Validating that palliative care giving is a stressful occupation: the case of the Kanye community home-based care programme, Botswana

Abstract

Background: It remains an incontrovertible fact that the phenomenon of HIV/AIDS has not only posed major health and development challenges, but is also a stressor experienced at local, regional and global levels. This article explores the stressrelated challenges facing volunteer palliative caregivers in the Kanye community home-based care (CHBC) programme. Methods:The study was explorative in nature and qualitative in design, and used convenience sampling methodologies to involve 82 registered primary caregivers and the five CHBC nurses in the programme as research participants. Participant observation was also used.Results: The study found the following aspects inherent in care giving to be immensely stressful and challenging:• Heavy caseload of the caregivers;• Ageing of the caregivers;• Stigma and discrimination abound in care giving;• Conflict between caregivers and clients;• Poor state of referral networks;• Inadequate care packages;• Poverty of the caregivers themselves; and • Inadequate food, psychological support and community support networks. Conclusion:The study recommends that putting in place a favourable working atmosphere and environment to address the stresses and stressors of care giving would be pivotal to improve this occupation.Peer reviewed.

Challenges experienced by home based caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients in chifubukawama community, Ndola, Zambia

“…Qalinge [23] study found that most caregivers had low levels of education requiring continuous in service training, not just on long intervals, to enable the caregivers though of low literacy levels to grasp the basic skills of writing or understanding the interpretation of dosses of the medication for specific patients they care for. Cameroon et al [24] has recommended that community care givers be fully trained in home care, palliative care, infection control, psychosocial counselling and proper record keeping in order to improve their work outcome Psychosocial challenges Stress and burnout A study done in Choma among home based care givers [25] found the levels of work related stress to be at 35.6% which compares well with this study, which found the stress levels to be at 56.3%. This could be speculated to be due to various reasons like family rejection and neglect, negative attitude of the patient towards the counsel and medication that is being provided among other reasons which could lead to work burnout.…”

The perfidious experiences of men as palliative caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS and other terminal illnesses in Botswana. eclectic data sources

“…In Botswana, this task has been achieved perfectly well with the government institutionalizing the community home based care programmes to operate within the mainstream health care systems. [3–6] However, even with this community goodwill, skewed gender phenomenon is glaring, with women largely volunteering to shoulder care and support to the people living with HIV/AIDS more than men. This has been worrying, making it difficult to take stock of the country’s success to Millennium Development Goal number three of the envisaged global gender equality, and eradicating gender retrogressive attitudes and stereotypes towards the role and place of women in the societies.…”

“…Men are still operating behind the patriarchal curtains or lenses to shun or justify their non performance in terms of care giving. [6923]…”

“…[1617] There is, therefore, a strong and inevitable urgency for a paradigm shift to bring on board men to co participate in care giving. [6]…”

“…Although according to a 2006 research finding in Botswana in care giving,[6] men are not doing well as caregivers, there are slight positive response as AIDS phenomenon gathers momentum immensely, challenging households, communities and governments generally. It is an incontrovertible fact that men are gradually and slowly succumbing to giving away their long held stereotypes and traditional attitudes on role demarcation and gender differentiation.…”