Work makes healthcare workers ill, Republikein

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The article is based on a speech by the Minister of Health and Welfare during the launch of the Ministry?s Support and Information Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Trainer’s Notes: The article is a significant because it examines the impact of caring for large numbers of patients with HIV/AIDS, on health care workers, particularly nurses. The article is gender blind, and does not consider the fact that the majority of nurses of are female and the impact this will have on their experiences (many will also be caring for sick family members, will have care of orphans and will experience similar concerns to other women about their own risks of HIV infection, all of which will exacerbate their stress). The article relies on a single source, namely the Minister, and does not interview any health care workers.

Training Exercises: Trainees should rewrite the article to include the aspects referred to above. It should include comments from nurses and patients. Trainees could write the article from the perspective of a nurse who has experiences the problems identified by the Minister, to increase the human interest in the article.

Links to Training Resources: Gender and HIV/AIDS: A Training Manual for Southern African Media and Communicators, Gender Links and the AIDS Law Project, Chapter 11 www.genderlinks.org.za/docs/training/hiv-training-manual/hiv-ch11.pdf

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