Older Female Caregivers and HIV/AIDS-Related Secondary Stigma in Rural South Africa

Aim: To describe household change over a 10-year period of tremendous social, political, economic and health transformation in South Africa using data from the Agincourt health and demographic surveillance system in the rural northeast of South Africa. Methods: Examination of household structure and composition at three points: 1992, 1997, and 2003. These three years loosely represent conditions immediately before the elections (1992), short term post-elections (1997), and longer term (2003), and span a period of notable increase in HIV prevalence. Results: Average household size decreased and the proportion headed by females increased. The within-household dependency ratios for children and elders both decreased, as did the proportion of households containing foster children. The proportion with at least one maternal orphan doubled, but was still relatively small at 5.5%. Conclusions: This analysis is a starting point for future investigations aimed at explaining how HIV/AIDS and other sociocultural changes post-apartheid have impacted on household organization. The analysis shows both consistency and change in measures of household structure and composition between 1992 and 2003. The changes do not include an increase in various types of ``fragile families'', such as child-headed or skipped-generation households that might be expected due to HIV/AIDS.

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‘If the doctors see that they don't know how to cure the disease, they say it's AIDS’: How older women in rural South Africa make sense of the HIV/AIDS epidemic

African Journal of AIDS Research ◽

10.2989/16085906.2013.851719 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 95-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Enid Schatz ◽

Leah Gilbert ◽

Courtney McDonald

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Older Women ◽

Rural South ◽

Know How ◽

Aids Epidemic ◽

Rural South Africa ◽

Hiv Aids

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Effect of HIV/AIDS-related mortality on household dependency ratios in rural South Africa, 2000–2005

Population Studies ◽

10.1080/00324720802592784 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 37-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Sangeetha Madhavan ◽

Enid Schatz ◽

Benjamin Clark

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Rural South ◽

Dependency Ratios ◽

Rural South Africa ◽

Related Mortality ◽

Hiv Aids

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Household transitions in rural South Africa, 1996—2003

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1080/14034950701355429 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 35 (69_suppl) ◽

pp. 130-137 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Martin Wittenberg ◽

Mark A. Collinson

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Living Arrangements ◽

Surveillance System ◽

Transition Probabilities ◽

Rural South ◽

Single Person ◽

The Social ◽

System Data ◽

Rural South Africa ◽

Hiv Aids

Aims: To investigate changes in household structure in rural South Africa over the period 1996—2003, a period marked by politico-structural change and an escalating HIV/AIDS epidemic. In particular, the authors examine whether there is dissolution of extended family living arrangements. Methods: Data from the Agincourt demographic surveillance system, in rural north-eastern South Africa, and the rural sub-samples of selected nationally representative data sets were used to compare changes in the cross-sectional distribution of household types. Surveillance system data were further analysed to estimate the transition probabilities between household types. The latent pressures for change within the Agincourt area were analysed by projecting the household transition probabilities forward and comparing the projected steady-state distributions to the current distributions. Results: The national surveys show dramatic changes in the social structure in rural areas, particularly an increase in the importance of single person households. These trends are not confirmed in the surveillance system data. The national ``changes'' can possibly be ascribed to changes in sampling frames or household definitions. The transition probabilities within the Agincourt area show considerable changes between household types, despite a slower change in the aggregate distributions. The most important projected long-run changes are an increase in the proportion of three-generation linear households. ``Simpler'' household types such as single person households and nuclear households will become relatively less common. Conclusions: The structure of households is evolving under the pressure of social change and increased mortality due to HIV/AIDS. There is no evidence, however, that the social fabric is unravelling or that individuals are becoming increasingly isolated residentially.

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