The role of community care workers in supporting the resilience of grandparent-headed families

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of Community Care Workers (CCWs) in supporting grandparent-headed families in Mamelodi Township to be resilient and to cope with adversity. Mamelodi Township is considered to be one of the poorest townships in South Africa with high levels of unemployment and poverty as well as high HIV prevalence. The resultant poor social and economic conditions in the township disproportionately affect vulnerable families, including grandparent-headed families. Therefore, this study sought to explore the specific stress factors that could diminish the resilience of these families and the effectiveness of the role played by CCWs in strengthening the ability of grandparent-headed families to cope with adversity. Furthermore, the study explored the protective factors available to cushion families in times of difficulty.

The study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative methodological approach to explore and examine the perceptions of CCWs regarding their role in supporting the resilience of grandparent-headed families. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are based on the Family Resilience Framework (FRW) (Walsh, 2016). Data was collected through two focus groups of six CCWs each (N=12). The CCWs were purposively selected from Matimba Sinqobile Drop-in Centre and three other satellite centres of Pfundzo, Koos Matli and Motheo in Mamelodi. The data collected included the CCWs’ biographical information and the focus groups were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The researcher conducted and transcribed the focus group discussions. Inductive thematic content analysis was then utilised to identify the themes and sub-themes emerging from the data.

Five themes emerged from the thematic analysis: Focus on grandparents-headed families; Supporting and strengthening family relationships; Provision of psychosocial support for health and well-being; Facilitating referrals for social and economic support services, and Perceptions of resilience, stressors and protective factors. Grandparents are typically unprepared for the parental roles they have to assume as a result of various adverse circumstances. The themes highlight the important roles played by CCWs in supporting the grandparents to cope with parental demands; taking care of their health and emotional well-being and strengthening family relationships to promote and sustain resilience in times of adversity. Further research to explore the challenges CCWs face in supporting vulnerable families build resilience could be conducted to ensure a sustainable and more effective social support system in poor communities.