Living with a chronic mental condition such as schizophrenia impacts significantly on the individual’s social functioning and activities of daily living. However, there is little data on the experiences of people living with schizophrenia, especially in Ghana regarding personal care and stigma. This study explored qualitatively the experiences of people living with schizophrenia in Southern Ghana. Nine people with schizophrenia were purposively recruited for this study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically following a descriptive phenomenological data analysis framework. The study revealed that people with schizophrenia are capable of performing some activities of daily living, such as maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene and medication management. However, some participants narrated their experiences of stigma and thus, resorted to certain strategies such as spirituality, medication adherence and mental fortitude to cope with schizophrenia. In conclusion, it was evident that people with schizophrenia, in their lucid intervals, can undertake various activities of daily living, including personal care, however, living with schizophrenia impacts on psychological well-being enormously, and thus, education, counselling, and client adherence to the treatment may improve quality of life.
Schizophrenia has an impact on social functioning and participation in everyday life. Yet, there is little data on the experiences of coping with personal care and stigma among people living with schizophrenia in Ghana. This study sought to fill this gap using a qualitative exploratory study. A non-probability sampling procedure, specifically criterion sampling, was used to access a total of nine persons living with schizophrenia. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews and subjected to Colaizzi's descriptive phenomenological data analysis approach. The study revealed that people with schizophrenia could adopt specific personal measures to take care of themselves. Some of these subjective measures included Activities of Daily Living such as washing, sweeping, maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene and medication administration. Strict adherence to treatment regimens has helped to take care of themselves so long as they were in their lucid interval. Despite the anxiety, stress, fear and sadness associated with stigmatisation, participants coped with stigma by resorting to strategies such as avoidance, denial and wishful thinking.
People with a chronic condition such as schizophrenia encounter significant challenges interacting with their immediate environment. However, there is little data exploring interpersonal relationships between people living with schizophrenia and their families and healthcare providers, particularly in developing countries. This study investigated the interpersonal relationship experiences of persons with schizophrenia in Southern Ghana. The study adopted a descriptive phenomenological approach using the purposive sampling technique to recruit nine (9) persons living with schizophrenia. Data were collected using semi-structured in-depth, face-to-face interviews and analysed using a descriptive phenomenological data analysis framework. Five themes emerged; three described positive interpersonal relationships, and two negative interpersonal relationships existed in participants with schizophrenia. The study revealed a poor interpersonal relationship between study participants and the public. Stigma was implicated as a factor responsible for the negative interpersonal relationships between study participants and people outside their immediate families.
Background Family-based Index HIV Testing, (FBIT) approach is known to be associated with a relatively higher testing yield compared to Provider-Initiated Testing and Counseling. The implementation of this strategy in several countries has exposed some barriers to optimal FBIT outcomes. With the scale up of FBIT in Ghana, stakeholders’ engagement is key in identifying and addressing all barrier to implementation. This study explored index clients’ perspective of barriers and challenges of FBIT. Methods Using an exploratory descriptive qualitative design, 17 individual in-depth interviews were conducted among seventeen purposively selected clients who had been offered FBIT at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) utilizing a semi-structured interview guide. Each interview lasted between 45–60 minutes and the transcripts were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis procedure. Themes and sub-themes from the transcripts were generated and supported with verbatim texts to provide a rich understanding of the barriers and challenges. Results Age of participants ranged between 24–71 years, majority of whom were females. Themes and sub- themes emerged on barriers and challenges and these related to good understanding of the benefits of FBIT by index clients, challenge with getting family members to accept testing opportunities, fear and uncertainty of reaction of family members to a positive status, and issues of confidentiality and privacy related to health facility service provision. Key findings were: 1. Index clients perceived FBIT as a good approach to reach family members for testing. 2. Stigmatization, lack of confidentiality and privacy at service centers and 3. Inadequate information on FBIT were identified as barriers that can affect the uptake of FBIT. Getting listed family members to agree to be tested was perceived as a challenge. Conclusions Despite the acceptance of FBIT as a good strategy to reach family members of index clients for testing, there are barriers of stigmatization, fear and uncertainty of reaction of family members to a positive status, lack of confidentiality and privacy, and inadequate information on FBIT. Efforts should be made to address these barriers and challenges. Index clients and their families need tailored support to improve acceptance of this strategy.
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