COVID-19 Daily Realities for Families: A South African Sample

The COVID-19 pandemic affected families globally. Empirical research has been explored to understand the impact of COVID-19 on families across countries, however, there are limited findings of how COVID-19 has affected the daily realities of families in South Africa. This study used an exploratory qualitative research approach to explore the experiences of COVID-19 for South African families. Findings suggest that the negative outcomes of COVID-19 experienced by South African families included a shift in the daily routines, restrictions on family events, lack of socialization and loss of connections, family conflicts, financial constraints as well as psychological impacts. On the contrary, the positive outcomes included increased family time and communication, cleanliness, and good health status, and improved financial management. Implications for future research should include research focused on the health impacts of COVID-19 on diverse family structures, family compositions, and family dynamics. In-depth research and findings can assist in developing policies and interventions for families.

Lessons Learnt during COVID-19 Lockdown: A Qualitative Study of South African Families

In a pandemic, such as COVID-19, with every single person struggling to deal with the unknown, it is often within the family that support is found but it is also within the family that circumstances, contexts and behaviours could further drive the pandemic and where they struggle to cope. This is novel research in the South African context with no known information regarding family life during and post the pandemic. This study, therefore, explores the lessons learnt during COVID-19 by South African families. A qualitative approach was employed to guide the gathering and analysis of the data. Data were collected from a sample of 31 family members above the age of 18 years from communities of the Western Cape Province and analysed through thematic analysis. According to the participants interviewed some of the significant lessons learnt from the lockdown include hygiene and health consciousness, appreciation for family, valuing life, self-introspection, less dependency, remote working, and financial savings. The realisation of such lessons even post-pandemic has the potential of strengthening families to be a resource of coping and resilience during very difficult times at the same time, contributing to greater physical, social, and economic functioning of families across South Africa.

The South African Families Database

Very little is known about what family life looked like for settlers in colonial South Africa during the 18th or 19th century, nor how events over these centuries might have affected demographic change. The primary reason for this lacuna is a shortage of adequate data. Historians and genealogists have, over the last century, worked to combine the rich administrative records that are available in the Cape Archives in Cape Town and beyond, into a single genealogical volume of all settlers living in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century. Until recently, this valuable resource was not in a format that would enable its use for the type of event-history analyses that have come to dominate the field of contemporary historical demography. This is now changing with the introduction of the South African Families database (SAF). SAF is one of very few databases known to document a full population of immigrants and their families over several generations. This article introduces provides a brief background to, and technical overview of, the construction of the SAF. It discusses both the merits and limitations of its use in longitudinal demographic studies and offers a look into the types of studies it can enable.

The Realities Of Schizophrenia For Black African Families Navigating Greater Toronto's Mental Health Services

This is a qualitative phenomenological (Padgett, 2017) study of how Black African families with relatives diagnosed with schizophrenia navigate and experience mental health systems in the Greater Toronto Area. Data was collected through individual face-to-face interviews with 3 participants who are self-identified adult African family members or relatives of a person diagnosed with schizophrenia. The research draws on the theoretical approaches of Anti-Black Racism (Kumsa et al, 2014) and Anti-Black Sanism (Abdillahi, Meerai & Poole, 2014; Meerai, Abdillahi & Poole, 2016). Participants had an outlet to share their experiences, and a space to share ideas on program development and coping strategies. The findings of this study suggest that Black families need a space where Black and/or African individuals with mental health challenges can safely navigate and share their stories through storytelling, poetry and music, to name a few methods. There is a need for Black and/or African navigating resource services for Black and/or African immigrants diagnosed with mental health challenges and their families. We can conclude that there are a number of areas of research which require more exploration, including the social construction of Black and/or African immigrant families faced with mental health challenges pre- and post-diagnosis and how they navigate mental health systems. It is critical to promote the voices of Black and/or African individuals with mental health challenges and their families in research and practice because “you cannot know about us without us” (Morrow &Malcoe, 2017, p.132).

The Realities Of Schizophrenia For Black African Families Navigating Greater Toronto's Mental Health Services

This is a qualitative phenomenological (Padgett, 2017) study of how Black African families with relatives diagnosed with schizophrenia navigate and experience mental health systems in the Greater Toronto Area. Data was collected through individual face-to-face interviews with 3 participants who are self-identified adult African family members or relatives of a person diagnosed with schizophrenia. The research draws on the theoretical approaches of Anti-Black Racism (Kumsa et al, 2014) and Anti-Black Sanism (Abdillahi, Meerai & Poole, 2014; Meerai, Abdillahi & Poole, 2016). Participants had an outlet to share their experiences, and a space to share ideas on program development and coping strategies. The findings of this study suggest that Black families need a space where Black and/or African individuals with mental health challenges can safely navigate and share their stories through storytelling, poetry and music, to name a few methods. There is a need for Black and/or African navigating resource services for Black and/or African immigrants diagnosed with mental health challenges and their families. We can conclude that there are a number of areas of research which require more exploration, including the social construction of Black and/or African immigrant families faced with mental health challenges pre- and post-diagnosis and how they navigate mental health systems. It is critical to promote the voices of Black and/or African individuals with mental health challenges and their families in research and practice because “you cannot know about us without us” (Morrow &Malcoe, 2017, p.132).

THE DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY AND ITS RELELVANE IN AFRICA

This paper seeks to delineate the doctrine of purgatory from dogmatic perspective and show its relevance in Africa from pastoral perspective. The work presents the scriptural and traditional teaching of the Catholic Church on the dogma of purgatory and then explores the elements in which Christians can find the meaning of the doctrine especially in relating the Christian faith, to the practical and pastoral ways of understanding and facing with hope the reality of death in the African families and Small Christian communities.

The Negative Impacts of COVID-19 Containment Measures on South African Families - Overview and Recommendations

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported various pneumonia cases (‘Coronavirus Disease 2019’ [COVID-19]) on 31 December 2019 in Wuhan City, China, which has spread to many countries, including South Africa. In response to this, the President of South Africa declared a state of national disaster on 15th March 2020, followed by introducing various COVID-19 containment measures to minimize the spread of the virus. This paper examines the negative impacts that COVID-19 containment measures may have had on the family as a unit of society and furthermore provides recommendations to mitigate the impacts of these measures. It can be concluded that COVID-19 containment measures, specifically the lockdown restrictions, would yield both short-term and long-term impacts on proper family functioning. Several families in South Africa have been impacted financially due to the closure of business which led to the temporary/ permanent unemployment of some breadwinners in the families. This also has had a cascading impact on the food security of families and their ability to afford other basic necessities. Distress as a result of financial challenges or failure to provide for the family alongside spending much time locked down together as a family has also led to violence in the family. This was further exacerbated by the fact that the victims were stuck with the abusers and some could not report or find help due to the restricted movements. Furthermore, since most institutions predominantly moved learning online, results indicated that the lockdown restrictions affected the ability of some individuals especially those from poor families to access formal education during the period due to the lack of digital devices and internet facilities. In order to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 containment measures on the family, there is a need for collaborative efforts at intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, community and policy levels using the ecological framework.

African families’ and caregivers’ experiences of raising a child with intellectual disability: A narrative synthesis of qualitative studies

Background: The prevalence of intellectual disability was high in Africa, particularly amongst low socio-economic communities. Despite this, there was limited literature on primary caregivers and parents of people with intellectual disabilities regarding their experience raising an individual with the condition, especially within the African context.Objectives: The aim of the current systematic review was to investigate experiences of caregivers and parents of children with intellectual disability in Africa.Method: We used strict eligibility criteria to identify suitable studies. We identified Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and other keyword terms and, after conducting searches in electronic databases, identified articles that met the inclusion criteria for articles published between 1975 and the end of 2019.Results: 164 articles were assessed for eligibility. Nine studies met the review’s criteria. Six major themes emerged: understanding of intellectual disability (ID), worries about the future, burden of care, lack of services, coping strategies and stigma and discrimination.Conclusion: Caregivers of children with intellectual disability in Africa faced substantial challenges. Current findings suggested that there was the need for both formal and alternative healthcare workers to work together towards an understanding and management of intellectual disability in Africa.

Keratolytic Winter Erythema: a misdiagnosed palmoplantar dermatosis

<p class="abstract">Keratolytic Winter Erythema, also known as ‘Erythrokeratolysis hiemalis’ or ‘Oudtshoorn disease’ is a rare genetic disorder of keratinization of an unknown etiology characterized by cyclical erythema and intermittent skin peeling usually over palms and soles, particularly during winter.It was originally described in South African families of European descent originating from the Oudtshoorn district of Cape Provence, and has been since identified in several other countries. It is an autosomal dominant disorder with variable penetrance. The condition <a name="_Hlk67093214"></a>is often misdiagnosed as Keratolysis exfoliativa, but presence of a relevant family history, winter exacerbation and preceding hyperhidrosis with interdigital involvement differentiate it from the former. We present a case report with clinical histopathological data of an 18-year-old female with attributes of erthrokeratolysis hiemalis. This case is being reported due to its rarity.</p>

Decoupling African Traditional Religion and Culture from the Family Life of Africans: Calculated Steps in Disguise

Even though African Traditional Religion and Cultural family life seem to have been detached from the indigenous Africans, with many reasons accounting for such a detach, the attempts made by the new wave of Christianity is paramount, under the cloak of salvation and better life. The paper focuses on the steps taken by Pentecostal-Charismatics in Africa to decouple African Traditional Religion and Culture from the family life of Africans in a disguised manner. The paper begins with the retrospection of African Traditional Religion as the religion with belief of the forefathers concerning the existence of the Supreme Being, divinities, Spirit beings, Ancestors, and mysterious powers, good and evil and the afterlife. It then walks readers through the encounter between Christianity and ATR and come out that Christianity from its earliest history has maintained a negative attitude toward ATR. The paper again explores that the traditional understanding of the African family system is portrayed in the common believe system and the functions of the family com-ponents. Again, the paper further unravels decoupling measures such as reaching the masses for audience, demonization of African the world of the spirit, demonization of African elders, pastors as-suming the traditional position of elders of African families are the factors that are being taken to ensure the taking away of African traditional religious and family life from Africans. The paper again discusses the adverse effects of these decoupling factors on Africans. The paper concludes that Traditional African family patterns are slowly but progressively being altered as a result of the process of the decoupling strategies.