HEALTH strongECONOMICSstrong OF HIV IN strongRURALstrong INDIA - AIFO Italy.pdfVIP

Asia Pacific Disability Rehabilitation Journal HEALTH ECONOMICS OF HIV IN RURAL INDIA S. Sabhesan,* S. Parthasarathy** ABSTRACT Like in most chronic illnesses, economic stability is a major anchor to continued compliance in HIV treatment and follow-up. The affected male is usually the major breadwinner. Number of man-days lost by the affected person and the caretaker, expenses due to treatment and related issues, physical and emotional consequences on family members, magico-religious approaches, trials with undocumented alternate systems of medicines and other unwarranted approaches cause an immense burden on the meagre resources of the family. In a study of families of 30 male HIV affected persons with a longitudinal clinical follow-up, evaluation of health- behaviour, attitude of the family members, burden on the family and financial coping as an unit was done using standard methods. Results indicated that nuclear families with a single earning member suffered the most. Financial status and family attitudes were significant factors in decision-making. The burden experienced by the families, including the financial burden, was a function of length of sickness, the clinical staging of the illness, nature and extent of complications and presence of behavioural sequelae. The results showed that simple psycho-educational methods and therapeutic family inter