A New Children’s Act for South Africa: Making It Work for Children and Families

September, Roseline

doi:10.15270/44-2-247

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…While there is substantial literature that has examined the effect of household dynamics and composition on child health outcomes, it remains largely unknown how kin caregivers' family functioning influences child survival, particularly in the South African context, where the practice of kinship care is widespread. Reducing under‐five deaths has been a central concern of the Convention on the Rights of Children Initiative (Mekonen & Tiruneh, 2014; Reinbold, 2019; September, 2014; Tait et al, 2020). Thus, it is vital to focus on children who are raised relatives, as these children are often placed in situations that are complex and where serious physical, mental, developmental and psychosocial problems develop (Bramlett & Blumberg, 2007; Szilagyi et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the effect of kin caregivers' family functioning on child survival in South Africa: An application of the Family Systems Theory

Mabetha

Wet

Odimegwu

2023

Child & Family Social Work

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The survival of children who are raised in kinship care is largely influenced by the way their primary caregivers manage their family dynamics. Although research has focused on the effects of family structure and other extended kin effects on various child health outcomes, it remains largely unknown how kin caregivers' family functioning influences child survival, particularly in the South African context where the practice of kinship care is widely spread. An inductive thematic approach was employed, and data were collected from 24 kin caregivers who were providing care to under‐five children. Analysis of the data resulted in the development of three superordinate themes, namely, (1) relationship with family members, (2) poor relationships and (3) family attachment and communication. Each superordinate theme was linked to subthemes that helped explain the phenomenon under study. Overall, the kin caregivers' family environments serve as both protective barriers and risk factors for child survival depending on the state of familial relationships, collaboration and involvement of other kin within the households of primary kin caregivers. This translates into the survival of children being greatly determined by the family environment in which they live and the quality of care that they receive in that family environment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the effect of kin caregivers' family functioning on child survival in South Africa: An application of the Family Systems Theory

Mabetha

Wet

Odimegwu

2023

Child & Family Social Work

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Healthcare beliefs and practices of kin caregivers in South Africa: implications for child survival

Mabetha¹,

Wet²,

Odimegwu³

2021

BMC Health Serv Res

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Background Appropriate health-seeking practices may have a positive influence on child survival, particularly when practiced by kin caregivers of children who are below the age of 5 years. While literature has shown that children who are raised in kinship care often present with poor health outcomes and often have unmet healthcare needs, the health-seeking behaviours and practices of the children’s kin caregivers that ultimately influence these health outcomes remain largely unknown. In this paper, we explored the healthcare beliefs and practices of kin caregivers in South Africa on child survival. Methods Overall, 12 structured interviews were conducted with all the participants. Six [6] interviews were conducted in the Eastern Cape province and 6 were conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The sample of participants was obtained by seeking permission from the child welfare authorities in the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) to assist in identifying a sample of the kin-caregivers who have provided primary care to children below the age of 5. The structured interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. After thematic content analysis was carried out, transcripts were given case numbers and then imported into NViVo version 11 for analysis and interpretation of the findings. Results The healthcare seeking behaviours and poor use of healthcare services of the caregivers were largely influenced by their notions and perceptions of health and illness. The notions and perceptions that the caregivers hold about the health statuses of the children placed under their care and illness were found to be largely culturally determined and largely influenced by preconceptions and certain healthcare beliefs. Increased reliance on traditional herbs, Notion of witchcraft and Faith healing emerged as key factors that influence health-seeking practices and beliefs of kin caregivers, thus influencing under-five mortality. Conclusion Kin caregivers should be equipped with the necessary guidance, resources and training that facilitate the successful fulfilment of the caregiving role, given the number of unmet needs and challenges that they face. This will in turn translate into positive child health outcomes.

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Continuing Professional Development of Social Workers in Practice: An Explorative Investigation

September

2014

Social Work

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INTRODUCTIONThe paper starts with a brief autobiographical reflective narration of my own experience as a social worker. The purpose is to demonstrate and contextualise the interaction, change and inherent ambivalences in relation to my own experience of post-qualifying learning. I qualified as a social worker in 1978. My first employment was with the Department of Social Welfare (Coloured Affairs) in the Western Cape. During the first week of my induction I was introduced to two important people, my supervisor and the "In-service training manager" (ISTM). My supervisor was responsible for supervising my day to day workload. The ISTM was exclusively responsible for guiding and testing me on the content of a thick lever-arch file called the in-service training manual. The latter contained all the relevant legislation, policies and departmental procedures that I had to study and know before becoming a permanently employed social worker and public servant. Every Friday I would religiously go to the inservice training guru to be tested on the contents of the file. The ISTM was also kept informed by my supervisor about my performance on the job and would comment on my progress as indicated by my "stats". The latter was a record of how many clients I had seen and what the results achieved on each of these were. This process would continue until the in-service training was satisfactorily completed.

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A New Children’s Act for South Africa: Making It Work for Children and Families

Cited by 3 publications

References 10 publications

Exploring the effect of kin caregivers' family functioning on child survival in South Africa: An application of the Family Systems Theory

Exploring the effect of kin caregivers' family functioning on child survival in South Africa: An application of the Family Systems Theory

Healthcare beliefs and practices of kin caregivers in South Africa: implications for child survival

Continuing Professional Development of Social Workers in Practice: An Explorative Investigation

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