Conscientious objection and South African medical practitioners' constructions of termination of pregnancy and emergency contraception
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Abortion -- South Africa , Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa , Emergency contraceptives -- South Africa , Contraception -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa , Medical personnel -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Patients -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa , Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Women's rights -- South Africa , Liberty of conscience
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017863
- Description: Aim: The 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act decriminalized abortion in South Africa and the South African Medicines Control Council in 2000 approved the dispensing of emergency contraceptive methods by pharmacists to women without a doctor's prescription. This legislation has been hailed as among the most progressive in the world with respect to women's reproductive justice. However the realisation of these rights in practice has not always met expectations in part due to medical practitioners' ethical objections to termination of pregnancy and the provision of related services. The aim of this study was to interpret the varying ways in which medical practitioners frame termination of pregnancy and emergency contraceptive services, their own professional identities and that of their patients/clients. Methods: Sample of 58 doctors and 59 pharmacists drawn from all nine provinces of South Africa. Data collected using an anonymous confidential internet-based self-administered questionnaire. Participants were randomly recruited from online listings of South African doctors and pharmacists practicing in both private and public sectors. Data were analysed using theoretically derived qualitative content analysis. Results: Participants drew on eight frames to justify their willingness or unwillingness to provide termination-of-pregnancy related services: the foetal life frame, the women's rights frame, the balancing frame, the social justice frame, the do no harm frame, the legal and professional obligation frame, the consequences frame and the moral absolutist frame. Conclusion: Health professionals' willingness or unwillingness to provide termination of pregnancy related services is highly dependent on how they frame or understand termination of pregnancy, and how they understand their own professional identities and those of their patients/clients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Chiwandire, Desire
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Abortion -- South Africa , Abortion -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa , Emergency contraceptives -- South Africa , Contraception -- Moral and ethical aspects -- South Africa , Medical personnel -- Attitudes -- South Africa , Patients -- Legal status, laws, etc. -- South Africa , Reproductive rights -- South Africa , Women's rights -- South Africa , Liberty of conscience
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSocSc
- Identifier: vital:2888 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017863
- Description: Aim: The 1996 Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act decriminalized abortion in South Africa and the South African Medicines Control Council in 2000 approved the dispensing of emergency contraceptive methods by pharmacists to women without a doctor's prescription. This legislation has been hailed as among the most progressive in the world with respect to women's reproductive justice. However the realisation of these rights in practice has not always met expectations in part due to medical practitioners' ethical objections to termination of pregnancy and the provision of related services. The aim of this study was to interpret the varying ways in which medical practitioners frame termination of pregnancy and emergency contraceptive services, their own professional identities and that of their patients/clients. Methods: Sample of 58 doctors and 59 pharmacists drawn from all nine provinces of South Africa. Data collected using an anonymous confidential internet-based self-administered questionnaire. Participants were randomly recruited from online listings of South African doctors and pharmacists practicing in both private and public sectors. Data were analysed using theoretically derived qualitative content analysis. Results: Participants drew on eight frames to justify their willingness or unwillingness to provide termination-of-pregnancy related services: the foetal life frame, the women's rights frame, the balancing frame, the social justice frame, the do no harm frame, the legal and professional obligation frame, the consequences frame and the moral absolutist frame. Conclusion: Health professionals' willingness or unwillingness to provide termination of pregnancy related services is highly dependent on how they frame or understand termination of pregnancy, and how they understand their own professional identities and those of their patients/clients.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Metallophthalocyanine-gold nanoparticle conjugates for photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy
- Mthethwa, Thandekile Phakamisiwe
- Authors: Mthethwa, Thandekile Phakamisiwe
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Nanochemistry , Phthalocyanines , Photochemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4543 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017923
- Description: This thesis presents the synthesis of neutral and cationic metallophthalocyanines and their gold nanoparticles conjugates. The spectroscopic characterization of these compounds is presented herein. The studies presented in this work shows that the conjugation of gold nanoparticles influenced both photophysical and photochemical properties. Gold nanoparticles were found to enhance the singlet oxygen quantum yield while lowering the fluorescence quantum yields. This work also looks at the effect of anisotropic gold nanoparticles such as nanorods and bipyramids on the photophysical behaviour of the metallophthalocyanines. The effect of the size of the gold nanorods was investigated herein. The results show that photophysical and photochemical properties can be influenced by both size and shape of the nanoparticles. Physical characterization about the loading of nanoparticles was also looked into. Parameters such as the surface area, the number of surface atoms, the number of atoms as well as the number of nanoparticles loaded on the surface of the phthalocyanines were studied. The self-assembled monolayers formed by phthalocyanines on gold surfaces were studied using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The gold nanoparticles synthesized herein include both organic and water soluble, different capping agents (citrate, tetraammonium bromide (TAOBr) and cetrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The concentration of the gold nanoparticles was measured on the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and their size and shape were obtained from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. A cationic aluminium phthalocyanine and its conjugates were used for photoinactivation of bacteria and fungi. The results show significant reduction and higher activity in the presence of gold nanoparticles, especially nanorods. A small chapter in this work presents an attempted work on the binding of metallothionein protein with protophorphyrin (IX). The pH and concentration dependent binding studies were investigated
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Mthethwa, Thandekile Phakamisiwe
- Date: 2015
- Subjects: Nanochemistry , Phthalocyanines , Photochemistry
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: vital:4543 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017923
- Description: This thesis presents the synthesis of neutral and cationic metallophthalocyanines and their gold nanoparticles conjugates. The spectroscopic characterization of these compounds is presented herein. The studies presented in this work shows that the conjugation of gold nanoparticles influenced both photophysical and photochemical properties. Gold nanoparticles were found to enhance the singlet oxygen quantum yield while lowering the fluorescence quantum yields. This work also looks at the effect of anisotropic gold nanoparticles such as nanorods and bipyramids on the photophysical behaviour of the metallophthalocyanines. The effect of the size of the gold nanorods was investigated herein. The results show that photophysical and photochemical properties can be influenced by both size and shape of the nanoparticles. Physical characterization about the loading of nanoparticles was also looked into. Parameters such as the surface area, the number of surface atoms, the number of atoms as well as the number of nanoparticles loaded on the surface of the phthalocyanines were studied. The self-assembled monolayers formed by phthalocyanines on gold surfaces were studied using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The gold nanoparticles synthesized herein include both organic and water soluble, different capping agents (citrate, tetraammonium bromide (TAOBr) and cetrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The concentration of the gold nanoparticles was measured on the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and their size and shape were obtained from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. A cationic aluminium phthalocyanine and its conjugates were used for photoinactivation of bacteria and fungi. The results show significant reduction and higher activity in the presence of gold nanoparticles, especially nanorods. A small chapter in this work presents an attempted work on the binding of metallothionein protein with protophorphyrin (IX). The pH and concentration dependent binding studies were investigated
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »