Archives
The Socioeconomic Impact of Antiretroviral Treatment on Individuals in Soweto, South Africa
Varsha Chhagan
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
John Luiz
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Lerato Mohapi
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
James McIntyre
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Neil Martinson
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Abstract
This research explores the short-term socioeconomic effect of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in HIV positive patients attending the Perinatal HIV Research Unit clinics in Soweto, South Africa.
An overall increase in mean personal and household income following commencement of ART was noted. Mean personal income rose 53% over baseline income. A decrease in the number of meals missed in households was noted in 10% of the sample. The leading themes regarding income were change in employment status and social grants.
Antiretroviral treatment increased the capacity to seek employment and unemployed individuals were actively searching for work. Patients noted an improvement in well-being, with fewer to no episodes of illness, and improved quality of life from three months after starting ART. The empirical evidence suggests that individuals gain substantial benefits from being on ART despite the socioeconomic challenges in South Africa.
Keywords
HIV/AIDS, South Africa, health sociology, socioeconomic impact, antiretroviral treatment
References
Abt Associates (2002) Hitting Home: How Households Cope With the Impact of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. Kaiser Family Foundation and Trust for Health Systems: Cape Town.
Bachmann MO and Booysen FLR (2003) Health and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on South African households: A cohort study. BMC Public Health 3: 14.
Bachmann MO and Booysen FLR (2004) Relationships between HIV/AIDS, income and expenditure over time in deprived South African households. AIDS Care 16: 817–826.
Barnett T and Whiteside A (2002) AIDS in the Twenty-first Century: Disease and Globalization. Palgrave Macmillan: New York.
Booysen FR, Bachmann M, Van Rensburg HCJ, Engelbrecht M, Steyen F and Meyer K (2002) The Socioeconomic Impact of HIV/AIDS on Households in South Africa: Pilot Study in Welkom and Qwaqwa. USAID: Geneva.
Cleary S, Boulle A, McIntyre D and Coetzee D (2004) Cost-effectiveness of Antiretroviral Treatment for HIV Positive Adults in a South African Township. University of Cape Town Health Systems Trust: Cape Town.
Department of Health (2005) National Antiretroviral Treatment Guidelines. Jacana: Pretoria.
Department of Social Development (2006) Types of Grants and their Qualifying Requirements. Department of Social Development, Pretoria.
Desmond C, Michael K and Gow J (2000) The Hidden Battle: HIV/AIDS in the Family and Community. University of Natal: Durban.
EMHF (2005) European HIV Quality of Life Review 2004 – 2005. EMHF: Brussels. Accessed 22 May 2008 at: http://www.emhf.org/resource_images/HIVsurveyfinalresults.pdf
Evian C (2000) Primary AIDS Care, 3rd edn. Jacana Education: Houghton.
Grierson JW, Pitts MK and Thorpe RD (2007) State of the (positive) nation: Findings from the fourth national Australian HIV Futures Survey. International Journal of STD and AIDS 18: 622–625.
Hardy C and Richter M (2005) Disability grant or antiretroviral therapy? A grim choice for people with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. Aids Analysis Africa Online. Accessed 7 September 2006 at: http://www.metropolitan.co.za
Larson BA, Fox MP, Rosen S, Bii M, Sigei C, Shaffer D, Sawe F, Wasunna M and Simon JL (2008) Early effects of antiretroviral therapy on work performance: Preliminary results from a cohort study of Kenyan agricultural workers. AIDS 22: 421–425.
Love R (2004) HIV/AIDS in Africa: Links, livelihoods and legacies. Review of African Political Economy 102: 639–648.
Morris CN, Burdge DR and Cheevers EJ (2000) Economic impact of HIV Infection in a cohort of male sugar mill workers in South Africa. South African Journal of Economics 68: 933–946.
Naidu V and Harris G (2005) The impact of HIV/AIDS morbidity and mortality on households: A review of households studies. South African Journal of Economics 73: 533–544.
Nattrass N (2004) AIDS and the Disability Grant: Future Reasons for Introducing a Basic Income Grant in South Africa. University of Cape Town: Cape Town.
Oni SA, Obi C, Okorie A, Thabede D and Jordon A (2002) The Economic impact of HIV/AIDS on rural households in Limpopo Province. South African Journal of Economics 70: 1173–1191.
Rier D (2007) The impact of moral suasion on internet HIV/AIDS support groups: Evidence from a discussion of seropositivity disclosure ethics. Health Sociology Review 16: 237–47.
Russell S, Seeley J, Ezati E, Wamai N, Were W and Bunnell R (2007) Coming back from the dead: Living with HIV as a chronic condition in rural Africa. Health Policy and Planning 22: 344–347.
Statistics South Africa (2007) Labour Force Survey September 2006. Statistics South Africa: Pretoria.
UNAIDS/WHO (2005) AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2005. UNAIDS/WHO: Geneva.
Wagner G, Ryan G and Taylor S (2007) Formative evaluation of antiretroviral therapy scale-up efficiency in Sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 21: 871–888.
Wood E, Montaner JSG, Bangsberg DR, Tyndall MW, Strathdee SA, O’Shaughnessy MVO and Hogg RS (2003) Expanding access to HIV antiretroviral therapy among marginalized populations in the developed world. AIDS 17: 2419–2427.
Xu J, Sullivan SG, Dou Z, Wu Z and the China CIPRA Project 2 Team (2007) Economic stress and HIV-associated health care utilization in a rural region of China: A qualitative study. AIDS Patient Care and STDs 21: 787–797.
eContent Home