Implementing a Home-Based Health Care Programme for the Children with Heart Diseases from the Rural Areas in Namibia: Making a Difference in Coping with the Demands of Care at Home
The purposes for the implementation of a homebased health care programme interventions was to empower the caregivers of children with heart diseases from the rural areas in Namibia, and the children alike for them to employ constructive coping methods, access community-based resources and implement care interventions which enhance positive health outcomes for their children concerned and therefore, to facilitate caregivers’ coping with the demands of care at home. Therefore, a qualitative outcomes evaluation was conducted three months after the implementation of the programme interventions to assess the long-term effects of the programme interventions on the participants. The findings indicated that the caregivers and the children with heart diseases gained knowledge about the child’s condition, skills for providing care at home as well as information about community-based resources that can provide them with support to cope. In conclusion, if sustained for a long-term, the programme interventions can make a difference in coping with the demands of home care for the caregivers of children with heart diseases from the rural context. This paper describes the processof implementation of a home-based health care programme intervention, and the subsequent outcomes of the programme evaluation.
