Abstract #345  -  Psychosocial support (PSS) needs of community home based carers (CHBC) working with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) in South Africa
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Mrs Mmapaseka Majaja - Human Science Research Council
Additional Authors:  Professor Geoffrey Setswe, Mrs Alicia  Davids, Mrs Nokhona Lewa,
Aim: The aim of this paper is to describe the psychosocial support needs of community home-based carers (CHBC) working with orphans and vulnerable children and people living with HIV/AIDS at the South African Red Cross Society (SARCS) in South Africa.
Method / Issue: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a sample of about 290 CHBC from 19 SARCS sites in eight provinces in South Africa.
Results / Comments: Most of the 270 CHBCs said they were satisfied with training on HIV and AIDS (64.1%), first aid (59.5%), home-based care (54.1%) and tuberculosis (52.1%). More than two-thirds, 78.4% of CHBCs said they were getting help with caring tasks for people with chronic illnesses, including HIV/AIDS. With regard to support services for people they cared for, 89.6% of CHBCs said they were able to provide personal cleanliness and comfort for the people they cared for.
Discussion: CHBCs generally feel they are receiving a high level of recognition and support for their care giving role. They also feel valued and respected as individuals and most have a sense of shared responsibility, both practically and emotionally. CHBCs have a sense of satisfaction and achievement in providing care to others. They were informed, prepared, confident, skilled, equipped, and trained for the caring task and their care-giving needs and expertise were being recognized. These results are extremely positive and bode well for the SARCS project. Conclusion: The South African Red Cross Society, as reported by the community home-based carers, has done well in meeting the psycho-social (PSS) needs of CHBCs working with orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWA) in South Africa. In general, there was a high level of satisfaction and a low level of PSS distress among CHBC during the time of this study.
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