This proposal addresses the effects of HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality on household structure, composition, power dynamics and children's living arrangements. HIV/AIDS has attained epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa over the past 10 years with particularly high prevalence rates in southern Africa.-While it is clear that the disease affects entire families and communities, few studies have explored the magnitude and patterns of these changes at the household level. To contribute to this needed body of research, we propose secondary analyses of data from rural South Africa, specifically from the Agincourt Health and Demographic Surveillance System (AHDSS) and an ethnographic study, Children's Weil-Being and Social Connection in Rural South Africa (CWSC), conducted in the AHDSS study area. The hypothesis driving this analysis is that HIV/AIDS related mortality affects household structure and composition and does so differently from other causes of death due to age and gender distribution of mortality. A secondary premise is that HIV/AIDS related morbidity engenders unique effects on household structure, composition and power relations due to duration of illness and gender and age of the ill. The AHDSS area is situated in Limpopo Province, which has a prevalence rate estimated at 13.5%, making it a medium-affected HIV/AIDS context (National Antenatal Survey 2000). The longitudinal AHDSS collected data annually since 1992 including: 1) household censuses, 2) update of vital events and 3) verbal autopsies, which are used to identify HIV/AIDS as probable cause of death. The 2002 CWSC focused on children's well being and social connections. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of the AHDSS data will be used to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS related mortality on household level changes. The CWSC data will enable initial investigations into the effects of HIV/AIDS related morbidity on households through the use of case studies. Additionally, the proposed research includes a pilot qualitative study to examine the effects of HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality on gender and generational power dynamics within the household. This research builds on ten years of collaborative research linked to the AHDSS. The proposed research will take advantage of 1) the existing wealth of data and 2) the research infrastructure to provide new insights into the effects of HIV/AIDS on families and households. ? ?
| Madhavan, Sangeetha; Schatz, Enid; Clark, Samuel et al. (2012) Child mobility, maternal status, and household composition in rural South Africa. Demography 49:699-718 |
| Madhavan, Sangeetha; Schatz, Enid; Clark, Benjamin (2009) Effect of HIV/AIDS-related mortality on household dependency ratios in rural South Africa, 2000-2005. Popul Stud (Camb) 63:37-51 |
| Madhavan, Sangeetha; Schatz, Enid J (2007) Coping with change: household structure and composition in rural South Africa, 1992 - 2003. Scand J Public Health Suppl 69:85-93 |
