Browsing by Author "Mahomed, Aqeela Noor."
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- ItemUnderstanding the needs and experiences of family caregivers of individuals with dementia in Soweto, a South African township(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-12) Mahomed, Aqeela Noor.; Pretorius, Chrisma; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Department of Psychology.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In an endeavour to comprehensively elucidate the intricate experiences and attendant needs of family caregivers tending to individuals with dementia, an in-depth exploration was undertaken within the unique socio-cultural confines of Soweto, a predominantly Black African township in South Africa. Utilising purposive sampling procedures, an ensemble of thirty family caregivers was interviewed utilizing an open-ended, semi-structured approach. The research drew on Reflective Thematic Analysis (RTA) and the Classifcaton System for Personal Constructs (CSPC) to enhance its analytical rigour. Thus, ensuring a nuanced distillation of essential themes that traversed caregivers' perceptions, challenges, resilience, environmental contingencies, and explicitly stated needs. At the forefront, a paradigmatic shift in the epistemological understanding of dementia emerged. Displacing the historically entrenched cultural or spiritual narratives, there emerged an evolving, sophisticated comprehension of dementia, albeit interspersed with significant caregiving challenges. Importantly, the psychological toll of dementia caregiving precipitated a range of adverse mental health outcomes, most saliently stress, anxiety, and pronounced grief responses. Exacerbating this dynamic was the omnipresent socio-economic milieu emblematic of townships. Issues ranging from entrenched poverty, structural unemployment, endemic crime, and myriad practical challenges served not only as backdrop but as amplifiers to the caregiving burden. Notwithstanding these adversities, caregivers manifested a profound resilience. Their discursive constructs, imbued with themes of mastery, self-efficacy, resilience, and altruistic commitment, underscored their intrinsic adaptive capacities. Yet, it is pivotal to recognize that such resilience, whilst meritorious, necessitates an encompassing support framework to stave of potential deleterious outcomes, including burnout. Caregivers emphasised the need for tailored measures that focus specifically on dementia, both in terms of legislation and interventions. The scope of their advocacy efforts spanned a wide range, including direct service provision, comprehensive psychoeducational initiatives, and capacity-building endeavours. Simultaneously, there was a clear focus on raising awareness at the grassroots level, allocating resources strategically, and implementing comprehensive policy initiatives. The grassroots-level expressions were found to align strongly with the recommended guidelines set forth by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) for an effective National Dementia Plan. This underscores the existing lack of policy in South Africa's dementia care system. In conclusion, this doctoral study presents a scholarly and comprehensive analysis of the complex and interconnected relationships between individual psychosocial factors, sociocultural complexity, and broader contextual influences that shape the experience of caring for individuals with dementia in the intricate social environments of South African townships. The findings emphasise the need for a comprehensive intervention strategy that involves many levels, policy adjustments, and a complete restructuring of the system. The act of mobilising and providing assistance to pre-existing community resources, such as the implementation of memory clinics in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions, can play a role in enhancing the quality of care, support, and resources available to families impacted by dementia.