Managing Occupational Stress And Fear Of Hiv/Aids Among Nurses And Midwives In Namibia: A Supportive Policy Approach For Windhoek Central And Katutura State Hospitals

ABSTRACT

Occupational stress and fear of contagion are common among nurses/midwives dealing with HIV/AIDS patients, and the psycho-social impact become more acute when death occurs, because the loss of a young patient, the suffering and self identification with the patient cause acute sadness and grief. Therefore a need rises to address the problem of occupational stress and fear among nurses and midwives caring for victims of HIV/AIDS. The Government of the Republic of Namibia has taken a policy decision as part of the Medium Term Plan III (MTP III), that all sectors should develop and implement sectoral workplace HIV/AIDS programmes geared toward addressing challenges facing their human resources. The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) has launched its national HIV/AIDS sectoral committee to fulfill its sectoral obligation. In the absence of well researched data on what kind of support staff members require at institutional level, the researcher undertook a study to explore how occupational stress and fear among nurses/midwives providing care to HIV/AIDS patients in the two Windhoek State Hospitals can be managed. The objectives of the study are: to explore strategies used by nurses/midwives to cope with occupational stress and fear, to identify ways in which occupational stress and fear can be alleviated and managed, to identify the nature of support nurses/midwives expect from their employer in dealing with stress and fear associated with care giving role regarding HIV/AIDS and lastly, to recommend possible strategies to assist in the management of occupational stress and fear.