Support provided by outreach team leaders to caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in the North-West province of South Africa.

BACKGROUND: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency deficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic have left an overwhelming impact on communities worldwide, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where its effects on family structures are particularly pronounced. Caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans encounter challenges in fulfilling their caring duties. Consequently, they rely on the outreach team leaders (OTLs) for support to care for HIV/AIDS orphans. AIM: This study aimed to explore and describe support provided by OTLs to caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in the North West Province of South Africa. METHODS: The exploratory, descriptive, and contextual design meaning the study was conducted was in the contexts where caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans reside. The study was conducted in five local municipalities in the Ngaka Modiri Molema district of the North West Province of South Africa. Ward-based outreach nurses were participants in the study. Semi-structured focus group interviews were used for data collection. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Throughout the study, ethical principles were adhered to. The study also adhered to four trustworthiness principles: credibility, confirmability, transferability, and dependability. RESULTS: Three main themes emerged from this study: the conduction of home visits to caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans, the coordination of a multidisciplinary team for support, and the facilitation of support groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that that caregivers of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS benefitted from the support provided by OTLs in the North West province of South Africa. The support provided by OTLs harnessed positive relationship between caregivers and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Coping mechanisms used by caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in North West province, South Africa.

BACKGROUND:  Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a pandemic that has affected families and left many children orphaned worldwide. After the death of their parents, HIV/AIDS orphans are often taken care of by caregivers who are faced with overwhelming challenges that affect their capabilities to perform caring tasks. It has been reported that caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans use different coping mechanisms to deal with the challenges faced during caring. Coping mechanisms play an integral role in maintaining individuals' physical and mental well-being, particularly those caring for orphans. This study explored coping mechanisms used by caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans. METHODS:  A qualitative design was adopted, and individual semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 13 caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in North West province. Non-probability purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Rigor was maintained throughout the study. RESULTS:  Three main themes were identified with eight subthemes. The first theme includes support from significant others, and subthemes are family support, neighbour support, and life partner support. The second main theme emerged from this study was religious practices and two subthemes namely singing gospel songs and using prayer to cope. The third main theme identified includes the use of social support services, and subthemes were government support, support from local schools, and stokvels and social clubs. CONCLUSION:  The identified coping mechanisms in this study improved caregiving skills of caregivers to better care for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

Experiences of nursing students regarding clinical placement and support in primary healthcare clinics: Strengthening resilience.

BACKGROUND: This research addressed the need to have a deeper understanding of nursing students' experiences of clinical placement and support in primary healthcare (PHC) settings. AIM: To explore and describe the experiences of nursing students' clinical placement in PHC settings. SETTING: The study was conducted at PHC clinics in a specific province in South Africa. METHOD: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was used. The population comprised fourth-year nursing students selected using purposive sampling. Five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted. Data saturation determined the sample size which comprised 25 nursing students. Thematic data analysis produced four main themes. RESULTS: The main themes were (1) the meaning of placement, (2) experiences of clinical placement, (3) needs for support, and (4) resilience of nursing students. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students encountered negative and positive experiences. Both experiences confirmed that PHC settings can be valuable learning opportunities for nursing students. Nursing students appreciated the supervision of professional nurses who created an atmosphere conducive for teaching and learning by welcoming and encouraging nursing students' independence. Recommendations include: appointing a professional nurse specifically for supervision of nursing students, tutor support before summative examinations, improvement of services, including the availability of resources. CONTRIBUTION: This article contributes to awareness of how nursing students manage to stay resilient irrespective of negative experiences during clinical placement and how tutors and professional nurses can support them. The study's recommendations can guide professional nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers and other healthcare PHC workers to support nursing students.

Experiences of partners of professional nurses venting traumatic information.

BACKGROUND: Professional nurses employed in trauma units encounter numerous stressors in their practice environment. They use different strategies to cope with this stress, including venting traumatic information to their partners and other family members. AIMS: To describe how partners of professional nurses cope with traumatic information being vented to them. METHODS: A qualitative research method with an interpretive descriptive inquiry design was used to explore, interpret and describe the coping experiences of the nurses' partners. Purposive sampling was used to select a total of 14 partners, but only ten participated in semi-structured interviews. Tesch's eight steps of open coding were used for data analysis. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified indicating adaptive and maladaptive coping skills, namely partners' experiences of traumatic information vented to them; partners' coping activities; reciprocal communication and relationship support between partners and nurses; and resilience of partners to deal with the nursing profession. CONCLUSION: Partners employed different ways to cope with traumatic information. It was essential for partners and nurses to be supported by nurses' practice environments and to develop resilience to fulfil reciprocal supportive roles in their relationships.

Increasing coping and strengthening resilience in nurses providing mental health care: Empirical qualitative research.

BACKGROUND: Research on coping and resilience is on the rise. However, there is a paucity of information addressing strengths, assets, competence or resilience that enable nurses to remain committed and cope in their profession despite the adversities they face in their working environment. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to explore and describe how to strengthen the resilience of nurses in a work environment with involuntary mental health care users. METHOD: An exploratory and descriptive research design, which is contextual in nature, was used. RESULTS: Narrative responses to two open-ended questions (How do you cope with providing mental health care to involuntary admitted mental health care users? and; How can your resilience be strengthened to provide mental health care to involuntary mental health care users?) yielded coping mechanisms and resilience strengthening strategies. CONCLUSION: Nurses caring for involuntary mental health care users are faced with challenging situations while they themselves experience internal conflict and have limited choices available to be assertive. To strengthen their resilience, the following factors should be taken into account: support, trained staff, security measures and safety, teamwork and in-service training and education.

The strengths of families in supporting mentally-ill family members.

BACKGROUND: Although families caring for a mentally-ill family member may experience challenges, some of these families may display strengths that help them to overcome difficulties and grow even stronger in caring for their family member. In cases where these families are unable to cope, the mentally-ill family member tends to relapse. This indicated the need to explore the strengths of families that cope with caring for mentally-ill family members. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the strengths of families in supporting mentally-ill family members in Potchefstroom in the North-West Province. METHOD: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed, with purposive sampling and unstructured individual interviews with nine participants. Tesch's eight steps of thematic content analysis were used. RESULTS: Twelve themes emerged from the data. This involved strengths such as obtaining treatment, utilising external resources, faith, social support, supervision, calming techniques, keeping the mentally-ill family member busy, protecting the mentally-ill family member from negative outside influences, creative communication, praise and acceptance. CONCLUSION: Families utilise external strengths as well as internal strengths in supporting their mentally-ill family member. Recommendations for nursing practice, nursing education and for further research could be formulated. Psychiatric nurses should acknowledge families' strengths and, together with families, build on these strengths, as well as empower families further through psycho-education and support.

A model for the incorporation of the traditional healers into the national health care delivery system of South Africa.

In South Africa the patient uses both the traditional healers and biomedical personnel's services out of need for the best healing therapy to fulfil his/ her health needs. Failure of one to yield the expected results leads to the use of the other. This shunting back and forth prompted the researcher to undertake research and formulated a model demonstrating how the traditional healers can be incorporated into the National Health Care Delivery System of South Africa. The research used both qualitative and theory generating designs to attain the set objective. Firstly, a qualitative research design used semi-structured interviews to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of biomedical personnel, traditional healers, patients and policy makers, regarding the process of incorporation. A non-probable purposive voluntary sample was used, selection was done according to a set criteria. Data was analysed and the results of phase one as well as initial literature review were used to construct a conceptual framework for the model. Secondly, a theory generating design was employed using the three phases of Dickoff, James and Wiedenbach (1968:435) to formulate a model which was systematically, logically and consistently conceptualized. In evaluation of this model a predetermined criteria was used. The results showed that the constructed model demonstrated the government formulating policy to legalize traditional healing and affording the traditional healers legal authority to be official partners to the biomedical personnel and avail the quality health care services that fulfils the patients health needs using the primary health care approach.

Experiences and support needs of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district in South Africa.

This study was undertaken to address the lack of support for poverty-stricken people living with HIV that was identified in the Potchefstroom district in the North-West Province in South Africa. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to explore the experience, identify the support needs, and formulate guidelines for effective support for poverty-stricken people living with HIV. A total of 25 in-depth interviews guided by two central questions resulted in the following themes: facilitative and impeding experiences of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, basic needs, psychosocial needs, cultural-spiritual needs, and self-actualization needs. The experience of poverty-stricken people living with HIV in the Potchefstroom district is closely related to their support needs. To address these needs holistically and to enhance the quality of life of poverty-stricken people living with HIV, the needs should first be addressed individually. Following that, the collective needs can be addressed by a support system.