Manyuma Duppy, Maluleke Mary, Raliphaswa Ndidzulafhi Selina, Masutha Thingahangwi Cecilia, Rangwaneni Mphedziseni Esther, Thabathi Takalani Eldah, Lavhelani Ndivhaleni Robert
Department of Advanced Nursing Science, University of Venda, Private Bag X 5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa.
Children (Basel). 2023 Feb 24;10(3):440. doi: 10.3390/children10030440.
In South Africa, children with cerebral palsy are nested within a family setting by immediate relatives, particularly in the rural areas. These immediate relatives are regarded as caregivers and are not trained with regard to providing care to children with special needs. Therefore, they have to find ways to adapt to their new roles of caregiving using the available resources. The aim of this paper is to present the challenges encountered by caregivers of children with cerebral palsy in rural areas of South Africa.
This qualitative, explorative, descriptive, and contextual study included 10 caregivers for children with cerebral palsy who were purposively recruited from the three respective hospitals in Vhembe District within Limpopo Province. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews and analysed using a thematic approach. Ethical considerations and measures to ensure trustworthiness were upheld throughout the study.
Four themes emerged from the study, namely economic problems facing caregivers; health problems encountered by caregivers; maltreatment of caregivers by community members, as well as access to transport for caregivers and children.
Participants narrated that caring for a child with cerebral palsy is not an easy task for the caregiver, particularly in the rural areas of South Africa. They encounter various challenges as they strive to provide quality care to the children that they are caring for. An investigation is recommended concerning the kind of model which should be developed to support caregivers in caring for children with cerebral palsy in the rural areas.
在南非，脑瘫患儿处于直系亲属组成的家庭环境中，尤其是在农村地区。这些直系亲属被视为照顾者，但他们未接受过照顾特殊需求儿童的培训。因此，他们必须想方设法利用现有资源来适应照顾者的新角色。本文旨在呈现南非农村地区脑瘫患儿照顾者所面临的挑战。
这项定性、探索性、描述性和情境性研究纳入了10名脑瘫患儿的照顾者，他们是从林波波省韦姆贝区的三家医院中有意招募的。通过个人深度访谈收集数据，并采用主题分析法进行分析。在整个研究过程中都遵循了伦理考量和确保可信度的措施。
研究得出了四个主题，即照顾者面临的经济问题；照顾者遇到的健康问题；社区成员对照顾者的虐待，以及照顾者和儿童的交通问题。
参与者讲述，对于照顾者来说，照顾脑瘫患儿并非易事，尤其是在南非农村地区。在努力为他们所照顾的儿童提供优质护理时，他们遇到了各种挑战。建议对应该开发何种模式来支持农村地区照顾脑瘫患儿的照顾者展开调查。
