JISCMail - RAMESES Archives

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

My name is Shep; I am a mental
health lecturer and PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania, Australia.
After reading other peoples posts, and responses I thought I might ask for any
comments and feedback regarding my current realist review project.

Here is a little background to my project. My PhD title is: A focused ethnographic
exploring the journey of people with schizophrenia in Zimbabwe. As part of
this, I am in the middle of conducting a realist review entitled: A realist review
exploring the lived experiences and treatments or interventions available to
people with schizophrenia in sub-Saharan Africa. To better understand the treatment and
interventions available in sub-Saharan Africa and the relationship between the
individual with schizophrenia, their family, community and their help-seeking
behaviour the objectives of this study are to answer the following questions:

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Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. What interventions or treatments
are available for people diagnosed
with schizophrenia in sub-Saharan Africa?

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Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. What role does the family, carers
and/or community have in the help-seeking behaviour and choice of treatment for
someone with psychotic symptoms?

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Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. How are traditional healing
practices perceived by families and individuals seeking treatment for
schizophrenia?

I have identified 2 preliminary
lists of candidate theories as follows:

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Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. Social justice theory as detailed
by John Rawls’ theory of
social justice.

The most
influential theory of social justice is the one proposed by John es New Roman">

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. Rawls (1971)es New Roman">

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. in his book ‘A Theory of Justice’. In it,
he proposes two main principles of social justice which read as follows:

(i) Principle
of Equal Liberty: ‘each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive
basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others’. He called this
principle of equal liberty.

(ii) Difference Principle: ‘social and economic
inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected
to be to everyone's advantage, and (b) attached to positions and offices open
to all under conditions of equality of opportunity’ es New Roman">

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. (Rawls, 1971, p. 60; 1999, pp. 52-56)es New Roman">

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. .

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Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. Social capital

Social capital is
often defined as ‘features of social organization such as networks, norms and
trust that facilitate coordination and co-operation for mutual benefit’ es New Roman">

Dear Justin, Gill. Geoff, Trish
and others

Firstly, I am also a newbie here
and would like to say thank you all for such an informative list especially for
early career researcher like us.

a. (Putnam, 1993, pp. 35-36); it often comprise some form of social
structure from which reciprocal benefit exists (Coleman, 1988, pp. S101-103). M Woolcock (1998, p. 153) described social capital as "the
information, trust, and norms of reciprocity inhering in one's social
networks."

Papers sought had the
following inclusion Criteria

The target population for the systematic
review were individuals geographically located in any part of sub-Saharan
Africa (please refer to Appendix 2 for a list of countries). The review will
include all empirical evidence from original research of any study type
including but limited to qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods research.
Studies were required to meet the following inclusion criteria: (i) include
adults (male and/or female) who aged 18 years or older; (ii) they must have
been living in any part of Sub- Saharan Africa); (iii) participants must have
been diagnosed with any type of schizophrenia or psychotic disorder with the
conducted by a qualified person and accepted as appropriate diagnoses. For this
review schizophrenia and psychotic disorder are described as mental illnesses
or psychiatric disorders (or cluster of disorders) that alter an individual’s
perception, thoughts, affect and behaviour.

The following were
the Emerging Themes identified from initial synthesis

The initial explanatory framework from a synthesis of case reports
explored ‘what’ treatments were available for people with schizophrenia in
sub-Saharan Africa; ‘how’ and ‘why’ these interventions worked (or not worked),
and for whom did they work. Four themes were identified consistent with the
review questions and candidate theories identified earlier.

The four themes identified were:

Common interventions and
treatments available to people with schizophrenia in sub-Saharan Africa
Alleged causes of the
symptoms of schizophrenia
The role of traditional healers in the assessment, diagnosis and
treatment of schizophrenia
The influence of social networks, such as family members and their
community, in influencing help-seeking behaviour.

Questions
I am asking comments/feedback

1.
My first question to the panel is- can a realist
review approach be used to examine interventions available and/or experiences
of people with an illness like schizophrenia?

2.
Is it possible to combine a realist and social
constructivist epistemology? My project is in 2 parts, the first part is the realist
review followed by an ethnographic study of people with schizophrenia in
Zimbabwe. After reading a bit about constructionism and realism I found myself
a bit confused and complicating my thesis as these two come from different angles
or assumptions about the nature of knowledge and reality. If I decide to
combine them both in one study, there is a danger of making my thesis sound too
philosophical, which is not the point of the project.

I welcome any further questions
so I can clarify my thinking and questions to the list. Thank you in advance
for your contributions.

Yours sincerely

Shep

Sherphard Chidarikire (Shep) RN |MN (Nurse Practitioner)

Lecturer (Mental Health)

School of Health Sciences | Faculty of Health

University of Tasmania

Building N, Room N229 | Newnham Campus

Locked Bag 1322, Launceston

TASMANIA 7250

T: +613 6324 3752| F: +613 6324 3952

http://www.utas.edu.au/nursing-midwifery

CRICOS Provider Code 00586B

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