Background

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) continue to ravage the entire world, creating orphans who should receive care from caregivers. These caregivers face enormous challenges, particularly in North West Province (NWP), South Africa.

Objectives

Explore and describe the challenges faced by caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in North West Province, South Africa.

Material and methods

A qualitative exploratory descriptive contextual design was used to explore and describe the challenges faced by caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans in the NWP. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from eight participants, and thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The researcher religiously adhered to the principles of credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability to ensure the trustworthiness of the study.

Results

Four themes surfaced from the study. The first was lack of support for caregivers, whose subthemes were lack of family support, inadequate social support, and lack of financial support. The second theme was behavioral problems of orphans, with subthemes as delinquent behavior of orphans and non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). The third theme was psychological and emotional distress, and the subthemes were stigma and discrimination, as well as the burden of caring for orphans.

Conclusions

Caregivers of HIV/AIDS orphans are overwhelmed by the challenges of caring and do not receive support from their families or the Department of Social Services.