Abstract
Forty people over 60 years of age took part in longitudinal research over the course of a year on the impact of the HIV epidemic in southern Uganda. In this paper we focus mainly on the data from 26 of the 40 who were HIV-positive. While we observed that feelings of depression were frequently experienced by many of the people in our study, the state of ‘being depressed’ was not constant. Participants regularly expressed economic frustration (because of a lack of money to buy food and other commodities including sugar and soap); medical problems (including those related to HIV) as well as old age, the burden of dependents (including concerns about school fees for grandchildren), feelings of sadness and isolation, and a lack of support from others, as well as stigma, whether real or perceived. However, while worries, sorrow and despondent thoughts were reported in many of the interviews across the study, moods fluctuated moving from happiness and hope, to sadness and despair, from month to month. Concerns regarding the psychological wellbeing amongst older people, including those living with HIV and older carers in Uganda deserve greater attention.
Highlights
Grace was in despair, her eyesight was so poor she was having problems lighting her small lamp—she asked her 14 year old granddaughter to help herS
While this paper focuses on the findings from the qualitative research, a starting point for discussion on depression and wellbeing is provided by the quantitative data collected from the participants
The quantitative study identified factors significantly associated with depression, including socio-demographic factors, medical illnesses, biological markers, and psychosocial factors
Summary
Grace (aged 72 years) was in despair, her eyesight was so poor she was having problems lighting her small lamp—she asked her 14 year old granddaughter to help her. Grace lives in rural southern Uganda, not far from one of the main towns but her home is very isolated down a long bumpy mud road She lives with her 90 year old husband who is deaf, blind and incontinent and her orphaned granddaughter. In our story above, faced many challenges in accessing support and she had many reasons to ‘feel blue’ as she struggled to support her husband and herself, she could not control her granddaughter and she continued to grieve for her son She was infected with HIV and worried constantly about her deteriorating health and the challenges of accessing care. This paper is based on the data from a longitudinal qualitative study of HIV and older people in Uganda, which was embedded within a cross-sectional study with 510 older people living in southern Uganda. Mental health issues affect the individuals themselves, and have serious implications for the wellbeing of dependent children—grandchildren and others—with potential repercussions beyond the lifespan of the older people with whom this study is primarily concerned (Foster 2000)
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