This proposed study seeks to examine the extent and nature of the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on thc status and aging process of elderly people in Uganda. - For purposes of this study, an elderly person is defined as one who is 50 or more years of age. Specifically, the study will primarily attempt to answer the question that: (1) How have members of the elderly population been affected by the epidemic (socio-economically, physically, emotionally, and psychologically), and how are they coping? Additional information will also be collected on the following questions: (2) What is the knowledge and attitude toward HIV/AIDS and its transmission patterns among the elderly compared to younger adults? (3) What does society expect of the older people in regard to caring for their HIV-infected relatives? (4) What is the prevalence and efficacy of intervention measures that cater for the needsof the elderly persons affected by the HIV epidemic? The study proposes to create a foundation for studying the issues of HIV/AIDS and the elderly in Africa by conducting focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with respondents in Uganda. Twelve communities/villages will be selected for the study. According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (1996), more persons aged 50 or older lived in rural areas than in urban areas. Therefore, this project will be conducted in nine rural and three urban communities so as to get a more representative sample of participants for the study. In each village, two focus group discussions will be administered. Males and females will be interviewed separately to increase respondent participation and to discern differential impacts of the epidemic on women and men. Within each village, four additional in-depth interviews (two male, and two female) will be conducted. These interviews will be targeted to respondents who have a child infected with HIV/AIDS or who have lost a child to the disease. Additional key informant interviews will be conducted with the village/community leaders of the twelve villages under study to seek their perceptions on the impact of the epidemic on the elderly people in their communities. The project will be accomplished in one year with three phases: (1) Planning for field work, 3 months; (2) field work (i.e., instrument pilot testing, revision, interviews, transcription, and coding of data), 3 months; and (3) data.
| Ssengonzi, R (2009) The impact of HIV/AIDS on the living arrangements and well-being of elderly caregivers in rural Uganda. AIDS Care 21:309-14 |
| Ssengonzi, Robert (2007) The plight of older persons as caregivers to people infected/affected by HIV/AIDS: evidence from Uganda. J Cross Cult Gerontol 22:339-53 |
