IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0309090.html

Service providers’ perspectives on the challenges of informal caregiving and the need for caregiver-orientated mental health services in rural South Africa: A descriptive study

Author

Listed:
  • Olindah Silaule
  • Nokuthula Gloria Nkosi
  • Fasloen Adams

Abstract

Informal caregivers of persons with mental disorders encounter various challenges in their role of caregiving. As such, they require support to enable them to cope with the demands of their caregiving. There is comprehensive evidence on the experiences of burden among informal caregivers in mental health; however, there is a limited number of studies that report on the mental health services aimed specifically at supporting informal caregivers in their role. To address this gap, this study aimed to explore the perspectives of the service providers regarding the challenges encountered by informal caregivers and the mental health services available to support these caregivers. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health coordinators at provincial, district, and sub-district level and mental health professionals from a district hospital. Focus group discussions were conducted with primary healthcare supervisors and community health workers in Bushbuckridge municipality, South Africa at participants’ workplaces and sub-district offices. Semi-structured interviews and focus group guides with semi-structured questions were used to direct data collection in August 2022–January 2023. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Reflexive thematic inductive analysis was conducted using NVivo 12 software. Three themes were identified, namely perceived caregiving consequences and related factors, current state of mental health services, and factors affecting delivery of informal caregiver mental health services. The service providers acknowledged the negative consequences faced by informal caregivers. This includes the experience of caregiver burden which was attributed to the uncooperative and violent behaviours exhibited by the mental health care users. The current state of formal and informal community mental health services was described and considered inadequate to meet informal caregivers’ needs. Various personal, health system, and contextual factors influencing the provision of caregiver-orientated services were identified. The findings revealed the need for intersectoral collaborations between hospital-based and community-based mental health service providers, and community stakeholders to ensure provision of user-friendly and accessible mental health services for informal caregivers.

Suggested Citation

  • Olindah Silaule & Nokuthula Gloria Nkosi & Fasloen Adams, 2024. "Service providers’ perspectives on the challenges of informal caregiving and the need for caregiver-orientated mental health services in rural South Africa: A descriptive study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(8), pages 1-22, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0309090
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309090
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309090
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0309090&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0309090?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hennink, Monique & Kaiser, Bonnie N., 2022. "Sample sizes for saturation in qualitative research: A systematic review of empirical tests," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    2. Rebecca Addo & Samuel Agyei Agyemang & Yesim Tozan & Justice Nonvignon, 2018. "Economic burden of caregiving for persons with severe mental illness in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-12, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gülüm Özer & İdil Işık & Jordi Escartín, 2024. "Is There Somebody Looking out for Me? A Qualitative Analysis of Bullying Experiences of Individuals Diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-22, January.
    2. Ruth Bhekekile Shandu & Thokozani Ian Nzimakwe & Reward Utete, 2024. "Analysing the effects of flexible working conditions in the workplace: An exploratory study," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 6(6), pages 109-120, December.
    3. Mlamli Diko, 2023. "Advancing agriculture through Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) in South African indigenous or black communities," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(2), pages 267-277, March.
    4. Júlio Belo Fernandes & Diana Vareta & Sónia Fernandes & Ana Silva Almeida & Dina Peças & Noélia Ferreira & Liliana Roldão, 2022. "Rehabilitation Workforce Challenges to Implement Person-Centered Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-9, March.
    5. Chikako Ishizuka & Kei Aoki, 2024. "Drivers of sustained brand engagement: cases of long-term customers of hedonic and utilitarian brands in Japan," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(4), pages 979-989, December.
    6. Joseph M. Buguis & Reynaldo Castro, 2025. "Construct Development and Validation of Service Quality in the Context of Private Hospitals," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(7), pages 6053-6077, July.
    7. Daniel Muir & Cristiana Orlando & Becci Newton, 2024. "Impact of summer programmes on the outcomes of disadvantaged or ‘at risk’ young people: A systematic review," Campbell Systematic Reviews, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), June.
    8. Hanifah Moksin & Simranpreet Kaur Hansaram & Ahmad Mukhlas Ibrahim, 2025. "Building Resilience: How Malaysian Women Entrepreneurs Use Strengths and Resources to Navigate Challenges," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(10), pages 507-520, October.
    9. Reem Mohamed Gouda & Yasser Tawfik Halim, 2025. "The role of sustainable social media content in enhancing customer loyalty in the hospitality industry," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-26, December.
    10. Immas Nurhayati & Syarifah Gustiawati & Rofiáh Rofiáh & Sri Pujiastuti & Isbandriyati Mutmainah & Bambang Hengky Rainanto & Sri Harini & Endri Endri, 2025. "Community-Based Halal Tourism and Information Digitalization: Sustainable Tourism Analysis," Tourism and Hospitality, MDPI, vol. 6(3), pages 1-23, August.
    11. Marie Joy Rabusa Morala & Glenne Berja Lagura, 2025. "The Lived Experiences of Skilled Filipino Women Immigrants in Denmark," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(10), pages 1949-1961, October.
    12. Maria Provenzano & Nicola Cillara & Felice Curcio & Maria Orsola Pisu & Cesar Iván Avilés González & Maria Francisca Jiménez-Herrera, 2024. "Electronic Health Record Adoption and Its Effects on Healthcare Staff: A Qualitative Study of Well-Being and Workplace Stress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(11), pages 1-14, October.
    13. Beyeler, Laura & Jaeger-Erben, Melanie, 2025. "Sufficiency as a matter of care: Practices to provide for needs," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    14. Amro Hassan Ibrahim Alhassan & Zainudin Bin Hassan, 2024. "Understanding the Factors Behind Dropout Decisions: A Study of Primary School Students in Red Sea State, Sudan," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(3s), pages 5023-5034, October.
    15. Kocsis, Zsófia & Pusztai, Gabriella, 2025. "The role of higher education through the eyes of Hungarian undergraduate students and graduates: A qualitative exploratory study," International Journal for Research in Vocational Education and Training (IJRVET), European Research Network in Vocational Education and Training (VETNET), European Educational Research Association, vol. 12(1), pages 48-75.
    16. Nurul Hidayana Mohd Noor & Amirah Mohamad Fuzi & Nurin Farzana Mohamad Fadzil & Afief El Ashfahany, 2025. "Measuring Financial Management and Bankability of Small Business Mumpreneurs through Triangulation Study," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 17(1), pages 328-341.
    17. Yu, Jiazhou & Dong, Dong & Sumerlin, Timothy S. & Kim, Jean H., 2023. "Feasibility of introducing effective alcohol harms reduction strategies in a low regulation region: A qualitative study from Hong Kong," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    18. Maiss Ahmad & Stephen Wilkins, 2025. "Purposive sampling in qualitative research: a framework for the entire journey," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 59(2), pages 1461-1479, April.
    19. Dominik Anderhofstadt & Nicolene Wesson & Suzette Viviers, 2025. "Corporate governance and the internationalisation of African firms: An institutional investor perspective," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 22(3), pages 644-657, September.
    20. Syazuin Sazali & Rozina Muzaffar & Maya Lestari Muchtar & Najibah Binti Yasin, 2025. "From Aspirations to Decisions: A Biographical Study on Factors Influencing Postgraduate Students’ Choices of HEI in Malaysia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 5092-5109, January.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0309090. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.