Strangers, Patients, Monsters, Jailers, or Children: How South African Caregivers View Their Partners with Manganese Poisoning

Abstract

Manganese poisoning (MP) is one of many chronic, degenerative conditions that result in spousal caregiver stress. Partners who were once fully functioning become strangers to those who love them. In time, spousal caregivers may come to view their erstwhile partners as patients, jailers, monsters, or bratty children. We explore spousal caregiver perceptions of loved ones with MP, based on the narrated experiences of five full-time South African carers and develop a typology of carer experiences, which contributes to an understanding of manganese poisoning, in particular, and to caregiving theory, in general. The findings contribute to practice by providing service providers with a rich understanding of carer stress and coping, in general, and the stress of those caring for partners with MP, in particular. Such richer understanding should extend service provider empathy and encourage appropriate, supportive intervention.Manganese poisoning is a rare type of degenerative condition that is associated with spousal caregiver stress. In South Africa, manganese poisoning (MP) has only recently emerged as psychosocial research focus, following an egregious SABC broadcast in April 2005 (IOL, 2007;Stolley & Andrew, 2008). MP causes brain damage and physical deterioration, leading to enormous changes in the behaviours and capacities of affected persons. Individuals who once were healthy, thriving, and capable of mutual, loving relationships become strangers to those who love them. Our purpose is to show how care providers perceive the changes in their life partners that result from MP and to contribute to the general body of knowledge on caregiver stress, resulting from caring for partners with degenerative conditions.Research on MP contributes to understanding caregiver experiences with formerly wellfunctioning partners who develop complicated and unpredictable conditions that include physical violence, emotional volatility, and extreme physical dependence. Besides contributing to the body of caregiving research, the present study has applications for practice. Findings may enhance services to caregivers: by documenting how caregiver perceptions of their life partners change as partners' functioning degenerates, and deepen service provider empathy and shape mental health interventions for carers. The article will also serve as a source of information that service providers can use in the psycho-education of caregivers. In addition, carer isolation may diminish when service providers help them realise that they are not the only ones who are stressed by caring for persons with MP. Manganese poisoningManganese poisoning, or manganism, is a toxic condition generally caused by occupational exposure to manganese (Martin, 2005). Dust and smoke containing manganese compounds typically occur during the mining, crushing, and smelting of ores as well as during steel and alloy production (Howe,