In South Africa, with the highest HIV population in the world, more than 5 million people live with HIV and AIDS, and it is predicted that deaths because of AlDS will rise sharply up to 2010 (Evian, 2003:20; UNAIDS, 2003:19). Because of this, great numbers of patients in the final stages of AlDS need support and homecare in areas with little resources. In this context of limited resources it became necessary for communities and health care services to investigate alternatives for cost-effective and sustainable methods to care for patients with AIDS. Patients are often discharged home to die because the hospital staff can do nothing but palliative care and they feel that resources and space can be better utilised on patients with a greater chance of recovery (Jackson, 2002:232). The government and non-governmental organisations established a number of homecare services to care for patients with AlDS at home. The Potchefstroom-district is no exception; the question however arises whether the care needs of these patients are addressed. The objective of this research was to identify the physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of patients with AlDS for home care and the perceptions of caregivers of what these needs are. The ultimate objective was to formulate recommendations from the results for need-centred homecare for patients with AlDS in the Potchefstroom-district. A two-phased design was used to reach this objective. These two phases took place simultaneously. During phase one, caregivers operated as fieldworkers and completed questionnaires on behalf of the patients on their needs for homecare. During phase two the perceptions of caregivers of patients with AIDS's needs for homecare were determined using the nominal group technique. The director of health of the local authority gave consent for this research. The population of phase one consisted of available patients with AlDS in the Potchefstroom-district of the Northwest Province that compiled to the prerequisites of the research. The population of phase two consisted of a group of caregivers from another area that did not take part in phase one. After they gave consent a total of 24 patients with AlDS and 31 caregivers took part in the research. Data analysis in the case of the questionnaires was done by frequency distribution and for the nominal groups during the group sessions. On the grounds of the results the conclusion was made that patients with AlDS experience a great deal of hopelessness and that their needs are mostly on the first level of basic needs, according to the Maslow needs hierarchy. Higher levels of needs like self-concept needs and self-actualisation came to the attention in the need for spiritual support especially from their own church community. Social and financial needs were also identified. The caregivers stressed the need for equipment when caring for these patients, as there is nothing available for basic homecare. Caregivers identified needs that were not mentioned by the patients and vice versa. For patients an important need was pain relieve which the caregivers did not mention. It appears from this research that the need for the involvement of the multidisciplinary team is not being addressed. Based on the results of this research guidelines were formulated for registered nurses, that train and supervise the caregivers, to ensure that these patients receive the comprehensive care they deserve. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

No description available.

No description available.

<p><font face="Times-Roman"> <p align="left">According to the findings of this study, childcare workers caring for HIV-positive children working in a residential care setting, have similar experiences and challenges to nurses, community-based caregivers and primary caregivers, such as coping with loss and contagion fear. Nonetheless, caring for HIV-positive children poses unique challenges for the caregiver, calling for flexibility and situation-dependent coping strategies.</p> </font></p>

Background: Pediatric obesity is a serious health issue, with an exceedingly high prevalence, having both short and long-term consequences. The Family Lifestyle Program (FLP) provides treatment services to families struggling with pediatric overweight and obesity living in the Winnipeg Health Region. Purpose: To determine whether caregivers’ nutrition knowledge and/or their attitudes about nutrition change as a result of attending the family group education sessions of the FLP. Methods: In this quantitative exploratory research, 17 caregivers (68% female) attended at least four out of five family group education sessions and completed a self-administered survey over three time periods of the program intervention, spanning approximately eight weeks from Time 1 to Time 3. Results: Caregiver nutrition knowledge did not change. Significant changes in three of the four attitude measures across three time periods were observed, related to caregiver attitudes toward their child’s and their own eating habits, program specific nutrition content (label reading and meal planning), and the perceived effort in providing foods to family and in role modelling of healthy behaviours to family members. Conclusions: The family group education sessions assisted the caregivers apply nutrition knowledge through participation in the program intervention, to improve their confidence with following healthy eating principles and role modelling these behaviours to their family members.

This thesis will critically discuss the relationship between family member caregivers of someone living with mental health issues and the housing and mental health system, within the Manitoba context. In a period when mental health and housing systems face financial constraints and limited resources, creating a responsive system that focuses on the needs of the individuals it serves requires not only identifying those needs but understanding the individuals and their perspectives. The focus of this thesis will be the exploration of nine family caregivers’ views on providing supportive care to a family member living with mental health issues. Major themes from the interviews will be explored including fighting for normalcy, responding to burden and stigma, and housing and supports. The intent of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the needs of family caregivers and how these needs can inform policies to provide a higher quality of life for their families.

This study explores and examines the roles of caregivers within rest home facilities in New Zealand; and specifically, how they unpack and deal with managing the tensions associated with end of life (EOL) care. It adopted a qualitative perspective to enable an exploration of how the experiences of caregivers help guide their practice and understanding of their roles in relation to EOL care. A grounded theory framework was utilised in order to explore how caregivers make meaning and find value in the roles they perform within rest home facilities. This study offers insights into some of the tensions that caregivers face in a working environment where life and death occur simultaneously. It was apparent that caregivers are aware of the many social taboos they must negotiate in order to conduct their work. It was also apparent that they understood that others might perceive their work as dirty but that this did not prevent them from finding job satisfaction and create meaning in their work. Instead, they created meaning by using the conceptual tool the imagination of care. This involved utilising their imagination and past experiences to enable EOL care which represented the dying rites of individual residents but also fitted within their ethic of care.

Risken att drabbas av demens ökar med stigande ålder. Antalet demenssjuka kommer att öka beroende på att befolkningen blir allt äldre. I och med detta ökar även antalet anhöriga som har en viktig roll i vården av den sjuke. I Sverige finns det ca 1,3 miljoner personer som ger stöd eller vård till närstående regelbundet. Demens är en diagnos för en rad symtom, med bland annat sviktande minne och nedsättning av andra kognitiva funktioner, vilket i sin tur har allvarliga konsekvenser för individer, familjer och hälso- sjukvårdssystem. De vanligaste formerna av demens är Alzheimers sjukdom, vaskulär demens och frontallobsdemens. En demenssjukdom medför ofta en stor fysisk, psykisk och social påfrestning. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa anhörigvårdares upplevelse av att leva med en närstående som drabbats av demens. Studien baseras på nio kvalitativa och två kvantitativa artiklar. Analysen resulterade i tre huvudkategorier: "Upplevelse av förändrad relation", "Upplevelse av förändrad vardag" och "Upplevelse av stödbehov". I resultatet framkom det att anhöriga upplevde en rollförändring vilket påverkade såväl relationer som anhörigas hälsa. Upplevelser av ensamhet, bundenhet och isolering var stor samt känslan av att förlora kontrollen över sitt liv. Resultatet visar även på att anhöriga kan uppleva meningsfullhet i vårdandet. Personen med demens blir ofta allt mer beroende av familjemedlemmars stöd för att klara sin dagliga livsföring. Anhöriga behöver i sin tur stöd för att hantera vardagen och för att öka känslan av trygghet i deras omsorgssituation. En sjuksköterska behöver goda grundläggande kunskaper om den kliniska bilden och symtomatologi av kognitiv nedgång för att kunna ge anhöriga värdefulla råd och information.

The general aim of the study was to investigate how grandparents experience their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren in the town of Odendaalsrus. From the literature review the researcher realised that a limited amount of research has been done on Caucasian grandparents as primary caregivers of their grandchildren in the suburban areas of South Africa. The literature however did confirm that the prevalence of the phenomenon of grandparents raising their grandchildren has increased significantly over the past few years. This led to the investigation into how grandparents experience their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. The researcher undertook a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study. The research was conducted in the rural town of Odendaalsrus. The participants consisted of ten Caucasian grandparents of whom four were male participants and six were female participants. Grandparents who formed part of the research sample were identified based on a set of criteria which was formulated by the researcher. After the participants had been identified, the purpose of the research was explained to them. Informed consent was obtained, where after grandparents shared their experience of their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren through an unstructured interview. The interviews were transcribed by the researcher. The transcriptions were reviewed by the researcher, after which themes were identified together with supporting evidence thereof. The results of the study confirmed that, although the phenomenon is increasing the cause thereof are a complex issue. The reasons why grandparents act as primary caregivers of their grandchildren are divergent and include reasons like the death of parents, incompetence of parents due to chronic illness such as HIV/ Aids, alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, teen pregnancies or parents who are just unable to look after their own children. The phenomenon of grandparents as primary caregivers of their grandchildren has consequences for both the grandparents and grandchildren. Grandparents pursuing the primary caregiver role experience intense conflict between the traditional role of a grandparent and the role of substitute parent they are fulfilling now. Their role also includes the financial provider role, the mediator role and the disciplinary role. These roles all have an impact on the interpersonal relationships of these grandparents. Recommendations are made to professionals (social workers, therapists and counsellors) to equip them in assisting grandparents in their experience and to provide them with effective support and advice. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

The general aim of the study was to investigate how grandparents experience their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren in the town of Odendaalsrus. From the literature review the researcher realised that a limited amount of research has been done on Caucasian grandparents as primary caregivers of their grandchildren in the suburban areas of South Africa. The literature however did confirm that the prevalence of the phenomenon of grandparents raising their grandchildren has increased significantly over the past few years. This led to the investigation into how grandparents experience their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. The researcher undertook a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological study. The research was conducted in the rural town of Odendaalsrus. The participants consisted of ten Caucasian grandparents of whom four were male participants and six were female participants. Grandparents who formed part of the research sample were identified based on a set of criteria which was formulated by the researcher. After the participants had been identified, the purpose of the research was explained to them. Informed consent was obtained, where after grandparents shared their experience of their role as the primary caregivers of their grandchildren through an unstructured interview. The interviews were transcribed by the researcher. The transcriptions were reviewed by the researcher, after which themes were identified together with supporting evidence thereof. The results of the study confirmed that, although the phenomenon is increasing the cause thereof are a complex issue. The reasons why grandparents act as primary caregivers of their grandchildren are divergent and include reasons like the death of parents, incompetence of parents due to chronic illness such as HIV/ Aids, alcohol and drug abuse, divorce, teen pregnancies or parents who are just unable to look after their own children. The phenomenon of grandparents as primary caregivers of their grandchildren has consequences for both the grandparents and grandchildren. Grandparents pursuing the primary caregiver role experience intense conflict between the traditional role of a grandparent and the role of substitute parent they are fulfilling now. Their role also includes the financial provider role, the mediator role and the disciplinary role. These roles all have an impact on the interpersonal relationships of these grandparents. Recommendations are made to professionals (social workers, therapists and counsellors) to equip them in assisting grandparents in their experience and to provide them with effective support and advice. / Thesis (MA (Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013