Doctoral Degrees (Social Work)

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Browsing Doctoral Degrees (Social Work) by Subject "AIDS (Disease) -- Patients -- Family relationships"

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    Die belewenisse en sosio-emosionele behoeftes van familielede as primere VIGS-versorgers binne 'n ekologiese perspektief : 'n kwalitatiewe studie
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2014-12) Terblanche, Hester Helena; Green, Sulina; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Due to a lack of research, which, in turn, resulted in a shortage of applicable literature that focused on the experiences and socio-emotional needs of family members as carers of AIDS-patients, the researcher decided to undertake this research project. The aim of this was to investigate the experiences and socio-emotional needs of family members as AIDS care givers. To lead the research, the researcher made use of a qualitative research approach. Attention was also given to the description of HIV/AIDS, as well as the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The impact of HIV/AIDS was also given attention, and it was done from an ecological perspective. Within the qualitative research paradigm a phenomenological, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The boundaries for data collection were delineated to the George area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with family members who acted as primary care givers of AIDS-patients who were recruited by means of purposive sampling and the snowball sampling technique. The data collected were analysed according to the steps for qualitative data analysis as proposed by Tesch (in Cresswell, 1994). To ensure the trustworthiness of the research findings, data verification was executed according to Guba’s model (in Krefting, 1991). The following twelve themes emanated from the process of data analysis: - Knowledge of the disease - Caring for people with AIDS - Risky behaviour - Other people’s reactions - Care givers’ feelings and reactions - Support that was received with the care giving - Effect of the care giving on the relationship between the care giver and the patient - Changes in the care givers’ life because of the care giving of AIDS patients - Experiences regarding the dying process - Needs regarding the caring of the patient - Services that are needed - Advice from the participants to other family members as AIDS care givers. The following recommendations were made based on the conclusions derived from the research findings: Information sessions by Social Workers in collaboration with the different clinics on certain days; a community based project to recruit volunteers to support family care givers on a regular basis; look at facilities, like old age homes and hospices, that can give respite for a week to three weeks; connect family care givers to support groups in the community; make use of the media to give information regarding HIV/AIDS to the broader community; a centralized food and clothes bank from which care givers can draw affordable food and clothes. An application for funding can be done at the Department of Social Development or the Department of Health. Another recommendation that is made is to investigate the possibility of a community based project that provides cleaning and washing services to family members as care givers, as well as the patients. This can even become a job creation project. Other recommendations are: to investigate an alternative form of transport that is wheelchair accessible and patient friendly; to train home based carers to help family members as AIDS care givers; to train home based carers to be of assistance with counseling of patients with regard to their medication; to train home based carers as AIDS care givers to help family members to reach out to other support services or groups; that care givers should be careful about expectations of other people and that they should be confident enough to verbalize their expectations; that Social Workers should investigate if the family member, as AIDS care giver, as well as the patient, gets the necessary support on all levels of the ecological perspective, and if not, he/she must look at ancillary sources and mobilize it to give support to the family care giver as well as to the patient; that professionals need to keep in mind the advice the participants was given to other family members as care givers when they are working with these families. A recommendation was also made to do a follow-up research on the same topic in the White, Indian and Black communities and especially that further emphasis should be placed on their needs, as participation by this population groups were scarce or could not be obtained at all.