IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v63y2006i12p3174-3187.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Stigma, fatigue and social breakdown: Exploring the impacts of HIV/AIDS on patient and carer well-being in the Caprivi Region, Namibia

Author

Listed:
  • Thomas, Felicity

Abstract

It is generally assumed that caring is a substantial burden upon households afflicted by HIV/AIDS. However, as a 'private' household responsibility, little is known about the experiences of either those who provide the care, or those receiving care, despite the fact that the process may extend over several years and may have a greater impact upon the livelihood security and well-being of the household than the actual death of the ill person. Drawing upon data collected through solicited diaries, this paper explores how illness and the daily and long-term duties of caring amongst a sample of households in the Caprivi Region of Namibia impacts upon the physical and psychological well-being of ill people and their carers. While optimism and enhanced well-being were recorded during periods of illness remission, AIDS-related illnesses invariably result in periods of sickness and dependency. This results in disempowerment and lowered self-esteem, and decreased well-being amongst ill people. This paper argues that the increasing dependency of the ill person, widespread pressure to maintain household integrity through 'seeing for yourself', i.e. being self-sufficient, or at least contributing to reciprocal support networks, and the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS can result in considerable intra-household tension and breakdown of key social support networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas, Felicity, 2006. "Stigma, fatigue and social breakdown: Exploring the impacts of HIV/AIDS on patient and carer well-being in the Caprivi Region, Namibia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 3174-3187, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:63:y:2006:i:12:p:3174-3187
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277-9536(06)00418-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Davies, Michele L., 1997. "Shattered assumptions: Time and the experience of long-term HIV positivity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(5), pages 561-571, March.
    2. Milligan, Christine & Bingley, Amanda & Gatrell, Anthony, 2005. "Digging deep: Using diary techniques to explore the place of health and well-being amongst older people," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 1882-1892, November.
    3. Alonzo, Angelo A. & Reynolds, Nancy R., 1995. "Stigma, HIV and AIDS: An exploration and elaboration of a stigma trajectory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 303-315, August.
    4. Bond, Virginia & Chase, Elaine & Aggleton, Peter, 2002. "Stigma, HIV/AIDS and prevention of mother-to-child transmission in Zambia," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 347-356, November.
    5. H. Elliott, 1997. "The Use of Diaries in Sociological Research on Health Experience," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 2(2), pages 38-48, June.
    6. Dyck, Isabel, 1995. "Hidden geographies: The changing lifeworlds of women with multiple sclerosis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 307-320, February.
    7. Carolyn Baylies, 2002. "The Impact of AIDS on Rural Households in Africa: A Shock Like Any Other?," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 33(4), pages 611-632, September.
    8. Sarah White & Jethro Pettit, 2004. "Participatory Approaches and the Measurement of Human Well-being," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2004-57, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Lawrence Haddad & Stuart Gillespie, 2001. "Effective food and nutrition policy responses to HIV|AIDS: what we know and what we need to know," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 13(4), pages 487-511.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hejoaka, Fabienne, 2009. "Care and secrecy: Being a mother of children living with HIV in Burkina Faso," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 869-876, September.
    2. Liamputtong, Pranee & Haritavorn, Niphattra & Kiatying-Angsulee, Niyada, 2009. "HIV and AIDS, stigma and AIDS support groups: Perspectives from women living with HIV and AIDS in central Thailand," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(6), pages 862-868, September.
    3. Dako-Gyeke, Mavis, 2018. "Courtesy stigma: A concealed consternation among caregivers of people affected by leprosy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 190-196.
    4. Davis, Jenny L. & Goar, Carla & Manago, Bianca & Reidinger, Bobbi, 2018. "Distribution and disavowal: Managing the parental stigma of Children's weight and weight loss," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 61-69.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicola Ansell & Elsbeth Robson & Flora Hajdu & Lorraine van Blerk & Lucy Chipeta, 2009. "The new variant famine hypothesis," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 9(3), pages 187-207, July.
    2. Andrews, Gavin J. & Chen, Sandra & Myers, Samantha, 2014. "The ‘taking place’ of health and wellbeing: Towards non-representational theory," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 210-222.
    3. Russell, Steven & Seeley, Janet, 2010. "The transition to living with HIV as a chronic condition in rural Uganda: Working to create order and control when on antiretroviral therapy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 375-382, February.
    4. Crooks, Valorie A., 2007. "Exploring the altered daily geographies and lifeworlds of women living with fibromyalgia syndrome: A mixed-method approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(3), pages 577-588, February.
    5. Brown, Christopher J. & Markusson, Nils, 2019. "The responses of older adults to smart energy monitors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 218-226.
    6. Jenny Hislop & Sara Arber & Rob Meadows & Sue Venn, 2005. "Narratives of the Night: The Use of Audio Diaries in Researching Sleep," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 10(4), pages 13-25, December.
    7. Kaiser, Karen, 2008. "The meaning of the survivor identity for women with breast cancer," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 79-87, July.
    8. Shubin, Sergei & Rapport, Frances & Seagrove, Anne, 2015. "Complex and dynamic times of being chronically ill: Beyond disease trajectories of patients with ulcerative colitis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 105-112.
    9. Oliver Laasch & Dirk C. Moosmayer & Frithjof Arp, 2020. "Responsible Practices in the Wild: An Actor-Network Perspective on Mobile Apps in Learning as Translation(s)," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 253-277, January.
    10. Kwayu, Emmanuel J. & Sallu, Susannah M. & Paavola, Jouni, 2014. "Farmer participation in the equitable payments for watershed services in Morogoro, Tanzania," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 1-9.
    11. Jayne, Thomas S. & Villarreal, Marcela & Pingali, Prabhu L. & Hemrich, Gunter, 2004. "Interactions between the Agricultural Sector and the HIV/AIDS Pandemic: Implications for Agricultural Policy," ESA Working Papers 23804, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Agricultural Development Economics Division (ESA).
    12. Jane Aronson & Sheila M. Neysmith, 2001. "Manufacturing Social Exclusion in the Home Care Market," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 27(2), pages 151-165, June.
    13. Abbamonte, J.M. & Ramlagan, S. & Lee, T.K. & Cristofari, N.V. & Weiss, S.M. & Peltzer, K. & Sifunda, S. & Jones, D.L., 2020. "Stigma interdependence among pregnant HIV-infected couples in a cluster randomized controlled trial from rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    14. Rhodes, Tim & Bernays, Sarah & Terzic, Katarina Jankovic, 2009. "Medical promise and the recalibration of expectation: Hope and HIV treatment engagement in a transitional setting," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1050-1059, March.
    15. Nancy Worth, 2009. "Making Use of Audio Diaries in Research with Young People: Examining Narrative, Participation and Audience," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 14(4), pages 77-87, September.
    16. Pierret, Janine, 2007. "An analysis over time (1990-2000) of the experiences of living with HIV," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(8), pages 1595-1605, October.
    17. Hao Li & Ling Zheng & Hong Le & Lijun Zhuo & Qian Wu & Guoqing Ma & Hongbing Tao, 2020. "The Mediating Role of Internalized Stigma and Shame on the Relationship between COVID-19 Related Discrimination and Mental Health Outcomes among Back-to-School Students in Wuhan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.
    18. Vera Amicarelli & Christian Bux, 2021. "Food waste in Italian households during the Covid-19 pandemic: a self-reporting approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 25-37, February.
    19. Kenneth Harttgen, 2007. "The Impact of HIV on Children´s Welfare," Ibero America Institute for Econ. Research (IAI) Discussion Papers 157, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research.
    20. Gebreselassie, Kidist & Wesseler, Justus & van Ierland, Ekko C., 2007. "The Effect of HIV/AIDS Driven Labor Organization on Agrobiodiversity: an Empirical Study in Ethiopia," 106th Seminar, October 25-27, 2007, Montpellier, France 7929, European Association of Agricultural Economists.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:63:y:2006:i:12:p:3174-3187. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.