Feasibility of a youth development programme: A South African study
Hamilton Pharaoh, M Smith and J Frantz
University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa
University of the Western Cape, South Africa
: Int J Ment Health Psychiatry
Abstract
Designing comprehensive youth development programmes that combat the engagement of health risk behaviour amongst the youth has become a crucial component in the battle against the challenges that the youth are confronted with in an ever changing environment. These programmes need to be designed in such a manner that it addresses the current needs of the youth which includes the important transferring of skills to assist them to make better health choices. A Delphi technique was used to explore the feasibility of a designed comprehensive youth development programme that was aimed at combatting health risk behaviour amongst youth in selected high schools in the Paarl area, Western Cape. A purposive sample of 24 experts was invited to participate in the Delphi study. The Delphi process was administered online using Google docs. Experts were requested to participate in an online questionnaire to give their opinion on the feasibility and content of the youth development programme that was designed by the researcher. The consent form and the questionnaires for the various rounds of the Delphi were designed on Google form. The experts were asked to follow the prompts/ links provided in the email they received. Google forms enable the participants to complete and submit the consent forms and questionnaires online. Specific questions were arranged in order for the panel of experts to give input as to: the scope of the programme; the content of the programme; the approaches of the programme; the implementation of the programme; the resources of the programme and; the cost of the programme. The results and observations following the Delphi study indicated that the Delphi technique can be a very helpful tool during the design and development of a programme, especially when the need of expert input is of high priority, as it creatively ascertains expert opinion and advice on a specific area or topic. More importantly aspects have been highlighted that should affect the design of the youth development programme, which include: Scaffolding of the programme into specific age- and gender-based activities; the understanding that the programme should be sensitive to the diverse needs and background of its participants; the need for training of facilitators in order to have the participants being mentored by facilitators equipped to deal with the challenges that will emerge throughout the programme. Recent Publications: 1. Ettinger K M, Pharaoh H, Buckman R Y, Conradie H and Karlen W (2016) Building quality mHealth for low resource settings. Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03091902.2016.1213906. 2. Pharaoh H, Frantz J and Smith M (2014) Concept mapping: stakeholders` perception about what should be included in interventions programmes aimed at reducing engagement in health risk behaviour amongst youth. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance 44-58. 3. Conradie H, Khati P, Pharaoh H and Adams S (2014) Integrating tuberculosis/HIV treatment: an evaluation of the tuberculosis outcomes of patients co-infected with tuberculosis and HIV in the Breede Valley sub-district. South African Family Practice Journal 478-479. 4. Frantz J, Leach L, Pharaoh H, Basset S, Roman N, Smith M and Travill A (2014) Research capacity development in a South African higher education institution through a north-south collaboration. SAHJE 28 (4):1216-1229.
Biography
Hamilton Pharaoh completed his Graduation from University of the Western Cape with his PhD in 2014. He is a Physiotherapist. He founded The Foundation for Communities of Excellence which serves as a driver to change communities and the lives of young people through life skills training and creating pathways for tertiary education opportunities for all. pharaohh@ukzn.ac.za
