Thesis (MPH)--University of Limpopo, 2011. / Background: Support groups are an informal resource that attempts to provide healing components to a variety of problems and challenges. An informal support outside of family, friends, or professionals often provides greater understanding, more similarity (from individuals experiencing similar life events), an opportunity for empathy and altruism, and a sense of identity for participants. Learning new ways to handle challenges, cope with changes, and maintain new behaviors are all important aspects of the support group experience. Purpose: The aim of the study was to determine what HIV positive people perceive as barriers to participate in HIV support groups. Methods: This was a quantitative study design using structured questionnaires on 248 participants who gave written consents to participate in the study. Results: Majority were female 63% participants, single (52.63%), unemployed (60%), between ages 31-40 and 52.02% attained secondary education. Participants who were currently on HIV treatment (prophylaxis and ARV) has attended HIV support groups before while participants who were not on any treatment have never attended HIV support groups. Participants who never attended HIV support group also never attended other support groups. The main reasons that participants gave for not attending in HIV support groups was that they are concerned about their privacy and HIV status being known by others. Barriers preventing attendance of HIV support group were support groups are hard to find, work schedules and lack of transport money.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Marriage, Family, and Human Development, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 31-38).

No description available.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Background: Depression is one of the most common illnesses in the world, which today affects 280 million people globally. Depression occurs at all ages and is the largest group of mental illnesses linked to suicide. Women and the elderly are the most prone to depression. Depression is considered a public disease and is a complex disease with many aspects that influence its course and onset. The research indicates that the care of depressive patients can be deficient and lead to patient suffering and mistrust of the healthcare system. Furthermore, previous research shows that there is a lack of patients' perceived experiences of depression. In order to improve patients' treatment results, it is important to gain more understanding of depressive patients by allowing their point of view to take a greater place. Aim: The aim was to describe adult patients' experiences of living with depression. Method: A structured literature study with a focus on qualitative research containing seventeen scientific articles that were analyzed thematically in accordance with Braun and Clarke's content analysis. Results: Two main themes and five subthemes were identified. The first main theme was Malaise with the subtheme Emotional experience and the subtheme Experiences of physical discomfort. The second main theme were Social aspects with the subtheme The social self-image, the subtheme Experiences of coping strategies and the subtheme Experiences of healthcare. Conclusion: Depression has a significant impact on the life of the sufferer. The disease entails a wide range of emotional and physical ailments that cause the depressive patient to feel unwell. The disease entails a changed self-image that causes suffering and affects social aspects in the patient's life. Coping strategies affect everyday life and have an effect on the patient in social contexts. Experiences with healthcare affected patients' depression. Specialist nurses have a central role in care and, with the help of nurturing communication, they can instill vitality and hope in the depressive patient. By gainingan increased understanding of the patient's malaise and social aspects surrounding the depressed patient, specialist nurses can identify symptoms of depression in good time and provide more empathetic care.

Numerous studies have focused on the effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) programs in producing positive health behaviors and health outcomes for the clients CHWs serve; however, there has been a gap in the literature regarding how the health of HIV + CHWs is impacted by their jobs. A phenomenological design was used to gain insight into the lived experiences of HIV+ CHWs (HIVCHW) who provided services to HIV positive clients. Fifteen HIVCHW were recruited using criteria and snowball techniques. Data were collected via audio recorded personal interviews regarding respondents' perceptions of their work and how it impacted their own health and wellbeing. The data were organized by hand creating charts with pen and paper. Lazarus's theory of stress and coping was used to understand the data and aided in the analysis. The key findings indicated that while the majority of participants had an overall positive perception of the experience of being HIVCHWs, they also indicated that being a CHW impacted their health and well-being. Stress and stressful situations were among the impacts most often referenced by the study participants. The study is socially significant because it may offer the workforce of HIVCHWs empowerment to self-advocate for tools such as stress and time management training and mentors to support healthy work-life balance. In addition, this study may help to prevent or reduce rates of adverse health outcomes such as pain and burnout that HIVCHWs reported experiencing.

The delivery of psychosocial support (PSS) services to children living with HIV and AIDS (CLHA) by PSS service providers, such as community-based organisations (CBOs) in resource-poor settings, ensures the availability of consistent and sustainable support to children living with HIV and AIDS. These children face various psychological and social challenges associated with living with HIV and AIDS, such as drug adherence to HIV medication, stigmatisation and distress, among others. This qualitative study explored the critical factors that influence the delivery of community-based PSS services to CLHA younger than 15 years of age in a resource-poor setting by a community-based organisation. Multiple data-collection tools were adopted. The findings revealed the critical factors that contributed to the delivery of community-based PSS services to CLHA, and also ways in which these important services could be improved. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

Studiens syfte är att beskriva hur människor som lever med hiv, i en stad i västsverige, erfar den egna hälsan. Studien har genomförts med semistrukturerade intervjuer och analyserats med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Genom bearbetning av textdata blev resultatet fyra kategorier: vitalitet för människan som lever med hiv, kampen med mitt liv, utsatthet på grund av fördomar och okunskap och sorg är att inte kunna leva ett önskat liv. Med tillhörande underkategorier: accepterad för den jag är, strävan efter balans, mognat som människa, frihet att kunna leva mitt liv, livet är som det är, klar med livet, skuldbelagd på grund av hiv, livrädd för okunskap, objektifierad som människa, stort ansvar är en börda, tar min energi, ledsen över människors fördomar, begränsad i livet, jag har förändrats och oärlig då jag inte kan berätta. Resultatet visar att Vitalitet för människan som lever med hiv upplevs då informanterna bland annat erfar mod att vara öppen om hiv. Kampen med mitt liv upplevs då informanten beskriver svårigheten att acceptera ett liv med hiv. Rädsla beskrivs som en kamp i samband med att bli avvisad. Utsatthet på grund av fördomar och okunskap upplevs till exempel då vårdpersonal avslöjar informanternas hiv öppet. Sorg är att inte kunna leva ett önskat liv och beskrivs i samband med hur livet förändrats efter hivdiagnosen. Diskussionen skildrar  bland annat hur informanterna upplever att livet blivit begränsat på grund av biverkningar och rädslan att inte våga avslöja hiv för närstående. Välbefinnande upplevs då informanterna erfar frihet. Stigma är förekommande från samhället och informanterna själva.

Bakgrund: Långvarig smärta definieras som smärta som inte har gått över på 3-6 månader. Smärta är en individuell upplevelse som inte kan mätas objektivt, utan den som upplever vet själv hur intensiv den är och smärtans duration. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att leva med långvariga smärta ur ett psykosocialt perspektiv. Syftet var också att beskriva vilka datainsamlingsmetoder de vetenskapliga artiklarna har använt sig av. Metod: Föreliggande litteraturstudie har en deskriptiv design. Föreliggande litteraturstudies resultat baseras på 12 kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar som har sökts fram genom databaserna CINAHL och PubMed. Huvudresultat: Sammanställningen av de inkluderade artiklarna visade på upplevelser av känslomässig påverkan på patienternas liv som ett kraftigt lidande och negativa tankar inför framtiden. Smärta upplevdes också ge sociala begränsningar i arbetslivet, förlust av identitet samt sociala relationer. Patienterna upplevde ett negativt bemötande från sjukvårdspersonalen. Slutsats: Upplevelser av smärta påverkade patienterna psykiskt och socialt. Smärta har resulterat till känslomässig påverkan och lett till sociala begränsningar i både arbetslivet och relationen till familj, vänner och barn. Upplevelsen av sjukvårdspersonalens bemötande upplevdes negativt av patienterna, där smärtan inte togs på allvar. Detta i sin tur påverkade de att få någon behandling eller mediciner. Författaren till föreliggande litteraturstudie menar att utifrån föreliggande litteraturstudies resultat finns brister hos sjukvårdpersonalen, detta i sin tur kan vara till hjälp att öka sjukvårdens kunskaper om dessa patienters upplevelser av långvarig smärta samt att kunna bemöta de på ett värdigt och respektfullt sätt. Det är viktigt att tro på patienters smärta och kunna sträcka de hjälpande hand. / Background: Chronic pain is defined as pain that has not gone over 3-6 months. Pain is an individual experience that cannot be objectively measured, but that experience knows how intense it is, and pain duration. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to describe patient's experiences of living with chronic pain from a psychosocial perspective. The aim was also to describe the data collection methods of scientific articles have used. Method: This literature review has a descriptive design. This literature review study's results are based on 12 scientific articles that have been found through the database CINAHL and PubMed. Result: The compilation of the included articles led to perceptions of emotional impact on patients' lives as a major suffering and negative thoughts about the future. Pain was felt also that the social constraints of working life, loss of identity and social relationships. Patients experienced a negative attitude of medical staff. Conclusion: Experiences of pain affect patients psychologically and socially. Pain has led to the emotional impact and led to social constraints in both working life and relationship to family, friends and children. Experience of healthcare professionals experienced negative treatment of patients where the pain is not taken seriously. This in turn affected the receive any treatment or medication. The author of this literature review means that based on present literature studies results are deficiencies in health care, this in turn may help to increase medical knowledge of these patients experience chronic pain as well as to cope with the in a dignified and respectful manner, believing the pain and to extend helping hand to patients

Bakgrund: Bipolär sjukdom är en kronisk, komplex psykisk sjukdom som kännetecknas av perioder med mani och depression. Sjukdomen påverkar hela den drabbades liv och även dess familj och närstående. Som sjuksköterska kan man möta dessa patienter på alla olika vårdinrättningar och det är betydelsefullt att ha kunskap om sjukdomen för att kunna ge god och personcentrerad vård. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva patienters erfarenheter av att leva med bipolär sjukdom samt att beskriva de inkluderade artiklarnas datainsamlingsmetod. Metod: Denna litteraturstudie har en deskriptiv design. Två databaser användes vid sökningen av artiklar och tolv artiklar inkluderades. Artiklarna granskades och sammanställdes av båda författarna. Huvudresultat: Erfarenheterna av att leva med bipolär sjukdom beskrevs av många som en lång väg till diagnos, att acceptera sjukdomen, svårigheter i att bilda en uppfattning av den egna självbilden, sjukdomens påverkan på relationer till andra, känsla av stigmatisering från både den drabbade själv och omgivningen, hantering av det dagliga livet samt sjuksköterskans betydelse för välmående och hantering av sjukdomen. Artiklarna som resultatet grundar sig på hade intervjuer, terapisessioner och enkät som datainsamlingsmetod. Slutsats: Att få diagnosen bipolär sjukdom erfors av patienter som en stor och bestående livsförändring både för den drabbade och dess närstående. Sjukdomen gav svårigheter i det dagliga livet, till exempel att behålla relationer till andra, bibehålla ett jobb och de erfor stigmatisering utav omgivningen. Som sjuksköterska kan kunskap och förståelse för sjukdomen leda till bättre omvårdnad. / Background: Bipolar disorder is a chronic, complex mental illness characterized by periods of mania and depression. The symptoms have an impact on the entire lives of the affected, and even to their families and relatives. As a nurse, you might meet these patients at all the different health facilities, and it is very important to have knowledge about the disorder to provide good care. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe patients' experiences of living with bipolar disorder and to describe the included articles´ data collection methods. Method: This literature study has a descriptive design. Two databases were used during the search of articles and twelve articles were selected. The articles were reviewed and compiled by both authors. Main results: The experiences of living with bipolar disorder were many; such as a long way to getting the diagnosis and to accept the disorder, difficulties in forming an idea of one´s own self-image, the effect the disorder has on the relationship with others, the sense of stigma from both the person with the disorder and from the environment, dealing with daily life, as well as the nurse´s importance to the patients well-being and management of the disorder. Conclusion: To be diagnosed with bipolar disorder experienced by patients as a great and permanent change of life for both the patients and their relatives. The disorder resulted in difficulties in daily life, such as maintaining relationships with others, maintain a job and they experienced stigma out of the surroundings. As a nurse, knowledge and understanding of the disorder can lead to a better care.