and explorative research designs to achieve the set research questions. Purposive sampling was used to select participants for data collection. Data were collected using telephonic and WhatsApp interviews due to the Covid-19 guidelines, which prevented face to face meetings. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 22 participants. Two focus group discussions were also conducted. The goal of the focus groups was to clarify any aspects of the data that were collected during the interviews, as well as to determine possible solutions. Each focus group consisted of five participants who had also formed part of the semi-structured interviews. The first focus group discussion was with social workers from NGOs and the second with social workers from the public sector. The focus group discussions were conducted via WhatsApp. Data were collected from social workers who have experience in providing social work services to children with physical disabilities in Lesotho. It was collected from 9 districts of Lesotho, which are Qacha’s Nek, Quthing, Mohale’s Hoek, Mafeteng, Maseru, Leribe, Botha-Bothe, Thaba Tseka and Mokhotlong. Empirical data were analysed through content analysis.