A social group work empowerment programme for families affected by HIV and AIDS from social workers' caseloads

Abstract

Due to the HIV and Aids issue, South Africa is currently faced with the largest pandemic in the history of the country. HIV and Aids do not only impact on the psycho-social functioning of the infected person, but also that of the affected, such as family members. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work empowerment programme for families affected by HIV and AIDS from social workers' caseloads. To achieve this aim, the following objectives needed to be attained: • To investigate the needs of families affected by HIV and Aids from social workers' caseloads. This aim was reached in that theoretical; perspectives from literature, as well as empirical findings on the needs of these families were analysed. • To investigate the role of the social worker in planning a social group work project for families affected by HIV and Aids. This investigation indicated that, if one wishes to achieve success with the implementation of a social group work program for families affected by HIV and Aids, thorough planning in accordance with the specific planning process is essential. • To design and implement a social group work programme from the needs of people affected by HIV and Aids in a rural area to cope with the illness. This programme was presented successfully over a stretch of seventeen group sessions and was exceptionally appropriate to not only improve the knowledge of the group members regarding the illness, but also how they felt about their lives. By means of this programme, the

members of the group could also improve their skills as parents of their own children and of their foster children. • To evaluate the effectiveness of a social group work programme in empowering families affected by HIV and Aids to cope with the illness. This objective was attained in that the satisfaction of the members of the group with their own circumstances was assessed by means of the Generalized Contentment Scale (GCS) of Perspective Training College (2000) and the Index of Parental Attitudes (IPA)" Scale to measure their skills as parents of their own children and of the foster children, at three occasions. The results obtained through this evaluation indicated that the social group work empowerment programme had brought about a significant change in the satisfaction of families affected by HIV and Aids with their own lives and with their parenting skills. The satisfaction of families, affected by HIV and Aids, that were subjected to the empowerment programme, as well as their skills as parents, were significantly better than those of families that had not formed part of this empowerment programme, but who served as a control group. In summary it can be stated that proof has emerged from this research that a scientifically founded, well-planned social group work empowerment programme can undoubtedly be applied to improve the satisfaction of families, affected by HIV and Aids, with their lives and with their parenting skills.