>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Splinting is one of the many strategies used globally for managing neuromuscular impairments related to cerebral palsy. In Uganda, some children with cerebral palsy who have been provided with splints return to the physiotherapy department with contractures or deformities. A qualitative research methodological approach was used to understand and describe the experiences of caregivers of children with cerebral palsy regarding splinting in Uganda. The theoretical framework used was the bio-psychosocial model of disability. Purposive sampling was used to select 24 caregivers of children with spastic cerebral palsy who received splints in 2010 at two research settings in Uganda. In-depth interviews were conducted with all the participants at their homes using an interview guide. The data collected was transcribed verbatim and translated from Luganda to English. Inductive content analysis was used to analyse the data. Six themes concerning experiences emerged, namely: caregivers‟ expectations and beliefs; acquisition of splints; knowledge and skills; attitudes to splinting; compliance and benefits of splinting. The results of this study show the overwhelming challenges caregivers face while their children require splinting. When considering providing splints to children, the results highlight the need, to take into account the personal (child) factors, the splint characteristics and the environmental (family and community) factors. There is a need to provide information on splints to both the children with cerebral palsy and their caregivers.

The aims of this study were to explore partners' experiences of living with a loved one with bipolar disorder and how they coped with these experiences. Another aim was to explore whether these individuals felt that Counselling Psychologists could play a role with care-giving tasks and their own psychological needs. Five individuals, who were currently living with, or had been living with, a partner with bipolar disorder, volunteered and participated in a semi-structured interview. These interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as described by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2009). A table of super-ordinate and sub-ordinate themes was created as a result of this analysis. Partners' experiences are characterised by various phases which partners could move around and between. This was referred to as the 'cycle of changing illness awareness'. This theme adds to the existing literature. As partners moved around and between these phases they experienced different emotions, employed different coping strategies and had experiences of being 'in it together' interchangeably with being 'isolated and alone'. This research concludes that partners' experiences of caring for a loved one with bipolar disorder do not follow a linear, predictable path and as a result, professionals working with caregivers need to be aware of which phases of the 'cycle of changing illness awareness' partners are in when offering interventions. The analysis also suggests that partners cope differently when their loved one is manic and depressed. However, further exploration is still needed.