No abstract available. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of Natal, Durban, 2002.

This study was a situation analysis of the socio-economic conditions of orphans and vulnerable children in Dessie Town. Specifically the study assessed the educational attainment, economic status, social isolation, adjustment, discrimination and psycho-social status of OVCs, the characteristics of the care-givers of OVCs and the support systems for OVCs. Therefore, 270 OVCs, 130 guardians and 4 OVCs service-providing organisations were selected as respondents. A survey research design was used. The study found that OVCs and their households faced problems such as school dropout, low educational performance; economic and food insecurity, lack of adequate clothing; social isolation and emotional hardships due to separation of siblings; discrimination, and neglect. Children’s housing conditions, toilet facilities, and access to clean water and health facilities were poor. The majority of guardians were unemployed and unable to fulfil the needs of the OVCs in their care. It is recommended that support systems for OVCs be strengthened. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

Text in English / The South African government provides people living with HIV Temporary Disability Grants to assist them with money when they cannot work due to being disabled by HIV. The toll of the disease has contributed to the inability to be employed among black South Africans. The aim of this exploratory qualitative study was to investigate the challenges experienced by people living with HIV when their Temporary Disability Grants are terminated in the semi-urban area of Gauteng. The temporary disability grant is terminated after six months of receiving it. In-depth interviews were conducted with people who live with HIV who are members of Ekupholeni Mental Health and Trauma Centre support group. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. The findings of the study revealed that the termination of Temporary Disability Grant affects the running of the households of people living with HIV, causes poor management of the disease, non-adherence to treatment which leads to viral rebound, poor nutrition as a result of poor finances. The findings of this study are significant for the policy review on how long a person should receive the disability grant and the criteria used to apply for a disability grant, and to encourage the people living with HIV to start their own gardening programmes for food supply. Moreover, to encourage the introduction of a Chronic Disease Grant (CDG) for people who live with HIV. / OKUFINYEZIWE Uhulumeni waseNingizimu Afrika uhlinzeka abantu abaphila ne-HIV Izibonelelo Zesikhashana Zabaphila Nokukhubazeka, ama-Temporary Disability Grants, ukubasiza ngemali ngesikhathi bengakwazi ukuthi bayosebenza ngesizathu sokukhubazeka ngenxa ye-HIV. Ubunzima balesi sifo sebubenomthelela wokuthi kube nokungaqasheki kwabantu abamnyama baseNingizimu Afrika. Injongo yalolu cwaningo oluchaza kabanzi kwakuwukuphenya ngezinselelo ezibhekana nabantu abaphila ne-HIV uma Izibonelelo Zesikhashana Zabaphila Nokukhubazeka zinqanyulwa endaweni yasemalokishini aseGauteng. Isibonelelo sesikhashana sabaphila nokukhubazeka sinqanyulwa emva kokutholakala kwaso izinyanga eziyisithupha. Ukuxoxisana okunzulu kwenziwa nabantu abaphila ne-HIV abangamalungu esikhungo Sezempilo Yangokomqondo, Ekupholeni nabayiqembu lokusekelana Lesikhungo Sokuphazamiseka Emqondweni. Ukuhlaziywa kwale ndikimba kwenziwa ukucwaninga imininingwane eyayiqoqiwe. Okwatholwa yisifundo kwaveza ukuthi ukunqanyulwa Kwesibonelelo Sesikhashana Sabaphila Nokukhubazeka kuthikameza ukuqhubeka ngendlela efanele kwamakhaya abantu abaphila ne-HIV, kubangele ukungalawuleki kahle kwesifo, ukungabambeleli ekuphuzweni kwemithi okubangela ukuthi igciwane lihlasele kabusha, ukungadli ngokufanele ngenxa yokuswela imali. Okutholakala kulolu cwaningo kusemqoka ekubuyekezweni kwenqubomgomo yokuthi kumele umuntu anikezwe isibonelelo sokuphila nokukhubazeka isikhathi esingakanani kanye nemigomo esetshenziswayo ukufaka isicelo semali yesibonelelo sokuphila nokukhubazeka, kanye nokukhuthaza abantu abaphila ne-HIV ukuthi baqale izinhlelo zabo zezingadi ukuze bathole ukudla. Ngaphezu kwalokho, ukukhuthaza ukuqala ukusebenzisa Isibonelelo Sezifo Ezingelapheki, i-Chronic Disease Grant (i-CDG) sabantu abaphila ne-HIV. / KGUTSUFATSO Mmuso wa Afrika Borwa o fana ka Dithuso tsa Nakwana ho batho tshwerweng ke HIV le ba Koafetseng ho ba thusa ka tjhelete nakong eo ba sa sebetseng ka lebaka la ho tshwarwa ke HIV le ho koafala. Sekgahla sa kokwana se bakile bothata ba ho hloka mesebetsi ka hara batho ba batsho ka hara Afrika Borwa. Maikemisetso a dipatlisiso tsena ke ho hlahloba diphephetso tseo batho ba phelang ka HIV ba kopanang le tsona nakong eo Dithuso tsa Nakwana tsa ho Kowafala di felang dibakeng tsa seka-ditoropo Gauteng. Dithuso tsa Nakwana tsa ho kowafala di fihla pheletsong ka moea dikgwedi tse tsheletseng ka mora ho di fumantshwa. Di-inthavu tse tebileng di ile tsa tshwarwa le batho ba phelang ka HIV bao e leng ditho tsa sehlopha se tshehetsang sa Ekupholeni Mental Health and Trauma Centre. Manollo ya mookotaba o ile wa sebediswa bakeng sa ho sekaseka lesedi. Tse fumanweng ka hara dipatlisiso tsena di hlahisa hore ho fela ha Dithuso tsa Nakwana tsa Ditjhelete di ama tsamaisong ya malapa a batho ba phelang ka HIV, di baka taolo e fokolang ya bohloko, ho se ikamahanye le phekolo ho etsang hore bohloko bo kgutle hape, phepo e sa lokang e bakwang ke tjhelete e nyane. Tse fumanwanwang ka hara dipatlisiso tsena ke tsa bohlokwa bakeng sa hore maano a shejwe hape mabapi le hore e k aba nako e kae moo mokudi a lokelang ho fumantshwa thuso, mmoho le tsela e sebediswang ho etsa kopo ya dithuso tsa bokowa, le ho kgothalletsa batho ba phelang ka HIV hore ba iqalle manane a temo bakeng sa phepelo ya dijo. Ho feta moo, ho kgothaletsa ho hlahiswa ha Dithuso tsa Mahloko a sa foleng (Chronic Desease Grant) bakeng sa batho ba phelang ka HIV. MANTSWE A SEHLOOHO Bokowa, dithuso tsa bokowa, baamohedi ba dithuso tsa bokowa, batho ba phelang ka HIV le AIDS, ho fela ha dithuso tsa bokowa le phekolo ka dipidisi tsa anthiritrovaerale. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV and AIDS))

The US Bureau of the Census (1999) projected that by 2004, 14 million people in sub-Saharan Africa will develop full blown AIDS, making this region by far the largest disease burden in the world (World Health Organization, 2002). The United Nations AIDS Programme judged South Africa to have the leading number of people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2002). To date there has been extensive research conducted on the socio-economic impacts of HIV/AIDS on families in Africa. However an area of investigation that has remained largely underreported is the inquiry into the psychological impacts of HIV/AIDS on elderly caregivers. In African families older women increasingly have to provide care to their adult children with AIDS and their orphaned grandchildren. However few research studies have assessed the experience of parental caregiving and its psychological impacts on these women. This qualitative research study hypothesised that the role of primary parental caregiver in fact causes a range of psychologically distressing states, which serve to compromise the psychological well-being of these caregivers. To investigate this hypothesis three Xhosa speaking women living in informal settlements in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were selected for the study. The women were interviewed by means of semi-structured interviews, which consisted of questions related to their caregiving experiences, their experiences of loss, their choice of coping strategies, the role of support networks and their experiences of foster care responsibilities. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using a grounded hermeneutic approach. The research results confirmed the working hypothesis. The research revealed that although it was considered culturally appropriate for older women to care for their children and grandchildren, their caregiver roles caused significant psychological distress. Their distress was related to: emotional and physical exhaustion, complicated grief reactions and ongoing emotional and physical upheaval related to foster care responsibilities. Based on the results, the research recommendations emphasised the need for continual awareness of the psychological implications of caregiving for older African women with the aim to preserve their capacity to function as the primary caring resource to families struck by HIV/AIDS.

The study was an exploration of how internal savings and lending (ISAL) influenced the way in which persons affected by HIV and AIDS earned and spent income. The researcher engaged with the life stories of participants belonging to HIV and AIDS support groups that practised ISAL in rural Bikita district in Zimbabwe. The negative changes brought about by HIV and AIDS were found to influence the way participants generated and spent their income. The initial illness of family members reduced the participation in productive activities of the ill and family members providing care. Compounding effects included reduced attention to and increasing abandonment of productive activities, reduction in the scale of production, the use of inappropriate inputs, forced disposal of assets, increased household debts, reliance on social networks, and dependence on begging and piecework for income. The low productivity from activities meant that households generated less produce and income. This triggered changes in the prioritisation of spending, with healthcare and associated transportation needs superseding all, followed by spending on food. Expenses that were not prioritised during the period of illness included the purchase of improved agricultural inputs, spending on education and clothing and, in some cases, food purchases. In the findings, ISAL is associated with restoring past and starting up new productive and income-generating activities. Regular access to loans allowed storytellers to invest in activities that improved the levels and frequency of income that they earned. Loans were used to directly cover daily family needs, reducing reliance on risky coping mechanisms. Lump sum payments and bulk grocery purchases helped storytellers to invest and manage their cashflow. Overall, households that practised ISAL improved and increased their incomes and ability to spend on healthcare and satisfy other daily needs to levels similar to and better than those experienced before they had to cope with the effects of HIV and AIDS. Recommendations from the study include enabling persons testing HIV positive to access social protection, adapted agriculture technologies and financial education tailored to those affected by HIV and AIDS. Areas for potential further research include a quantitative and qualitative analysis of income and expenditure changes for persons affected by HIV and AIDS and the effects on children of dropping out and being re-enrolled at school. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology) (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV and AIDS)) / 1 online resource (ix, 153 pages)

This study was a situation analysis of the socio-economic conditions of orphans and vulnerable children in Dessie Town. Specifically the study assessed the educational attainment, economic status, social isolation, adjustment, discrimination and psycho-social status of OVCs, the characteristics of the care-givers of OVCs and the support systems for OVCs. Therefore, 270 OVCs, 130 guardians and 4 OVCs service-providing organisations were selected as respondents. A survey research design was used. The study found that OVCs and their households faced problems such as school dropout, low educational performance; economic and food insecurity, lack of adequate clothing; social isolation and emotional hardships due to separation of siblings; discrimination, and neglect. Children’s housing conditions, toilet facilities, and access to clean water and health facilities were poor. The majority of guardians were unemployed and unable to fulfil the needs of the OVCs in their care. It is recommended that support systems for OVCs be strengthened. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

The researcher investigated the knowledge, attitudes and experiences of people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) towards antiretroviral treatment (ART) and who are accessing antiretroviral treatment at a public health clinic in Limpopo, South Africa. A qualitative method was used. The research findings revealed five themes: experiences, social support, knowledge, attitudes, unemployment and economic themes of the study. Factors reported influencing optimum adherence were the inability of the patients to take medication at work, laziness of the patients to collect medication, unemployment, economic hardship, poverty and lack of knowledge of employers regarding HIV/AIDS. / Health Studies / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV and AIDS)

Background and purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine the costs incurred on the average length of stay (ALOS) on patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related illnesses admitted in hospital and whether there are any other significant costs involved. Method. A quantitative approach was used to collect data; analysed; interpretation and report writing. Purposive sampling and data collection was done using data collection sheet. This was a retrospective cost analysis data from in-patients records (record review) of ages from 15 years to 49 years both gender. Data analysis and presentation of information was presented by the use of tables; different types of graphs and the interpretation thereof. Results. The study found that males (63%) with HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) related illnesses had longer average length of stay in a hospital compared to females. However, females illustrated higher in-patient costs but majority of patients had costs of between R0–R17 500. Patients with longer hospital stay (>3 days of hospitalisation) had higher in-patient costs. Conclusion. The findings also showed that in-patient care costs were directly proportional to length of stay with higher costs for HIV and AIDS patient management care. Our findings are consistent with other studies regarding higher economic implications of care for HIV infected persons being almost as twice as people who are HIV negative due to longer periods of hospitalisation. / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health)

Livelihood stressors in southern Africa, such as HIV/Aids and climate change, do not act in isolation but rather interact concurrently in complex socio-ecological systems with diverse, interrelated and compounded affects. Households experience differential vulnerability to such stressors based on contextual factors such as geographical location, income level and the gender and age of its members. Households’ differential experiences of vulnerability are further defined by the households’ use of their capital stocks: the human, social, natural, financial and physical capital available to the household to form livelihoods and resist the detrimental effects of a stressor. The capital stocks of 340 households were measured in two sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, using a household survey. These data were analysed to determine differences between the sites, households with heads of different gender and households of different income levels. Further data relating to the drivers and interactions of stressors over temporal and spatial scales, as well as the perceived value of various forms of capital by different social groups in the two sites, were collected via Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) methods including timelines, mental modelling and pair-wise ranking. Although the two sites have similar levels of income and fall within the same province, many significant differences emerged. The two sites showed different distributions of household head genders and different stressors and perceptions of vulnerability, perhaps owing to differences in their capital stocks, acting alongside the influence of culture and access on a shifting rural-urban continuum. These discrepancies further transpired to reflect crucial differential experiences along gender lines and income levels in each site. Vulnerability was often context specific, not only because of unique drivers of stress in different areas, but also because socio-economic groups and localities often had characteristics that could potentially exacerbate vulnerability, as well as characteristics that can potentially facilitate adaptive capacity. Stressors were found to have depleted multiple forms of capital over time, while new stressors were emerging, raising concerns over the most appropriate means of social protection within these contexts.

Climate change and the HIV/AIDS epidemic are two of the most critical long-term global challenges, especially for Africa and even more so Southern Africa. There is great concern that the poor will be unable to adapt to the impacts of climate variability and change while HIV/AIDS will exacerbate the impacts of such stressors and deepen the insecurities of many communities already affected by this disease. Studies that consider the interlinked effects of climate change and HIV/AIDS along with other multiple stressors are increasingly needed. This study, located in two rural communities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, namely Lesseyton and Willowvale, assessed the responses of vulnerable households to the linked shocks and stressors of climate change and HIV/AIDS. This involved assessing, through household surveys, life history interviews and Participatory Learning and Action (PLA), the way in which multiple stressors interacted and affected vulnerable households, the way in which these households responded to and coped with such shocks and stressors, and the barriers which prevented them from coping and adapting effectively. Unemployment emerged as the dominant stress amongst households. The lack of development and having too few opportunities for employment has limited vulnerable households from being able to invest in assets, such as education or farming equipment. This, in combination with the impacts of increased food and water insecurity from recent drought, has created an extremely vulnerable environment for these households. They rely largely on two important safety-nets, namely social capital and the use of natural and cultivated resources; however the latter has been limited due to the impacts of water scarcity and an inability to farm. It was evident that there was little planned long-term adaptation amongst households and from government. Maladaptive short-term coping strategies, such numerous household members depending on one social grant and transactional sex, were too often relied upon, and although they may have helped relieve the stress of shocks momentarily, they did not provide for the long-term well-being of individuals and households. Poor communication and capacity between the different levels of government and between the government (especially at the local level) and the two rural communities has created an environment full of uncertainty and lacking in advocacy. Local government needs increased human, informational, and financial capacity and a clear delegation of responsibilities amongst the different departments in order for the two communities to benefit from the implementation of support strategies. There is also a great need for educational programmes and capacity development within the two rural communities, particularly based on improved coping and longer-term adaptation strategies in response to climate change in order for households to better prepare themselves for the future.