Abstract
M.Cur.
The problems women in our community are faced with are multi-dimensional and
there is absolutely no community that can be declared problem-free. Many women
face the pressure of having a number of responsibilities namely working, being a wife
and mother, taking care of their families and perhaps caring for aging parents.
Sometimes the pressure can be too overwhelming to manage. As a result, many
women become depressed.
The genuine life events that most often appear in connection with depression are
various, but there is one distinguishing feature that appears in many cases, over and
over: loss of self-esteem, of empowerment, of self confidence accompanied by
feelings of worthlessness. In general, any life change, often caused by events
beyond one's control, will damage the structure that gave life meaning.
The likelihood of becoming depressed is increased by the lack of supportive,
confiding relationship with a partner, spouse, friend, stressful life events and poor
communication patterns within relationships.
Studies on depression among Black-African women could not be traced. Despite the
fact that considerable research on the women and depression has been done in
other parts of the world, no studies have been done on similar subjects in Namibia.
It was therefore considered necessary to find out how women suffering from
depression from this part of the world tell their life stories.
The purposes of the study were two-fold.
Firstly, to explore and describe the life stories of adult depressed women in perk
urban Namibia.
Secondly, to use the information obtained to describe guidelines for the
compilation of a health education support program for psychiatric nurses working
with these patients at psychiatric outpatient clinic as well as in the community.
The research questions that were generated are: how do adult depressed
women tell their life stories, and then how can the information be utilised to
describe guidelines to support psychiatric nurses to assist depressed women in
their quest for mental health?
The researcher used an exploratory, descriptive, contextual and
phenomenological qualitative design to answer these research questions.
Phenomenological interviews were conducted with ten (10) respondents who
have been purposively selected. This was done after obtaining the necessary
permission from the Ministry of Health and Social Services and informed consent
from the research participants. The interviews were conducted by the researcher
in Oshiwambo and English. Steps were taken throughout the course of the study
to ensure trustworthiness. All the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Data
was analysed following Tesch's method and the service of an independent coder
was obtained.
The results indicate that impaired interpersonal interactions and stressful life
events have a negative influence on the daily life of women leading to the
development of depressive symptoms.
Guidelines intended to support psychiatric nurses were drawn up based on the
themes that emerged from the raw data. These guidelines are strategies to be
used by psychiatric nurses working with depressed women to assist them in
managing their own depression. Possibilities for the application of the results in
nursing education, nursing practice, nursing research are discussed.
It is concluded that women suffering from depression need support from the
psychiatric nurses in order to facilitate the promotion, maintenance and
restoration of their mental health, which is an integral part of health.