Commissioned by the Dept. of Health and Social Welfare NW Province Odi Health and Welfare District (Winterveldt Survey -Findings)
Undertaken by: AMREF (Hosted by: Sapler Population Trust)
In total 238 respondents were interviewed for the survey. Various data pertaining to their characteristics were collected among them age, sex, level of education and means of earning their living. Following are the findings of the study:
Of the respondents. 22.6% were male and 77.4% - female. Two thirds (67.5%) of the respondents were aged below 50 years. Table 2 shows the age and sex distributions.
Age in years |
Sex of respondent |
% of Total |
|
Male (%) |
Female (%) |
||
|
15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 - 69 70 - 74 75 - 79 80 + |
53.8 34.6 20.6 17.9 18.2 9.5 14.3 20.0 25.0 12.5 16.7 37.5 40.0 - |
46.2 65.4 79.4 82.1 81.8 90.5 85.7 80.0 75.0 87.5 83.3 62.5 60.0 100.0 |
5.6 11.1 14.5 12.0 9.4 9.0 6.0 6.4 5.1 6.8 5.1 3.4 4.3 1.3 |
| Total | 22.6 | 77.4 | 100.0 |
Marital Status
Slightly more than half (54%) of the respondents were married, either traditionally (35%) or lawfully (1 9%). Singlehood was apparent in 30.8% of the respondents, while only 2. 1 % said they were divorced. About 7.6% of the respondents were widowed, while 5. 1 % were cohabiting.
Educational level
Respondents were asked to state the highest of education ever attained. About a quarter (26%) had been up to between standard 5 and 8 level. Those who had not been to school at constituted 1 8.1 %. Table 3 provides more details.
| Level of education | Number of respondents | % |
|
Sub A to Std 4 Std 5 to Std 8 Std 8 to Std 10 Tertiary education Not Schooling |
70 61 57 4 43 |
29.8 26.0 24.3 1.7 18.3 |
Ethnicity and Home language
The respondents were asked to state their ethnic background. Most of the respondents were either Tsonga (23.6%) or North Sotho (20.3%). Table 4 gives further distribution.
| Ethnic group | Number of respondents | % (n=237) |
|
Tswana Shona Zulu Xhosa Venda Tsonga Ndebele Swazi North Sotho South Sotho Other |
28 2 29 6 14 56 21 16 48 13 1 |
11.8 2.1 12.2 2.5 5.9 23.6 8.9 6.8 20.3 5.5 0.4 |
Main Source of Income
Main sources of income amongst respondents varied. A third (31.4%) of the respondents indicated that they rely on pension, while those on business and salaries comprised 20.7 percent and 17.8 respectively. See table 5 for more details.
| Source of income | No of respondents (n=169) | % |
|
Pension Dependent Business Salary Remittances Disability allowance Other |
53 42 35 30 4 3 2 |
31.4 24.9 20.7 17.8 2.4 1.8 1.2 |
Introduction
A total of 1 437 household members were realised from the 238 households that were covered in the survey. This gives a mean household size of 6 people per household. Given that according to the recent data there are 32 444 dwellings, this gives us a population of 194 664, which is not very far from the 213 000 estimate (Mvula Trust; 1997).
The demographic information that was collected during the survey were on: age, sex, level of education, main occupation, religious affiliation and relationship with the head of the household. Following are details of the findings:
Age and Sex Distribution
The distribution of the household population in our study is shown on table 6 below. The table shows that 11 percent is below 5 years and a third (34.6%) are below 15 years. The latter does no conform with established demographic patterns in third world countries where the proportion of those below 15 years is in the region of 50%.
| Age group in Years | Male | Female | Total | % of total |
|
<5s 5 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 - 69 70 - 74 75 - 79 80 + |
67 165 87 79 64 30 38 24 22 25 17 13 5 9 8 6 |
84 167 91 64 68 44 45 36 28 21 20 25 14 12 8 10 |
151 332 178 143 132 74 83 60 50 46 37 38 19 21 16 16 |
10.8 23.8 12.8 10.2 9.5 5.3 5.9 4.3 3.6 3.3 2.7 2.0 1.4 1.5 1.1 1.1 |
Findings above show a population composed mainly of a dependent age group who comprise primary users of social services. Further illustration is given in figure 1 below.
Apart from ages 5-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 50-54 and 75-79, there seems to be excess of females over males. Out of a total population of 1 437; 676 were males and 754 were females, giving a male to female ratio of about 1:1.
Education and sex
Table 7 gives a summary of distribution of education by sex. The results show that there is a differential in education between and females and this difference was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). The data indicate that 59% of women and 40% of men aged six and above had not received any formal education. Overall, 24.3% had received no formal education.
Up to standard seven the proportion of women who are educated is higher than men. Table 2 shows that from standard eight to tertiary level the proportion of men who are educated is higher than women. However, looking at all the people who have been to school up to tertiary level almost an equal number of women (50.9%) and men (49.1 %) are educated.
| Education | Male | Female | Total |
|
None |
138 (40.7%) |
201 (59.3%) |
339 (24.3%) |
|
Sub A - Std 4 |
215 (46.9%) |
243 (53.1%) |
458 (32.8%) |
|
Std 5 - Std 7 |
155 (49.5%) |
158 (50.5%) |
313 (22.4%) |
|
Std 8 - Std 10 |
138 (52.1%) |
127 (47.9%) |
265 (19.0%) |
|
Tertiary Education |
12 (54.5%) |
10 (45.5%) |
22 (1.6%) |
Occupation
Attempts were made during the survey to assess how most people spent their time. just over a third of the adult population (38.6%) indicated that they were in full-time employment, while another 16.7% indicated that they are in part-time job. About 4.3% were engaged in business and 8.9% - self-employed. Ten percent of the population indicated that they had nothing that was occupying them.
Religious Affiliation
Majority (95.1 %) of the study population were Christians. The other religions were Islam and African independent religious groups.
Physical and Mental Disability
Seventeen percent of the households reported at least one person with physical or mental disability, while 2 percent reported at least 2 persons with similar disorders. The total number of persons reported to be disabled in the study population was 43, giving a disability rate 3 percent. Over a half of the reported cases of disability were males (53.7%)
The five most common types of were physical disability (36.6%), mental disability (26.8%), epilepsy (1 2.2%) deaf/dumb (7.3%) and blindness (7.3%).
| Type of disability | No. of responses | % |
|
Physical Mental Fainting (?Epilepsy) Deaf/dumb Blindness Paralysis Speech |
15 11 5 3 3 2 1 |
36.6 26.8 12.2 7.3 7.3 4.3 2.4 |
Table 9 above shows that the major problems facing the disabled are those related to disability grant in terms of access, predicting when they would get it and adequacy of the grant. The other major problems include lack of financial resources which is compounded by inability to get employment. Households are also concerned about the lack of special provision for disabled particularly when constructing buildings and the fact that health and social welfare workers are inaccessible to the disabled.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
Disability grant Unemployment Financial Inaccessibility to buildings Lack of access to health and welfare |
12 9 4 3 2 |
27.9 20.9 9.3 7.0 4.7 |
General Problems Facing the Youth, Women and the Aged
The Youth
Over a quarter of the respondents (27.7%) are of the opinion that there are no problems that could be said to be peculiar to the youth. The five major problems facing the youth include alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, unemployment, lack of recreational facilities and general indiscipline. Although lower on the scale in terms of the number of responses, temptations for getting involved in crime, peer group conflict and rape and other forms of abuse were mentioned as potentially explosive areas of concern.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
No problem Alcohol abuse Teenage pregnancy Unemployment Lack of recreational facilities General indiscipline Involvement in crime Drug abuse Droping out of school Peer group conflict Abuse/Rape Killing one another |
56 29 28 27 24 18 13 7 7 5 4 3 |
27.7 10.9 10.5 10.1 9.0 6.7 4.9 2.6 2.6 1.9 1.5 1.1 |
Women
Unemployment and related financial problems were mentioned as the main problems facing women in the community. Other major problems facing women in the community include rape/abuse, lack of support from husband, teenage pregnancy and alcohol abuse.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
None Unemployment Financial Lack of support from Husband Crime/insecurity Alcohol abuse Rape/abuse Teenage pregnancy Bearing many children Impotence |
44 40 26 10 8 5 4 1 1 1 |
17.1 15.5 10.1 3.9 3.1 1.9 1.6 0.4 0.4 0.4 |
The Aged
The problems associated with old age pension constitute one of the major problems facing the aged. It is notable that like the youth and women, the aged also face the problem of insecurity, alcohol abuse, and rape. What is unique about the aged as a group is a feeling of neglect and concern about food security.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
Pension Sickness Neglect Lack of a home for the aged Insecurity Having to care for grant children Alcohol abuse Abuse/rape Food security |
35 27 16 11 10 5 3 3 1 |
16.0 12.3 7.3 5.0 4.6 2.3 1.4 1.4 .5 |
Major Health Problems Facing the Households
Flu, colds and coughing or generally upper respiratory tract infections form the most common household health problem (18.4%). It is notable that high blood pressure/heart problems also feature quiet highly.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
Flu/Colds Cough Headache High blood pressure, heart problems Leg problems Eye Distance/lack of health facility Sores (all types) Diarrhoea Stomachache General body pains |
42 42 39 34 27 27 15 14 13 12 12 |
9.4 9.4 8.7 7.6 6.0 6.0 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.7 2.7 |
Outpatient statistics collected from Winterveldt and Kgabo Clinic three months preceding the survey show that five most common disease/disease conditions are upper respiratory tract infection, diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissues, sexually transmitted diseases, diseases of the digestive system and other diseases of the respiratory system.
Amongst the under-fives, upper respiratory tract infections were also found to be the most common complaint. It is notable that measles was reported.
Facility outpatient statistics from Kgabo and Winterveldt Clinics show that the three most common diseases amongst the under-fives include upper respiratory tract infection, diseases of the digestive system, and diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissues.
| Problem | No. of responses | % |
|
Coughing Flu/Colds Diarrhoea Skin diseases Eye problems Measles Ear/nose/throat Stomachache Tonsilitis |
56 40 39 19 13 10 6 5 5 |
18.3 13.1 12.7 6.2 4.2 3.3 2.0 1.6 1.6 |
| Disease/Condition | Age group | ||
| < 5 | 5 - 14 | 15 + | |
| Upper respiratory tract infections | 3,742 | 1,884 | 2,455 |
| Diseases of skin and subcutaneous tissues | 653 | 648 | 1,215 |
| STDs (syphilis, gonococeal, other veneral disease) | - | 21 | 2,488 |
| Diseases of the digestive system | 664 | 545 | 984 |
| Other disease of the respiratory system (excluding PTB) | 234 | 265 | 405 |
| Diarrhoeal and other intestinal infections | 280 | 138 | 105 |
| Accidents (motor, fire and flames) | 90 | 177 | 209 |
Source: Monthly outpatient returns from Winterveldt and Kgabo Clinics June to August 1997
It is important to note from table 15 that amongst those who presented with sexually transmitted diseases were children in the 5 -14 age group. Although no mention was made about accidents, by respondents out-patient statistics show that they contribute heavily. Two thirds of the accidents that involved children under fives was due to fire and flames. However, amongst the adults the main source of accidents was motor.
Mortality, Serious Assault and Rape
A total of twenty deaths were reported to have occurred twelve months preceding the survey. This gives a crude death rate of the area to be 20 per 1 000 population. Apart from illnesses the most common causes of death were murder and suicide comprising more than a quarter (27.6%). Heart condition was also reported.
According to Winterveldt Serious Crime Statistics for January-December 1996 (As supplied by Loate - Klippan area and Dube - 10 Morgan), a total of 84 murders, 757 serious assault (stabbings, gunshot wound or severe beatings) and 229 rapes.
Considering that these cases only represent the reported, there is every reason for the members of the Winterveldt community to feel insecure as observed in this report.
| Cause | No. of responses | % |
|
Illnesses Murder/suicide Natural Heart condition Unknown Accident |
8 6 5 4 3 3 |
27.6 20.7 17.2 13.8 10.3 10.3 |
Utilization of health and welfare services
Clinics were found to be the most common source of treatment while sick (82.4%). This includes both government and non-governmental health facilities. A quarter of the respondents (25.6%) indicated that their most common source of treatment was a private doctor. Relatively small number of respondents (9.7%) mentioned Traditional Heaters as a source of treatment. The difference between the most common source of treatment and place visited when last sick was found not to be significant.
Over two thirds of respondents (67.6%) indicated that they were satisfied with the health services offered at a facility nearest to them. The main reason for satisfaction with the services offered was good treatment by the staff in these facilities (48.9%). Other reasons given included the fact that the staff were good with children and adequate medicine.
Main reasons given for dissatisfaction with health and welfare services included uncooperative and unfriendly staff, inadequate medicine, long waiting time, long distance to facility and the fact that some of the facilities close too early.
About half of the respondents (48.1 %) indicated that the clinics nearest to them were offering free services all the time whereas 18 percent indicated that those facilities nearest to them only offer free services sometimes.
In terms of delivery most respondents (94.3%) would prefer that their household members deliver in health institutions. Only one (0.4%) respondent indicated that they prefer a member of their household to be delivered by Traditional Midwife whereas two respondents (1.3%)preferred to deliver at home. Distribution in terms of actual place of delivery of the fast born baby took on the same pattern with most deliveries being institution-based. However it is notable that 10 percent of the deliveries took place at home.
Fifteen percent of the respondents indicated that they face problems taking their children for immunization. Problems include distance to the facilities compounded by transport problems, poor treatment by health staff and long waiting time.
Respondents were asked where they would go if they had social welfare problems. A third (33.2%) indicated that they would either visit a clinic (19.7%) or a Social Worker (13.5%). Others indicated that they would see a religious leader, local authority, the police and family members. Only three respondents (1.3%) indicated that they would go to a welfare office if they had a social welfare problem.
A quarter of the respondents indicated that they do not know how HIV/AIDS can be prevented. However, about half (45.0%) perceive condom as the main method of prevention of HIV/AIDS, while a third (35.7%) view sticking to one faithful as an important approach to preventing HIV/AIDS.
Avoiding razor used by another person was also mentioned. Although knowledge on prevention could generally be said to be widespread, there were few misconceptions such as not touching a person with HIV/AIDS, having a good diet and not sharing food with an infected person. Respondents did not mention ensuring that injections are given with sterile needles as means of prevention.
More than three quarters of the respondents (82.0%) believe that they are at risk of acquiring AIDS. About half of these respondents who believe they are at risk are women (40.3%) compared to a third of the men (32.0%). It was observed that the differences in proportion between men and women who believe they are at risk becomes less noticeable above the age of 45.
just over a third of the respondents (36.5%) indicated that they have changed their sexual behaviour since they heard of HIV/AIDS. The general impression is that a majority of people do not seem to see HIV/AIDS as real. The latter is probably supported by the fact that only 12 percent of the respondents indicated that they have ever seen anybody with AIDS or who has died of AIDS. For those who have changed their behaviour the main types of behaviour change included sticking to one faithful partner (36.1 %) and use of condom (23.1 %).
Over two thirds (60.3) of the households obtain their information on health and welfare from health facilities. Radio and television are important sources of information. An important finding is the diversity of sources of information under "other" category in table ?. These include schools, church, community centres, social workers, the police, traditional healers, family and friends.
| Source of Information | No. of respondents | % |
|
Health Facility Radio/TV No specific source Others |
126 31 27 25 |
60.3 14.8 12.9 12.0 |
Majority of the respondents (84.1 %) are satisfied with the information their receive from the various sources. Households require more information on development of housing, HIV/AIDS, various aspects of development including information on on-going projects, social welfare issues and gardening. Above all respondents feel that Winterveldt should have information centres.
Respondents were asked whether they were aware of any educational or skills training services within Winterveldt. About half (48.8%) indicated that they were aware of such services. Sisters of Mercy, the Rand Watery Roman Adult, Mpshe and St Michael were the most commonly mentioned amongst those institutions that provide vocational training services.
Other institutions mentioned included the following: Dikago-Dintle, Roman Adult, Old People Club. Mkua School, Kgulaganyo, Matsimogolo, Sand River, Molokotio. Marima Stand, TW Nthale Adults, Winterveldt Industrial site, Nyathis Place, Marelenitshane and Mmakunyana. Local authority and Kromkull Candle Project were also associated with vocational training.
Three quarters of the households indicated that these institutions were providing a useful service to the community, particularly the youth. They, however, had suggestions on what else these institutions should address: empowerment of women, typing and computer training, motor mechanics, brick making, masonry, welding, plumbing, electrical engineering, agriculture, and shoe repair.
Respondents also feel that these institutions should address the issue of there being adequate recreational facilities and libraries. Although only mentioned by individual respondents, it is important to note that they are those who feel that these institutions should address the issue of marketing of products.