Background information on the current status of South African HIV/AIDS hospices in the context of hygiene and quality of life: A review

Abstract

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the resulting acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)continues to be a major epidemic that is ravaging the South African population at large. Hospices are non-governmental organisations that provide care to terminally ill patients, including those suffering from HIV/AIDS and cancer. This paper aims to describe the role of South African hospices in the context of the provision of palliative care, safe cooked meal and quality of life to the immune compromised patients. The role of facility design and the influence thereof on bio-aerosol level and proper hygienic practices are also elucidated. A domestic environment like a kitchen setting is known to be a source of microbial cross contamination. This article is a review on hospice kitchen layout, food borne pathogens, cross contamination and bio-aerosol prevalence.