Background: Partly because of the legacy of apartheid, and despite being a constitutional democracy, South Africa continues to be a deeply divided society, particularly along racial lines. In this context many people with albinism do not fit neatly into black and white categories and are likely to experience social discrimination and marginalisation.Objectives: The study endeavoured to explore the beliefs and practices regarding albinism within a South African university, and the availability of support services.Method: The research was located within an interpretive qualitative paradigm and was framed within the theories of stigma, discrimination and ‘othering’. Interviews were conducted with five students with albinism and 10 students without albinism.Results: Findings confirmed the existence of myths and stereotypes regarding albinism. Students with albinism tended to exclude themselves from the rest of the student community to avoid discrimination and stereotypes around their condition.Conclusion: People with albinism can teach us about social constructions of race, colour and relations between minority groups and the majority culture. Results have implications for schools, disability units at universities, and albinism societies in terms of opening up channels of communication between people with albinism and the general public and fostering knowledge and awareness thereof.
The study employed a qualitative approach to explore the cultural beliefs of mental health care users (MHCUs) and caregivers regarding help-seeking behaviour in the rural communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Forty participants were interviewed, comprising 30 MHCUs and 10 caregivers. Mental illness was ascribed to witchcraft (uvuloyi) and help was mostly sought from traditional and religious healers as the first steps on the path of help-seeking, whereas Western forms of care were usually considered as a last resort. The factors found to influence help-seeking behaviour amongst the participants included lack of knowledge regarding mental illness; traditional beliefs; stigma and discrimination; and the side effects of the antipsychotic medication. The study suggests the importance of psychoeducation for caregivers and the community regarding mental illness and cultural competence in serving communities with cultural beliefs about mental illness. Media platforms should be utilised to raise public awareness. The study also suggests collaboration between different stakeholders working with MHCUs.
South Africa bears the largest burden of children living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. These children battle with multiple vulnerabilities in their lives. This qualitative study explored the roles of ten purposively sampled social auxiliary workers in addressing the biopsychosocial needs of children living with HIV at drop-in centres in Sedibeng District Municipality, South Africa. The study concluded that many of the biopsychosocial needs that children living with HIV face are not being comprehensively addressed. The study proposes the capacitation of social auxiliary workers on paediatric HIV and the biopsychosocial approach as well as improved funding for drop-in centres to increase the depth of services rendered to, and address the growing needs of, children living with HIV.
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