1. ASSESSING THE NURSE’S KNOWLEDGE AND OPINIONS REGARDING THE
MANAGEMENT OF PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES IN TWO
PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SERVICES.
Snyman, J. & Damons, A.
ABSTRACT:
Introduction: Persons with disabilities usually experience problems regarding free access to
buildings in general. This basic right ‘access to healthcare’ is often being violated due to
ignorance. The attitudes of the able-bodied persons are also becoming more of a problem to
persons with disabilities.
Aim: Determine the opinions of nurses and persons with disabilities in two private healthcare
settings with reference to the nursing care provided to persons with disabilities within
Kimberley.
Design: A descriptive non-experimental study with a quantitative approach was applied to
determine the opinions of staff and patients regarding the nursing care of persons with
disabilities.
A self-administered questionnaire consisting of predominantly closed questions was used to
collect the data. The data was collected in two phases namely: Phase 1 the nursing staff
(N=215) and phase 2: persons with disabilities (N=100) within the specified healthcare
services. Ethical approval was obtained from the Stellenbosch University. Permission was
obtained from the institutions and participants. 10% of the sample used in the pilot study and
was excluded from the actual study.
Results:
Nurses identified barriers such as lack of equipment to equip them to assist the persons with
disabilities during nursing care, whilst persons with disabilities were of opinion that this is a
shortcoming in providing quality of care.
Conclusion
Findings revealed that the nursing staff was aware of the problems and barriers, persons
with disabilities encounter within the healthcare settings. The nurses were also aware of their
own shortcomings. By addressing these shortcomings, nurses may be able to provide more
holistic care to persons with disabilities.
Keywords: Persons with disabilities; access to healthcare; holistic care; nursing care of
patients with disabilities.