Abstract
Similar to the healthcare systems of other resource-constrained countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, Zimbabwe's healthcare system encourages communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the public healthcare sector by initiating home-based care activities and training volunteers to assist households in caring for individuals living with HIV. As part of the response, groups of volunteers were formed to provide basic material, social, nursing, and other kinds of support to members of AIDS-affected households. My research in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, shows that motives for volunteering included: 1) religious values; 2) desire for prestige; 3) empathy derived from witnessing the suffering caused by AIDS illness; 4) hope of securing caregiving support in the future; 5) hope of enlarging one's network of those with access to political and economic power; and 6) hope of receiving material benefits in the future. This study further documents that volunteers' commitment to caregiving diminished between the early 1990s and 2009 due to: 1) the stigma of HIV and AIDS; 2) lack of funding, preventing volunteers from providing the needed care; 3) the large numbers of sick who are discharged from hospitals and clinics into home care; and 4) volunteers' 'burnout.' Strengthening volunteers' motivations for caregiving and addressing their concerns are crucial for providing effective care for individuals living with HIV or AIDS. In Zimbabwe, improvement of voluntary caregiving programmes requires better integration with the national healthcare system at the clinic level as well as collaboration with NGOs, community leaders and church groups, which have the potential to positively influence volunteers' commitment to caregiving.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 423-431 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | African Journal of AIDS Research |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2009 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Infectious Diseases
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
- Virology
Cite this
Home-based care for people living with AIDS in Zimbabwe : Voluntary caregivers' motivations and concerns. / Rödlach, Alexander.
In: African Journal of AIDS Research, Vol. 8, No. 4, 12.2009, p. 423-431.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Home-based care for people living with AIDS in Zimbabwe
T2 - Voluntary caregivers' motivations and concerns
AU - Rödlach, Alexander
PY - 2009/12
Y1 - 2009/12
N2 - Similar to the healthcare systems of other resource-constrained countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, Zimbabwe's healthcare system encourages communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the public healthcare sector by initiating home-based care activities and training volunteers to assist households in caring for individuals living with HIV. As part of the response, groups of volunteers were formed to provide basic material, social, nursing, and other kinds of support to members of AIDS-affected households. My research in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, shows that motives for volunteering included: 1) religious values; 2) desire for prestige; 3) empathy derived from witnessing the suffering caused by AIDS illness; 4) hope of securing caregiving support in the future; 5) hope of enlarging one's network of those with access to political and economic power; and 6) hope of receiving material benefits in the future. This study further documents that volunteers' commitment to caregiving diminished between the early 1990s and 2009 due to: 1) the stigma of HIV and AIDS; 2) lack of funding, preventing volunteers from providing the needed care; 3) the large numbers of sick who are discharged from hospitals and clinics into home care; and 4) volunteers' 'burnout.' Strengthening volunteers' motivations for caregiving and addressing their concerns are crucial for providing effective care for individuals living with HIV or AIDS. In Zimbabwe, improvement of voluntary caregiving programmes requires better integration with the national healthcare system at the clinic level as well as collaboration with NGOs, community leaders and church groups, which have the potential to positively influence volunteers' commitment to caregiving.
AB - Similar to the healthcare systems of other resource-constrained countries with a high prevalence of HIV and AIDS, Zimbabwe's healthcare system encourages communities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to support the public healthcare sector by initiating home-based care activities and training volunteers to assist households in caring for individuals living with HIV. As part of the response, groups of volunteers were formed to provide basic material, social, nursing, and other kinds of support to members of AIDS-affected households. My research in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, shows that motives for volunteering included: 1) religious values; 2) desire for prestige; 3) empathy derived from witnessing the suffering caused by AIDS illness; 4) hope of securing caregiving support in the future; 5) hope of enlarging one's network of those with access to political and economic power; and 6) hope of receiving material benefits in the future. This study further documents that volunteers' commitment to caregiving diminished between the early 1990s and 2009 due to: 1) the stigma of HIV and AIDS; 2) lack of funding, preventing volunteers from providing the needed care; 3) the large numbers of sick who are discharged from hospitals and clinics into home care; and 4) volunteers' 'burnout.' Strengthening volunteers' motivations for caregiving and addressing their concerns are crucial for providing effective care for individuals living with HIV or AIDS. In Zimbabwe, improvement of voluntary caregiving programmes requires better integration with the national healthcare system at the clinic level as well as collaboration with NGOs, community leaders and church groups, which have the potential to positively influence volunteers' commitment to caregiving.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=74849127328&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2989/AJAR.2009.8.4.6.1043
DO - 10.2989/AJAR.2009.8.4.6.1043
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:74849127328
VL - 8
SP - 423
EP - 431
JO - African Journal of AIDS Research
JF - African Journal of AIDS Research
SN - 1608-5906
IS - 4
ER -