Family Caregivers in Rural Uganda: The Hidden Reality
Loading...
Date
2007
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health Care for Women International
Abstract
Kabarole, Kyenyoyo, and Kamwenge districts have a home-based care
program that consists of formal and informal parts. The formal part is made
up of professional, government-paid nurses who are based at the nearest
health center and who visit the homes of patients who have been admitted
to the program. The informal part of the program is composed of family
members who are the principle caregivers for the AIDS patients at home.
Home care nurses deal only with the care for the AIDS patients and not with
personal issues of the family caregiver. In the past few years, home visits of
professional nurses have declined due to funding shortages of the Kabarole
Health Department. Before funding cuts were introduced, the home-based
care program coverage reached only an estimated 35% of homes requiring
care. The HIV prevalence in the sexually active population is high and
estimated to be around 14% in the districts. An estimated 4,200 AIDS patients
require clinical care in the Kabarole district alone. The districts are typical
for sub-Saharan Africa, with a high burden of infectious diseases, including
malaria, tuberculosis, and parasitic infections. All homes visited during this
study had no running water and no electricity, and were built poorly, with
thatched roofs, mud walls, and earthen floors. Generally, home-based care
programs are very much limited in Uganda and, to the best of our knowledge,
there was no information on any formal programs targeting family caregiver
support.
Description
Keywords
Family Caregivers, Rural Uganda, Hidden Reality
Citation
Walter Kipp , Denis Tindyebwa , Tom Rubaale , Ednah Karamagi & Ellen Bajenja (2007) Family Caregivers in Rural Uganda: The Hidden Reality, Health Care for Women International, 28:10, 856-871, DOI: 10.1080/07399330701615275