/library/oar/handle/123456789/2538 2025-11-05T15:24:07Z 2025-11-05T15:24:07Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/135068 2025-05-06T13:20:05Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The navigation of endometriosis-a struggle for coherence a Maltese perspective Abstract: Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological condition affecting millions of women worldwide. It is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterus, often resulting in severe pelvic pain, infertility, psychological stress and other symptoms. Furthermore, the probability of persistent, recurrent symptoms and the absence of a definite explanation are likely to exacerbate endometriosis. These detrimental effects, causing a reduction in the quality of life are well represented in international literature. Illustrations, regarding the interactions with the medical profession are also represented. However, no study to date, was carried out regarding women’s lived experience of endometriosis within the Maltese context. To this end, a qualitative study was carried out, with the aim of providing a deep understanding of the impact of endometriosis on the lives of eight Maltese women by utilising in-depth interviews. The data illustrated the deep impact that endometriosis had on the lives of these participants, the delay in diagnosis and the dismissive attitude and lack of knowledge of the medical profession when interacting with the participants. This was mostly attributed to the normalisation of symptoms by family, friends, medical professionals and even the participants themselves. Finally, the findings highlight an urgent necessity of increasing awareness among the public as well as the medical profession, regarding this insidious disease. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134914 2025-05-02T13:15:25Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Lived experience of people with a below-knee amputation in Malta : assessing the quality of life and needs of care Abstract: This study aims to examine the lived experience of Maltese men and women with a below- knee amputation, explore how biographical disruption affects these individuals’ quality of life, and highlight their support needs. A qualitative research design was adopted for this study to investigate the participants’ experience with below-knee amputation. A purposive sampling of 6 men and 3 women was recruited through gatekeepers from the non-governmental organisation ‘Amputees4Amputees’ and Karen Grech Hospital. In-depth interviews were conducted to gain an understanding in terms of the participants’ socialisation. An Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (IPA) was chosen to analyse the data. Four main themes and fourteen sub-themes were obtained from the data analysis. The findings show that participants accepted their altered body image and developed adaptation strategies to improve their QoL. The importance of having a supportive family and a collaboration of healthcare practitioners is highlighted as they both improve the participants’ physical and psychological health. Because the body and mind are intertwined, biographical disruption is reduced. A prosthesis is significant as it helped in restoring their previous personal and social identities. The participants were instilled with hope and willpower that looked at life positively. The disability stigma was not a concern as they regained normalcy. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134913 2025-05-02T13:09:40Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Knowledge and practice preventing sexually transmitted infections : exploring the impact of sexual health education in schools in Malta Abstract: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are one of the main causes of both physical and psychological acute diseases which might even lead to death worldwide. Around 1 million individuals around the world are acquiring such infections on a daily basis. STIs are transmitted mainly via sexual fluids and blood. Sexual health education is said to help decrease the rate of STIs. Thus, since Malta has one of the highest rates of STIs in Europe, it was deemed necessary to obtain a better understanding of the Maltese population’s insight regarding safe sexual practice, sexual health and their knowledge of sexual health. Research Method: The chosen research method for this proposed study is mixed methods; collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. The qualitative part consisted of expert interviews with PSCD teachers representing a randomly chosen church and public secondary school. Due to unforeseen difficulties, no PSCD teacher could represent a private secondary school. The online questionnaire was delivered in both Maltese and English language. A non-random convenience sample of individuals resident in Malta was created by posting it on four different Facebook groups using secondary education in Malta as the key inclusion criteria. This study was carried out anonymously and each individual was voluntarily taking part in this study. The data extracted from the questionnaires was gathered on SPSS. Results: The qualitative part showed the PSCD teachers’ concern regarding not enough time allocated for sexual health education in both the public and the church school. Both PSCD teachers believe that the high rates of STIs in Malta are caused due to behavioural issues and are not knowledge-based. The questionnaire which represents the quantitative part of this study (n=355) showed that the overall knowledge mean score obtained by the participants was 5.64 out of 7. The difference in mean score was statistically significant in gender, age and the type of secondary school attended. Females were more knowledgeable about STIs than males. It was noted that participants who were 55+ years had a lower knowledge mean score than the rest of the age groups. The mean score obtained by participants who attended an independent school was significantly higher than for the rest of the schools. The total number of sexual partners varied significantly by gender and marital status. Males were more likely to have had more sexual partners in their lifetime as compared to females. Married participants were more likely to have sexual intercourse with only one partner as compared to the other marital statuses. Differences in age groups and sexual orientation groups were not statistically significant with regard to the total number of sexual partners. The frequency of condom use was affected by marital status, age and gender. Conclusion: The high level of knowledge on sexual health that is evident in the data is parallel to what was anticipated by both PSCD teachers who were interviewed as they believe that the increasingly high rates of STIs in Malta are due to behavioural issues rather than a lack of knowledge. Further research is needed to identify the main behavioural issues affecting the high rates of STIs in Malta and how one can tackle them. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/134912 2025-05-02T13:07:14Z 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Experiences, challenges, and needs of mothers who have children with chronic diseases Abstract: As the prevalence of chronic diseases in children continue to increase, a growing number of parents are finding themselves assuming the responsibility of tending to their child’s medical needs within the home environment. These chronic illnesses, while undoubtedly challenging for the child, also impose significant challenges upon the parents who have to address the complex demands of illness management. The interplay between normal parental responsibilities and new caregiving demands contribute to an increase in parenting stress. By using a qualitative approach, this study aimed to investigate the experiences, challenges, and needs of mothers who have children with asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy. The main objectives of this study were to analyse how the mothers’ self-identities and motherhood roles are redefined in the presence of their child’s illness. Furthermore, it also aimed to investigate what new caregiving responsibilities the illness brings about and how the mothers integrate them into their daily lives. Additionally, this study also explored the relationship between mothers and medical professionals, with the goal of identifying potential gaps in care. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews with six mothers, it was observed that although the mothers were not ill themselves, the chronic illness of their child still had a biographical impact on their lives and self-identities. Moreover, the mothers shared how at-home illness management often proved challenging as it brought about several new tasks that were often difficult to handle in the context of their everyday life. Finally, the mothers proposed several recommendations which can be used to improve care and support for these families. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2023-01-01T00:00:00Z