Musekwa Ofhani Prudance, Makhado Lufuno, Maphula Angelina
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa.
Office of the Dean for Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Venda, Thohoyandou, Limpopo, South Africa.
Front Psychol. 2024 Jul 23;15:1396874. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1396874. eCollection 2024.
In South Africa, approximately half a million individuals live with epilepsy. This means that half a million families and caregivers are impacted by epilepsy, with a limited number of healthcare providers responsible for treating people living with the condition, as well as their families and caregivers.
This study explored the knowledge-based care and support healthcare providers give families and caregivers. Fifteen participants were purposefully selected from Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces to participate in the study. Data were collected via an open-ended interview guide divided into two sections: Section A comprised sociodemographic questions, and Section B had questions on epilepsy care and support. Four of the participants were male, and 11 were female, seven were community health workers, five were nurse practitioners, and three were auxiliary nurses. Seven had a grade 12 qualification or lower, and only six had a degree. The data collected was analyzed using thematic analysis, coded by the researcher and co-coded by an independent expert. Two themes emerged from the raw data: epilepsy knowledge and epilepsy support and counselling. From these two themes, three subthemes were identified: psychosocial impact of epilepsy, epilepsy-related training, and counselling and support.
The study revealed a gap in professional capacity building and highlighted the need for intentional knowledge sharing and equipping of healthcare providers.
The findings suggest that equipping community health workers, in particular, may be a better and more efficient way to increase the quality of life for families and caregivers and people living with epilepsy in South Africa.
在南非，约有50万人患有癫痫。这意味着50万个家庭和护理人员受到癫痫的影响，而负责治疗癫痫患者及其家人和护理人员的医疗服务提供者数量有限。
本研究探讨了医疗服务提供者为家庭和护理人员提供的基于知识的护理和支持。从林波波省和姆普马兰加省有目的地选取了15名参与者参与研究。数据通过一份开放式访谈指南收集，该指南分为两个部分：A部分包括社会人口统计学问题，B部分有关于癫痫护理和支持的问题。参与者中4名是男性，11名是女性，7名是社区卫生工作者，5名是执业护士，3名是辅助护士。7人具有12年级及以下学历，只有6人拥有学位。对收集到的数据进行了主题分析，由研究人员编码，并由一名独立专家共同编码。原始数据中出现了两个主题：癫痫知识以及癫痫支持与咨询。从这两个主题中确定了三个子主题：癫痫的心理社会影响、癫痫相关培训以及咨询与支持。
该研究揭示了专业能力建设方面的差距，并强调了有必要有意识地进行知识共享和提升医疗服务提供者的能力。
研究结果表明，特别是为社区卫生工作者提供培训，可能是提高南非癫痫患者及其家人和护理人员生活质量的一种更好且更有效的方式。
