BackgroundChildren depend solely on caregivers who can be either parents or guardians for drug administration to enhance adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART), which might pose any number of challenges.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore and describe the challenges faced by caregivers of children on ART at Mutale Municipality, Vhembe District, Limpopo Province.Research design and methodThe research design was qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual in nature. The population consisted of 16 caregivers who were 18 years of age and above, and mentally capable, irrespective of educational qualifications, caring for children aged between 0 and 15 years who were on ART between April 2013 and October 2014. Non-probability, purposive sampling was used to select the 16 caregivers. Required permission, approval and ethical clearance were obtained from the University of Venda Higher Degree Committee, Limpopo Provincial Health Department and relevant institutions. An in-depth, individual, unstructured interview method was used to collect data. One central question was asked: ‘What are the challenges you experience when caring for a child on antiretroviral treatment?’ Subsequent questions were based on the participants’ responses to the central question. Qualitative data were analysed by means of Tesch’s open-coding method.ResultsThe findings of this study revealed that participants, that is, caregivers of children on ART, experienced financial burdens because of transport costs needed to comply with follow-up dates and insufficient of money for food, clothing the child in need of care, pocket money for lunch boxes during school hours and time lost while waiting for consultations. Participants reported some level of stigmatisation against children on ART by family members, especially the husbands or in-laws of the secondary caregivers. Many primary and secondary caregivers seemed to have given up seeking support from government and community structures.ConclusionThe conclusions drawn from this research are that caregivers hardly receive any support from family members or the community. Fear of disclosing the HIV-positive status of children resulted in the delay of financial support from the government, thus leading to serious financial burden on the caregivers.

Background: Integration of human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV and AIDS) services into primary healthcare (PHC) is a key public health approach to achieving universal access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Despite the government’s efforts of integrating HIV services into PHC, an insufficient number of PHC staff and inadequate infrastructure are challenging when integrating HIV and AIDS services into PHC. This study explored the challenges of PHC nurses regarding the integration of HIV and AIDS services into PHC.Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore the challenges of PHC nurses regarding the integration of HIV and AIDS services into PHC.Method: An exploratory, descriptive and contextual qualitative research design utilising face-to-face semi-structured interviews was conducted with 12 PHC nurses from selected clinics and health centres in the Vhembe district of Limpopo province.Results: Two main themes emerged from data analysis which included challenges related to healthcare recipients and challenges related to healthcare providers.Conclusion: Clear policies on the integration of HIV and AIDS services into PHC should be available and should include strategies to promote HIV testing and counselling, adherence to ART and scheduled appointments, disclosure of HIV status as well as revising the human resource policy to reduce workload.

BackgroundHIV and AIDS have a devastating impact on the lives of elderly people, particularly so because they are often expected to take care of their terminally ill children and assume the responsibility of looking after children orphaned by AIDS - in most cases with very little resources.ObjectivesThe study sought to achieve to describe the views of elderly people regarding the impact of HIV and AIDS on their lives, to determine the challenges that elderly people living with HIV or AIDS (EPLWHA) face in their daily lives, and to gain a sense of the coping strategies they use to overcome the obstacles they face in relation to HIV and AIDS. Ethical issues, such as permission to conduct the study, informed consent, confidentiality and anonymity, withdrawal of participation and measure to ensure trustworthiness, were ensured.DesignThis was a qualitative, explorative, descriptive study. Participants were interviewed using an interview guide. Information provided by the participants was captured on a tape recorder and analysed using open coding, and thereafter collated into themes, categories and sub-themes.ResultsThe study findings revealed that HIV and AIDS have serious negative impacts on the lives of elderly people, particularly those living in poverty. The following key areas in relation to EPLWHA were established: psychological or emotional health, as well as household and socio-economic burdens. Considering the role that elderly people play in the community in so far as HIV and AIDS are concerned, primary health promotion and social welfare programmes should be directed at educating all elderly people and their service providers on how to cope with the health and social problems related to HIV and AIDS.

Challenges of primary healthcare nurses regarding the integration of HIV and AIDS services into primary healthcare in Vhembe district of Limpopo province, South Africa', Curationis 42(1), a1849.

The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of primary health care nurses working in the clinics and health centres involved in the provision of free health care services. The research design followed was exploratory, descriptive and qualitative. The population of the study included all primary health care nurses working at the clinics and health centres in the Vhembe (northern) region of the Limpopo Province. The sampling method used was purposive for the samples of both the clinics and the nurses.
The inclusion criteria for the nurses included experience of two or more years in providing primary health care. The inclusion criteria for the selection of clinics included being a busy clinic (a minimum of 2000 patients per month) with a staff establishment of four or more primary health care nurses. In conducting this research, ethical principles were taken into account. Data was collected from 23 participants in the Northern Region. The research question read as follows:
What are your experiences regarding the provision of free health care services?
An open coding method consisting of eight steps provided by Tesch's (1990:140-145) eight-step method of analysing data was used. The research findings revealed that the primary health care nurses working in the clinics experience feelings of failure to provide adequate primary health care services due to the increased workload, misuse of the service, and fear associated with lack of security in the clinics and health centres. The conclusions drawn from this research are that on the one hand a poor mechanism exists for the monitoring of the implementation of free health services, and on another hand, there has been misuse of the facilities by the community. The concept “free health care service” has been misinterpreted

Background: The Limpopo Department of Health and Social Development introduced a system to train children from poor families as auxiliary nurses as a poverty alleviation strategy in 2003. The programme targeted the needy families, those who depended on social grants, orphaned or child-headed families. The programme has been implemented for more than 10 years and the experiences of trainees were never explored.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of auxiliary nurse trainees of the poverty alleviation programme regarding nursing and the nursing profession.Methods: A qualitative approach was used. Purposive sampling was used to sample 15 auxiliary nurses who were trained under poverty alleviation programme in four of the seven hospitals of Vhembe District. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews. One central question ‘As a beneficiary of poverty alleviation programme, could you describe your experiences of training as a nurse and of the nursing profession in this hospital’. Data were collected until no new information emerged. Note taking and a voice recording was performed to capture all the information reported by the participants. Open coding method was used to analyse data.Results: Two themes emerged, namely experiences of being a nurse and about nursing as a profession, and interpersonal relationships between auxiliary nurses and the ward staff.Conclusions: The Department of Health in Limpopo Province was commended and to be encouraged to develop other programmes as poverty alleviation strategy for other government departments, so that the affected children can have a wider career choice. The managers and supervisors in the wards to have moral and legal obligations to support initiatives that foster effective mentoring of neophyte nurses in the nursing profession.

Food safety is becoming a key public health priority because a large number of people consume their meals outside their homes. As a result, they are exposed to food borne illnesses that originate from food stalls, restaurants and other food outlets. Hence the study focused on level of compliance of food handlers with national regulations on food hygiene and safety practices. The method used to collect data was participant observational checklist where the researcher had to go round with the workers during their daily chores. Simple random sampling was used to select 122 food handlers as participants in the study. Fast food outlets were also evaluated according to codified regulations and sixty food premises were observed for compliance using a checklist and compared with standards and the requirements prescribed by in Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act of 1972, regulation Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentages) and analysis was made based on the standards and the requirements prescribed by Regulation R962 of November 2012. The findings showed that food handlers observed personal hygiene by wearing clean uniforms, covering their heads with hair nets, and washed their hands, indicating that food handlers maintained accepted standards in terms of personal hygiene regulations.

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