Caregivers’ and nurses’ perceptions of the responsibilities of community nurses in the management of infant developmental needs in a primary healthcare clinic in South Africa

Abstract

By virtue of their access to infants and their families, community nurses in South Africa are provided with an important window of opportunity to assess and positively influence infant health and development. Hence, developmental surveillance should be incorporated into the ongoing healthcare of the child. Such routine child development services are not consistently provided by community nurses and if at all these services are provided, significant inadequacies hamper the delivery thereof. A single holistic case study design was used to explore the perceptions of caregivers and community nurses about the responsibilities of community nurses regarding the management of infant developmental needs in a primary healthcare clinic in one of the provinces in South Africa. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five nurses and eleven caregivers of infants. Data were analysed by means of content analysis. Community nurses do not focus adequately on infant development, as stipulated in their scope of practice. The caregivers indicated that they receive limited emotional and appraisal support. The only interventions indicated by the community nurses were that of referral and limited anticipatory guidance. This study highlights the importance of community nurses living up to their responsibility regarding the management of infant developmental needs to ensure optimal outcomes for both the infant and the family.