Abstract:
Background: Globally, more than one billion people, or approximately 15% of the
world’s population are living with some form of disability and 80% of them are found in
developing countries. There are different types of disability; these include sensory,
neurological, physical, intellectual, cognitive and psychiatric disabilities. Persons with
disabilities may require specialized care, resources and commitment which place a very
high demand of time and responsibilities on the one caring for them. Therefore,
Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) was promoted by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) as a strategy to respond to the needs of persons with disabilities,
through the provision of basic services at community level, particularly in developing
countries with limited resources.
Methodology: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the challenges
faced by Community-Based Rehabilitation caregivers for persons with disabilities in
Vhembe District, South Africa. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to
explore and develop an in-depth understanding of the CBR caregiver’s challenges. The
study was conducted in three Community-Based Rehabilitation centres located within
Vhembe District with a sample size of six caregivers who were purposively selected. An
interview guide was developed as an instrument for data collection. Data was collected
through in-depth individual interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results: Six main themes emerged from the data which shed light on the CBR
caregiver’s challenges, namely; Poor relationships between caregivers, government
v
department and families, unavailability of material and human resources, poor funding
system, caregivers’ well-being, education and training and the coping strategies of CBR
caregivers
Conclusion: This study pointed out that there is a need for intervention from different
stakeholders such as government departments, family members of persons with
disability, and the community members as well for CBR caregiver’s challenges to be
resolved or minimized.
