Browsing by Subject "Clinical Social Work Practice"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Caring for HIV positive infants : Cotlands Hospice staffs' perceptions of challenges and stressors which they experience in the workplace
    (2011) Shifrin, Lori Beth; Williams, Fatima
    This study explored Cotlands Hospice staff's perceptions of challenges and stressors which they experience in the workplace, in caring for HIV infants. This aim of this study was to highlight some of the key struggles that healthcare workers are faced with in the HIV workplace in caring for HIV positive infants. The study also explored the participants' current coping strategies used to cope with stressors from within the workplace and supportive resources available to aid the participants were identified. Lastly unmet needs identified by participants were explored and discussed.
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    An exploration of the child rights violations and psychosocial risks of children orphaned primarily due to HIV
    (2010) Katito, Hilda Farai
    In this study the researcher aims to explore the child right violations and psychosocial risks experienced by children orphaned primarily as a result of HIV/AIDS in Lesotho. Lesotho ranks in at number three in the world of countries most ravaged by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Of its 2.2million citizens, 17% are orphans, and half of them have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS (United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, 2004) (UNAIDS). According to the Non-Governmental Coalition on the Rights of the child, (2000), the number of orphans in Lesotho continues to increase on daily basis resulting in the country being under enormous strain and these vulnerable children at increased risk. The research design used in this study is the qualitative research design and research was conducted using face to face in depth interviews. A semi structured interview schedule was constructed and the researcher also used a tape recorder. Purposive sampling technique was used to obtain a sample size of 12 adolescent orphans at a High School in Maseru Lesotho. Data analysis is done according to Tesche’s steps of interview analysis, in which the main themes and categories are drawn from the interviews and discussed. The main findings were that most of the orphans who participated in the study had a poor quality of life but maintained a positive outlook in terms of the future. Most of the orphans were living in child headed households that had no electricity. There was no evidence of physical abuse amongst the respondents. In terms of psycho social risks, most orphans did not suffer from depression or severe anxiety. A small percentage of orphans did experience suicidal ideation in response to the death of their parents and their current circumstances. The main conclusions were that orphans in Lesotho are experiencing child right violations especially poor quality of life and that orphans in this study did not experience severe psycho social risks. From these findings, it is recommended that there is a need for more non-profit organizations that address the child right violations and psycho social risks experienced by orphans in Lesotho as well as a need for awareness campaigns on the plight of orphans to be generated. It is also recommended that the Lesotho government continue to fund the education costs of orphans as well as offer transportation to school.
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    Surrogate parenting : exploring the perceptions of challenges faced by grandmothers of AIDS orphans with regard to child rearing in Khayelitsha
    (2010) Nyatsanza, Memory Nyasha Lynnette; Williams, Fatima
    The research investigated the perceptions of the challenges faced by grandmothers caring for AIDS orphans in Khayelitsha, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. The aim of this study was to make a contribution to an understanding of the challenges faced by grandmothers who are performing a surrogate parent role. The research focused on the grandmothers? perceptions of the types of challenges they faced in caring for AIDS orphans as well as their perceptions of the causes of these challenges. Lastly the research aimed to investigate the strategies employed by the grandmothers in dealing with these challenges and to ascertain whether or not grandmothers are aware of existing resources that are available to assist them with their challenges.
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    Working in palliative care: exploring community nurses' experiences of their work
    (2019) Williams, Rachel; Williams, Fatima
    This study explored community-based Palliative Care nurses’ experiences of their work. The aim of this study was to explore the positive aspects of working in palliative care, as well as the challenges that community-based nurses experience in their work. The coping strategies that are employed by these nurses to deal with the difficulties of their work were understood, and the participants provided recommendations to their organisations to improve their working experiences. The research was conducted in two research settings, St Luke’s Combined Hospices and Tygerberg Hospice, which are both non-profit organisations providing Palliative Care in the community. Permission was gained to conduct research by the St Luke’s Combined Hospices Research Ethics Committee, and the Palliative Care Manager at Tygerberg Hospice. A qualitative research design was used to conduct this study, and purposive sampling was used to select the sample. Fourteen nurses were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule, and a digital recorder was used so that interviews could be recorded accurately. Qualitative data analysis was used to arrange the data into themes, categories and subcategories. Findings from the study indicate that there is a great sense of satisfaction from working in Palliative Care and positive aspects include feelings of honour and privilege, making a difference, appreciation from patients and families, life lessons learnt, having a role in the community and working in a team. The perceived challenges were emotional challenges such as persistent rumination about work, feelings of helplessness and dealing with challenging families. Organisational challenges pertained to demanding workloads and a lack of organisational support. Personal challenges were seen as having a negative impact on the physical health and family lives of participants. Lastly, environmental challenges included issues around safety and driving to communities. Coping strategies were the support from family and friends, avoidance coping and self-care as well as group support and debriefing and support from colleagues. Lastly, recommendations include an open-door policy within the organisation, improved training and education, a better understanding of community Palliative Care, improved interaction with staff and staff reward and recognition.