Relative poverty in female disability grant recipients in South Africa

It is a well-established fact that adequate social security measures are used as a tool to allow persons a measure of financial security and support in the event of certain contingencies. Historically, disability has been one of the "core" contingencies, which is covered by social security schemes. The purpose of social security in providing for this contingency is to compensate for income lost or reduced as a result of disability. The fact that more women in South Africa have disabilities than men leads to the conclusion that women with disabilities are more negatively affected by poverty than men with disabilities. This in turn makes a woman with a disability more likely to be dependent on the disability grant than a man with a disability. The link between gender, disability and poverty will be discussed to illustrate the socio-economic position of female disability grant recipients in comparison to male disability grant recipients. This article will address the relative poverty of female disability grant recipients and make recommendations to address this relative poverty.

Marginalisation and Precarious Circumstances of People with Albinism (PWA): Information Needs and Services

The study that directed this article investigated the information needs of parents of children with albinism (CWA) in the Khomas region, and determined information services that are appropriate for people with albinism (PWA) in the Khomas region of Namibia, in order to inform the possible design of their information services. Considering PWA as a marginalised user group living under precarious circumstances in Africa, and in the interest of an inclusive information service, a study on information needs was conducted on PWA in the Khomas Region, Namibia. It was conducted within the interpretivism paradigm, following a qualitative research approach, and interviews were conducted with six parents of CWA. In addition, two representatives from organisations that deal with the plight of PWA in Namibia were interviewed as organisational participants (OP). The following information needs were identified in the study: eye-and-skin-related information needs; information on what albinism is; the causes of albinism; information on how to register for the disability grant; and education-related information. The study also revealed that the information needs of parents of CWA differ at each level of the child’s growth. For example, parents stressed needing additional information because as children grow up new needs emerge. OP indicated that they use the following platforms to disseminate information to PWA: radio stations in local languages, community meetings, their websites, and the distribution of flyers in English.

Disability, cash transfers and family practices in South Africa

Relative to other low and middle-income countries, South Africa provides a generous set of cash transfers (social grants) targeted at people with disabilities. This article explores the influence of disability-related grants on family practices and configurations, care arrangements and household composition in the Western Province of South Africa. The article draws on the findings of two studies: 1) an ethnographic study of disability grant recipients and applicants in a low-income Cape Town community and; 2) a study of interactions between healthcare staff, disability grant applicants and their families. Findings show that disability grant income is shared within households and the contribution of a stable income provides opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise agency, be seen as valuable household members and secure care and support from other household members. However, conflicts may arise over how income is shared and may lead to the extortion, abuse and neglect of people with disabilities, particularly in cases of severe disablement. Given the lack of adequate social provisioning for those who are able-bodied and unemployed, disability also becomes highly valued in households and the potential suspension or cancellation of a grant can interfere with adherence to treatment. The study emphasises the influence of policy structures and economic conditions on household dynamics and care outcomes and contributes to the sparse international evidence-base on the role that disability welfare benefits play in household dynamics and care outcomes.

Unintended Labor Supply Effects of Cash Transfer Programs: New Evidence from South Africa’s Pension†

Using South Africa’s first nationally representative panel data set, I find that the presence of pension recipients in the household reduces the probability of employment of both previously employed and unemployed prime-aged adults. Exploiting institutional features of the disability grant to isolate the pension’s income effect suggests that the effects operate through the income mechanism. By contrast, there is no evidence that pensioners enable household members to work by providing childcare as concluded by previous studies.

Deficiência como categoria do Sul Global: primeiras aproximações com a África do Sul

Resumo: Neste artigo são propostas aproximações com a temática da deficiência na África do Sul, a partir da reflexão sobre o disability grant - um benefício para pessoas com deficiência que não possam trabalhar. O texto é resultado de uma pesquisa realizada a partir de interações com pesquisadores e pesquisadoras de universidades na Cidade do Cabo e região, em 2018. A produção sul-africana acerca da deficiência destaca-se no cenário internacional pela significativa história de ativismo e de elaboração de pesquisas e políticas de vanguarda. Embora ainda pouco acessada no Brasil, a tradição da África do Sul oferece referenciais teóricos e pontos de comparação etnográfica que nos ajudam a pensar a deficiência desde o Sul Global a partir de eixos mais densos que a afirmação de um ciclo de coprodução entre deficiência e pobreza, notando suas articulações constitutivas com dinâmicas raciais, espaciais e políticas.

Factors associated with successful completion of a substance rehabilitation programme at a psychiatric training hospital

Introduction: Comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders are common globally. Management of either condition is influenced by comprehensive management of the other.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine which patient and substance factors are associated with completion of a substance rehabilitation programme in psychiatric inpatients.Methods: The study was conducted at the Substance Rehabilitation Unit (SRU) of Weskoppies Hospital, a psychiatric training hospital in South Africa. It was a hospital-based two-group cross-sectional study comparing clinical files of completers and non-completers of the SRU programme with respect to patient and substance factors.Results: Most of the patients referred to the SRU were involuntarily admitted, between the ages of 30 and 49 years, male, black or African origin, South African, single, unemployed, never having received a disability grant and with a highest level of education between Grades 8 and 11. Substance-induced disorders, psychotic disorders and Cluster B personality traits were common. Cannabis, alcohol and tobacco were the most frequently used substances. Patients with a lower level of education, who receive a disability grant or who use Nyaope or tobacco, were statistically significantly less likely to complete the SRU programme than those without these factors. Psychiatric diagnosis and general medical comorbidity were not associated with completion.Conclusion: Completion rates were comparable to those in general substance rehabilitation centres. The association of tobacco smoking and non-completion was in keeping with other research. Low educational level may be a predictive factor of non-completion in this population. This study has yielded several recommendations for substance rehabilitation services in this population and filled a number of research gaps. Further research is still needed, especially with regard to substance rehabilitation in Nyaope-users and the role of disability grants. Creative approaches will be necessary in order to support patients at risk of dropout, in light of resource limitations and the drive towards individualised care.

Persons living on a disability grant in Mpumalanga province: An insider perspective

In Mpumalanga province, more than 45 000 persons with disability receive a disability grant. Although research regarding social grants in general and disability grants specifically had previously been conducted from various perspectives, none has been carried out in Mpumalanga and none to explore the impact of the disability grant on the lives of the recipients. The objective of the study was to gain an understanding of the impact of the disability grant on the lives of recipients living in Mpumalanga. The study was conducted as a contextual, exploratory and qualitative study. The target population was persons with a disability receiving a disability grant. Data gathering was conducted in October 2010 using a semi-structured interview technique. The data were analysed in terms of the social and economic impact of the disability grant in the life of the participant. A combination of three qualitative data analysis methods was used to analyse the data. The qualitative findings indicate that although it is an individual grant, the disability grant was used to support the whole family and was frequently the family’s only income. Food, clothes and electricity was most frequently bought with the disability grant. Food often did not last for a month. The families were living precariously and any crisis, for example lapsing of the grant, would result in hunger and desperation as a result of their complete dependence on the disability grant.Without insight in how people live their lives, registered nurses may give health education to patients that they cannot implement, perpetuating the burden of disease in South Africa.