The perceptions of voluntary aids caregivers concerning hospice managers' provision of support

English: The challenge of HIV/AIDS is a global issue. Instead of decreasing the number of people infected with the disease is increasing. Fortunately we have men and women who volunteer to fight the increase of this pandemic. These heroes and heroines are voluntary AIDS caregivers who are the mainstay of care of people with AIDS. However, the fact that caregivers suffer from loneliness and social isolation related to stigma and discrimination cannot be ignored (cjFlaskerud & Tabora, 1998:21). Voluntary caregivers could benefit from the opportunity to express basic emotions concerning financial, emotional, physical issues and an open line of communication should be in place. Providing an avenue for emotional expression may enhance both physical and mental health to voluntary AIDS caregivers. This is a qualitative study undertaken to explore the perceptions of voluntary AIDS caregivers concerning hospice managers' provision of support. An explorative, descriptive, contextual and qualitative design was used to determine the perceptions of AIDS caregivers concerning hospice managers. Voluntary AIDS caregivers were selected from hospices of the Motheo District. A pilot study was conducted prior to the commencement of the main study. This resulted in paraphrasing the central question as in the "grand tour" (Spradley, 1980:49), Marrow and Smith (1995:42) who ask question such as; "Tell me about your self." Initially two focus groups were selected, comprising of ten participants in each group. Participants were requested without leading them to give detailed information during interviews. Saturation principle was not reached with the two focus groups, as there was no redundancy of information. Subsequently two more focus groups were selected in an endeavor to reach the required saturation point. Eventually four focus groups participated in the study. Data collected was analysed according to Tesch [1990] in Creswell (1994:155) and also by making use of the N VIVO program, a design for qualitative research used to ensure that the complex data was correctly and systematically analysed. The data analysis was followed by a literature control. The findings with regard to the perceptions of voluntary AIDS caregivers concerning hospice managers' provision of support did not differ significantly in personal and vocational support that were identified as main categories. The researcher made recommendations and suggestions were made by voluntary AIDS caregivers are easy to follow and implement. Limitations encountered are discussed.