The AIDS pandemic has generated a large number of orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Swaziland, as it affects the reproductive age group. Most of the OVC are being cared for by their grandparents who are old, poor and suffer from degenerating diseases of old age. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the needs and support available for OVC under the care of grandparents in the informal settlements of Mbabane, Swaziland in order to develop guidelines for their care and support. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual study was conducted to identify the needs of the OVC and type of support provided by organizations for these children. Data was collected using unstructured and semi-structured interviews. The study was conducted in three phases each addressing a research objective. In the first phase which was to identify the needs of OVC, twelve grandparents who cared for OVC in the informal settlements participated. For the second phase seven managers of organizations that provide support to OVC in the informal settlements participated. The third phase was the development of guidelines by the researcher and validated by participants and experts. The study highlighted the needs of OVC, the nature of the existing support structure and type of support provided by organizations for these children. The findings revealed that the OVC have developmental support, protection support, psychosocial support and support for survival needs. The themes identified from the analysis of the type of support provided by organizations were developmental, partnership, protection, psychosocial and support for survival needs. The organizations' support was inconsistent and inadequate to meet these needs due to the large number of OVC. Some of the weaknesses of organizations were indicated as donor dependency and lack of coordination and collaboration among organizations. The study highlighted partnership as fundamental to the successful implementation of the guidelines. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Ethiopia faces large and growing numbers of child household heads, mainly due to AIDS-related parental deaths. Many of them are vulnerable to abuse and are forced to look after themselves and their siblings, drop out of school and find work. This exploratory study employed qualitative research methods using purposive sampling. The aim was to ascertain how child household heads affected by AIDS adapted to changed life circumstances. The study entailed fieldwork for five weeks in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where evidence was gathered from 10 selected households headed by children (aged 12 to18), their siblings and key informants. It was found that all the children in the study are in dismal living conditions although some reported feelings of satisfaction and happiness. The need to provide special recognition and support to child household heads and their siblings by policy makers and service providers in Ethiopia is highlighted. / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS) / Social Work

The escalating number of people infected by HIV and AIDS poses a challenge to current resources both at the hospital and household level. Community/Home based care is a viable option in response to the scourge of HIV/AIDS to compliment secondary and tertiary care as well as providing support to affected families in coping with the stress of caring for their terminally ill family members. This study explored the effectiveness of the implementation of Community/Home based care services by focusing on three sites at Bushbuckridge i.e. Cunningmore, Maviljan and Hluvukani. Findings revealed that family members were satisfied to have community caregivers entering their homes to provide care and support to their AIDS ill family members. Significant barriers were highlighted by families and community caregivers that hinder effective implementation of the programme, for instance, cultural sensitivity. The study proffered recommendations on how to deal with these issues. / SOCIAL WORK / MA(SS) (SOCIAL WORK)

The focus of this dissertation is on exploring the needs of and services provided to orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. This research is based on the findings from in-depth face-to-face interviews, and the focus group discussion conducted with key informants and primary caregivers of OVCs, respectively. The findings underline that although the needs of OVCs are similar to those of all other children, OVCs face unique challenges. It further shows that the government of South Africa has been responsive in developing relevant legislation, policies, and programmes that attempt to address the needs of OVCs. The findings also revealed that the services provided are coordinated, to a limited extent, through the Flagship Project led by the office of the Premier and. that coordination and integration of activities rendered by various stakeholders is crucial to a positive impact, and in increasing the accessibility of these services. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The focus of this dissertation is on exploring the needs of and services provided to orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. This research is based on the findings from in-depth face-to-face interviews, and the focus group discussion conducted with key informants and primary caregivers of OVCs, respectively. The findings underline that although the needs of OVCs are similar to those of all other children, OVCs face unique challenges. It further shows that the government of South Africa has been responsive in developing relevant legislation, policies, and programmes that attempt to address the needs of OVCs. The findings also revealed that the services provided are coordinated, to a limited extent, through the Flagship Project led by the office of the Premier and. that coordination and integration of activities rendered by various stakeholders is crucial to a positive impact, and in increasing the accessibility of these services. / Social Work / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The escalating number of people infected by HIV and AIDS poses a challenge to current resources both at the hospital and household level. Community/Home based care is a viable option in response to the scourge of HIV/AIDS to compliment secondary and tertiary care as well as providing support to affected families in coping with the stress of caring for their terminally ill family members. This study explored the effectiveness of the implementation of Community/Home based care services by focusing on three sites at Bushbuckridge i.e. Cunningmore, Maviljan and Hluvukani. Findings revealed that family members were satisfied to have community caregivers entering their homes to provide care and support to their AIDS ill family members. Significant barriers were highlighted by families and community caregivers that hinder effective implementation of the programme, for instance, cultural sensitivity. The study proffered recommendations on how to deal with these issues. / SOCIAL WORK / MA(SS) (SOCIAL WORK)

The purpose of the study was to describe the support services available for nurses who care for patients with human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immune-deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in Pretoria urban pubic hospitals. Problems faced by nurses in HIV/AIDS care support preferences were also investigated. The study was conducted between March and April 2003, using a descriptive design. Respondents comprised eighty-seven (87) nurses who were conveniently selected from five (5) hospitals. Results reveal that support available is inadequate in both quality and coverage of nurses. Other significant findings are inadequate job preparation, shortage of nurses and that nurses prefer to receive support from both within and outside the hospital. It has been recommended that management should work with nurses to design support interventions that match the identified problems/needs. Nurses need to take an active role in caring for themselves and more in-service training opportunities need to be created for nurses. / Health Studies / MA (Health Studies)

The family as the basic unit of society plays an important role in the lives of individuals especially children. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has devastated the family structure which is already strained by other detrimental factors such as urbanisation and poverty. The increased death rate of young parents due to AIDS-related diseases has led to an escalating number of orphaned children growing in child headed households (CHH) without adult care. A qualitative study was undertaken to develop an understanding of the barriers that hinder the integration of orphaned children into extended family folds and to obtain suggestions on how to overcome these barriers. Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews were conducted in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province, with a sample of children heading CHH, relatives of these children and social workers who were rendering social work services to these client-systems. The study revealed that the level of suffering faced by CHH began with the illness of the parents. This was further exacerbated by the death of the parents as these children were not absorbed by their extended families. Barriers that hindered the integration of orphaned children into extended family folds go beyond the extended families’ economic capacity to absorb the children. There is an interplay of barriers that are poverty related, relational and family related, culturally related, circumstances that are related to the orphaned children as well as limitations in social work service delivery. The findings indicate that CHH is not a good option to care and protect orphaned children as it exposes them to pervasive adversities with little resources and support. The integration of orphaned children is embraced as a good option to care for the children because of its potential value, amongst others, of enabling the extended families to relieve the CHH from the burden of care. From the findings of this study, practice guidelines were developed to enhance the efficacy of integrating orphaned children into extended families to prevent the CHH phenomenon.

This study was a situation analysis of the socio-economic conditions of orphans and vulnerable children in Dessie Town. Specifically the study assessed the educational attainment, economic status, social isolation, adjustment, discrimination and psycho-social status of OVCs, the characteristics of the care-givers of OVCs and the support systems for OVCs. Therefore, 270 OVCs, 130 guardians and 4 OVCs service-providing organisations were selected as respondents. A survey research design was used. The study found that OVCs and their households faced problems such as school dropout, low educational performance; economic and food insecurity, lack of adequate clothing; social isolation and emotional hardships due to separation of siblings; discrimination, and neglect. Children’s housing conditions, toilet facilities, and access to clean water and health facilities were poor. The majority of guardians were unemployed and unable to fulfil the needs of the OVCs in their care. It is recommended that support systems for OVCs be strengthened. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

This quantitative study was aimed at determining the value of the psychosocial services rendered by the staff members of the Godisanang OVC programme to OVC in Rustenburg in order to make recommendations on how these services could be improved. Fifteen caregivers, who were employed by the Godisanang OVC programme, were interviewed in October 2013. Data was presented in the form of statistics, tables and numbers. This study revealed that the psychosocial services that are rendered by the Godisanang OVC programme to OVC are of value. Therefore, it is recommended that the psychosocial services be extended to other regions of Rustenburg. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)