M.Cur. / The objectives of the research were to explore and describe the healthcare needs of long-term, home-based physically disabled persons and then to develop guidelines for the training of Ancillary Health Care Workers (AHCWs) to meet these needs. The guidelines were developed specifically from the patients‟ perspective and were derived from the two research questions: “What are your healthcare needs?” and “How can these be met?”. A contextual, qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research design was utilised. The population consisted of physically disabled people, aged 18 years or older, living in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg who employed an AHCW to assist with the longterm, home-based care. Purposive sampling was used with subsequent snowballing to identify further participants for the study. Interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with all the participants during which they could express their views freely. Tesch‟s method of data analysis was used to identify categories, sub-categories and themes. The model of Lincoln and Guba (1985:301f) was used to ensure trustworthiness and ethical considerations were maintained throughout the process. Informed consent was given by the patients. Three categories and sub-categories of healthcare needs were identified: physical healthcare needs, interpersonal relationship needs and social needs. Twelve themes were derived from these categories, notably i. Awareness of the unique physical environment needs of the physically disabled person, including injury prevention ii. Management of hygiene and elimination iii. Assistance with nutrition and hydration iv. Assistance with mobilisation v. Administration of medication vi. Required training of the AHCW iv vii. Personality traits of the AHCW viii. Cultural tolerance ix. Maintenance of privacy and dignity x. Communication skills xi. Companionship xii. Promotion of independence of the patient . From the themes twelve guidelines were developed for the training of AHCWs in home-based care looking after physically disabled patients. The research‟s limitations were described and recommendations relating to practice, nursing education and further research were made.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:6808 |
| Date | 24 May 2010 |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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