The pandemic of HIV/AIDS has challenged several aspects of contemporary social life. HIV/AIDS counselling has developed as a social response to provide support for those infected with the disease. Due to the nature and complexity of the disease, HIV/AIDS counsellors encounter a diversity and intensity of emotions when counselling. A support system that includes effective management and supervision may assist in resolving emotions and reactions that HIV/AIDS counsellors may experience as a result of working with HIV/AIDS clients. This study examines the difficulties that both managers and the HIV/AIDS counsellors at a rural district hospital in the Eastern Cape and its surrounding clinics are faced with, in providing the HIV/AIDS counsellors with the support they need. Engestrom's (1987) model of activity theory was used as a conceptual framework guiding both the analysis and interpretation of the data. This model facilitates the identification of tensions and contradictions thereby opening a space for change and transformation within an activity system. Multiple sources of data collection were used that included focus groups with managers and HIV/AIDS counsellors, interviews with senior hospital staff and an official from the Department of Health, Eastern Cape, and a tour of the rural district hospital. The findings suggest that HIV/AIDS counsellors do not feel supported by their managers. Managers in turn are of the opinion that they do not offer the support the HIV/AIDS counsellors' need. The lack of support is attributed to geographic distances between hospitals and the clinics they serve, lack of available transport and the multiplicity of roles of both managers and the HIV/AIDS counsellors. The pandemic of HIV/AIDS has challenged several aspects of contemporary social life. HIV/AIDS counselling has developed as a social response to provide support for those infected with the disease. Due to the nature and complexity of the disease, HIV/AIDS counsellors encounter a diversity and intensity of emotions when counselling. A support system that includes effective management and supervision may assist in resolving emotions and reactions that HIV/AIDS counsellors may experience as a result of working with HIV/AIDS clients. This study examines the difficulties that both managers and the HIV/AIDS counsellors at a rural district hospital in the Eastern Cape and its surrounding clinics are faced with, in providing the HIV/AIDS counsellors with the support they need. Engestrom's (1987) model of activity theory was used as a conceptual framework guiding both the analysis and interpretation of the data. This model facilitates the identification of tensions and contradictions thereby opening a space for change and transformation within an activity system. Multiple sources of data collection were used that included focus groups with managers and HIV/AIDS counsellors, interviews with senior hospital staff and an official from the Department of Health, Eastern Cape, and a tour of the rural district hospital. The findings suggest that HIV/AIDS counsellors do not feel supported by their managers. Managers in turn are of the opinion that they do not offer the support the HIV/AIDS counsellors' need. The lack of support is attributed to geographic distances between hospitals and the clinics they serve, lack of available transport and the multiplicity of roles of both managers and the HIV/AIDS counsellors. Recommendations include the introduction of self-supervision , peer groupsupervision for HIV/AIDS counsellors.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:rhodes/vital:3171 |
| Date | January 2003 |
| Creators | Gerber, Barbara |
| Publisher | Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MSocSc |
| Format | 58 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Gerber, Barbara |
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