ABSTRACT
HIV/AIDS has been found to be a challenging disease to humanity; its challenge spin-offs falling especially on to the caregivers of those infected and affected by the virus. This paper aims to discuss the challenges influencing the state of caregiving in the Kanye community home-based care (CHBC) programme in Botswana. The study was qualitative in design and explorative in nature; involving 82 primary caregivers in focus group discussions; and 5 CHBC nurses in individual interviews. Caregivers were found challenged by lack of community networks support; inadequate sanitary and care packages; poor shelter compromising privacy; inadequate income and food for their clients; inadequate care motivation as their volunteerism does not attract any payment; inadequate health personnel to offer psychosocial support like counselling; and an unconducive caring environment generally. Putting in place policies to redress caregivers' poverty; helping caregivers start income-generating projects; increasing community assistance and caregiving facilities are recommended as factors to address caregiver challenges
Subject(s)
HIV , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , Home Care Services , Patients , Quality of Health Care , Terminal CareABSTRACT
The research study done at the Kanye village of Botswana was qualitative in design and exploratory in nature. While the broad goal aimed at assessing the contributions of caregivers in the Kanye CHBC programme; this article aims at evaluating the traditional healers' contribution as providers of care to HIV/AIDS patients and other chronically ill persons. The study conveniently involved all the 140 registered caregivers in the Kanye programme; but with only 82 caregivers turning up for focus group discussions. The caregivers were grouped in 10 focus group discussions; and all of the 5 CHBC nurses were subjected to one-on-one interviews. Both the focus group discussions and one-on- one interviews with the nurses used two slightly different interview schedules as data collection instruments. The study findings revealed that traditional healers are important players in caregiving of persons with various ailments but their role; position and contribution in the battle against HIV/AIDS is fast waning with time. The government has been challenged to map out strategies of collaboration between the two systems as traditional healers can complement the services of biomedical practitioners in this era of HIV/AIDS
Subject(s)
HIV , Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome , Caregivers , MedicineABSTRACT
This study examines clinical waste disposal and handling in the context of a community home-based care (CHBC) programme in Kanye; southern Botswana . This qualitative study involved 10 focus group discussions with a total of 82 HIV/AIDS primary caregivers in Kanye; one-to-one interviews with the five nurses supervising the programme; and participant observation. Numerous aspects of clinical or healthcare waste management were found to be hazardous and challenging to the home-based caregivers in the Kanye CHBC programme; namely: lack of any clear policies for clinical waste management; unhygienic waste handling and disposal by home-based caregivers; including burning and burying the healthcare wastes; and the absence of pre-treatment methods; inadequate transportation facilities to ferry the waste to clinics and then to appropriate disposal sites; stigma and discrimination associated with the physical removal of clinical waste from homes or clinics; poor storage of the healthcare waste at clinics; lack of incinerators for burning clinical waste; and a high risk of contagion to individuals and the environment at all stages of managing the clinical waste