HIV/AIDS Disease burden and the elderly population in the North West Region of Cameroon

Investigators: Perpetua Tanyi Lum, PI.

Description:

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Rationale for the Study
A major challenge facing African family system today is the increasing burden of HIV/AIDS on the elderly in the African households.The high proportions of the elderly affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic are the parents of those who are infected, who are symptomatic, or who have died (Ory, Riley, & Zablotsky, 1989). Parents of people with AIDS (PWA’s) reside in every region of the world; they span several generations and have a variety of religions, political affiliations, and cultural heritages (Knodel John 2008).

UNAIDS (2008) reported a prevalence rate of 8.7% among adults in Cameroon alone. Adults who die because of HIV/AIDS may also have children who are affected as a result. For instance, at the end of 2008, Cameroon had approximately 1,200,000 orphans because of HIV/AIDS. The issue here is that HIV/AIDS is ravaging a cohort of people aged 19 to 49 and leaving small children desolate and parents destitute. Consequently, as noted by Will (2006), HIV/AIDS may produce an Africa of very old and very young people. There is a reduction in the labor force, an increase in care giving years, economic drain, and psychological depression because of the high mortality and morbidity rate associated with HIV/AIDS scourge within the economically active population.

The situation of HIV/AIDS in Cameroon is getting worse. Since the first case of HIV/AIDS was diagnosed in Cameroon in 1985, the disease has systematically spread across the entire Cameroon society affecting mostly the younger men and women aged 19 – 49 years in urban and rural areas. In Cameroon, it is estimated that by 2010 over one million two hundred thousand (1,200,000) children will have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS, 2008). More children live in households with sick and dying family members. Although not yet orphaned, these children also suffer from the effects of HIV/AIDS. In Cameroon, HIV/AIDS is generating orphans so quickly that family structure might no longer cope (UNAIDS 2008).

Extensive amounts of research on the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been carried out in Cameroon but relatively few studies have focused on its effects on the elderly. The “big” question is how aware is the Government, of the HIV/AIDS burden on the elderly and what plans exist to mitigate the burden on the elderly population?

The general objective of the study is to examine the burden of HIV/AIDS on the elderly population in the North West Region of Cameroon. In line with the specific objectives of the study are,

1. To identify the factors associated with the transmission of HIV/AIDS in the North West Region in Cameroon
2. To assess the social, psychological, and economics effects of HIV/AIDS on the older population of the North West Region of Cameroon.
3. To ascertain the reaction of community members towards people with HIV/AIDS and also towards parents of HIV/AIDS patients.
4. To assess the extent to which the HIV/AIDS epidemic has affected the elderly population in the North West Region of Cameroon.
5. To recommend ways of supporting the elderly population during this period of HIV/AIDS epidemic in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Study Design

The cross sectional survey design was adopted for data collection (Obikeze, 1992). The survey design aimed at collecting data from a large population at one point in time and gave an opportunity for the study to employ a comparative approach in examining the similarities and differences in intergenerational roles for households affected with HIV/AIDS and those not affected thereby ascertaining the burden of HIV/AIDS on the elderly population in Cameroon.

Coverage: Cameroon.