IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v113y2014icp161-168.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

They are not always a burden: Older people and child fostering in Uganda during the HIV epidemic

Author

Listed:
  • Kasedde, Susan
  • Doyle, Aoife M.
  • Seeley, Janet A.
  • Ross, David A.

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the role of older people (60 years and above) in fostering decisions for orphans and non-orphans within extended families in a rural Ugandan community heavily affected by HIV. Fieldwork conducted in 2006 provided information on the influence of HIV on fostering decisions through 48 individual in-depth interviews and two group interviews with foster-children and family members to develop detailed case studies related to 13 fostered adolescents. The adolescents included five non-orphans and eight orphans (five were double orphans because they had lost both parents). Older people play a very important role in fostering decisions as potential foster-parents, advisers, mediators and gatekeepers. They have a high level of authority over the foster-children, who are regarded as important resources within the extended family. With fewer potential caregivers available because of HIV-related deaths, the responsibility for fostering orphans has often fallen to surviving older people. Fostering is used by older people and the child's extended family as a strategy to ensure the welfare of the foster-child. When the foster-parent is an older person, it is also used to ensure physical and emotional support for the older person themselves. Support from the extended family towards foster households is widely reported to have been reduced by HIV by diminishing resources that would otherwise have been made available to support foster care. New initiatives and investment are required to complement community and family resources within well-managed social protection and welfare programmes. To be effective, such programmes will require adequate investment in administrative capacity and monitoring. They must aim to strengthen families and, recognizing that resources are limited, should prioritize the community's poorest households, rather than specifically targeting households with orphans or other foster-children.

Suggested Citation

  • Kasedde, Susan & Doyle, Aoife M. & Seeley, Janet A. & Ross, David A., 2014. "They are not always a burden: Older people and child fostering in Uganda during the HIV epidemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 161-168.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:113:y:2014:i:c:p:161-168
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614002895
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.05.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    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. Nyamukapa, Constance & Gregson, Simon, 2005. "Extended family's and women's roles in safeguarding orphans' education in AIDS-afflicted rural Zimbabwe," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(10), pages 2155-2167, May.
    2. Nyambedha, Erick Otieno & Wandibba, Simiyu & Aagaard-Hansen, Jens, 2001. "Policy implications of the inadequate support systems for orphans in Western Kenya," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 83-96, October.
    3. Serra, Renata, 2009. "Child fostering in Africa: When labor and schooling motives may coexist," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 157-170, January.
    4. Oleke, Christopher & Blystad, Astrid & Rekdal, Ole Bjørn, 2005. ""When the obvious brother is not there": Political and cultural contexts of the orphan challenge in northern Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 2628-2638, December.
    5. Cally Ardington & Murray Leibbrandt, 2010. "Orphanhood and Schooling in South Africa: Trends in the Vulnerability of Orphans between 1993 and 2005," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 58(3), pages 507-536, April.
    6. Nyambedha, Erick Otieno & Wandibba, Simiyu & Aagaard-Hansen, Jens, 2003. "Changing patterns of orphan care due to the HIV epidemic in western Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 301-311, July.
    7. Skovdal, Morten & Ogutu, Vincent O. & Aoro, Cellestine & Campbell, Catherine, 2009. "Young carers as social actors: Coping strategies of children caring for ailing or ageing guardians in Western Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 587-595, August.
    8. Madhavan, Sangeetha, 2004. "Fosterage patterns in the age of AIDS: continuity and change," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 1443-1454, April.
    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. Enid Schatz & Janet Seeley & Flavia Zalwango, 2018. "Intergenerational care for and by children: Examining reciprocity through focus group interviews with older adults in rural Uganda," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(63), pages 2003-2026.
    2. Caroline Masquillier & Edwin Wouters & Dimitri Mortelmans & Brian Van Wyk, 2015. "On the Road to HIV/AIDS Competence in the Household: Building a Health-Enabling Environment for People Living with HIV/AIDS," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Rwamahe Rutakumwa & Flavia Zalwango & Esther Richards & Janet Seeley, 2015. "Exploring the Care Relationship between Grandparents/Older Carers and Children Infected with HIV in South-Western Uganda: Implications for Care for Both the Children and Their Older Carers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    5. Cassandra Cotton, 2021. "An Enduring Institution? Child Fostering in Sub‐Saharan Africa," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1179-1206, December.
    6. Andrea Rishworth & Susan J. Elliott & Joseph Kangmennaang, 2020. "Getting Old Well in Sub Saharan Africa: Exploring the Social and Structural Drivers of Subjective Wellbeing among Elderly Men and Women in Uganda," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-18, March.

    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. Ariyo, Esther & Mortelmans, Dimitri & Wouters, Edwin, 2019. "The African child in kinship care: A systematic review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 178-187.
    2. Abebe, Tatek & Aase, Asbjorn, 2007. "Children, AIDS and the politics of orphan care in Ethiopia: The extended family revisited," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(10), pages 2058-2069, May.
    3. Lauren Gaydosh, 2015. "Childhood Risk of Parental Absence in Tanzania," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(4), pages 1121-1146, August.
    4. Monica Grant & Sara Yeatman, 2014. "The Impact of Family Transitions on Child Fostering in Rural Malawi," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(1), pages 205-228, February.
    5. Oleke, Christopher & Blystad, Astrid & Rekdal, Ole Bjørn, 2005. ""When the obvious brother is not there": Political and cultural contexts of the orphan challenge in northern Uganda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(12), pages 2628-2638, December.
    6. Thurman, Tonya Renee & Snider, Leslie A. & Boris, Neil W. & Kalisa, Edward & Nyirazinyoye, Laetitia & Brown, Lisanne, 2008. "Barriers to the community support of orphans and vulnerable youth in Rwanda," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(7), pages 1557-1567, April.
    7. Bose-Duker, Theophiline & Henry, Michael & Strobl, Eric, 2021. "Child fostering and the educational outcomes of Jamaican children," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Rachel Goldberg & Susan Short, 2012. "“The Luggage that isn’t Theirs is Too Heavy…”: Understandings of Orphan Disadvantage in Lesotho," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 31(1), pages 67-83, February.
    9. Karimli, Leyla & Ssewamala, Fred M. & Ismayilova, Leyla, 2012. "Extended families and perceived caregiver support to AIDS orphans in Rakai district of Uganda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1351-1358.
    10. Christopher Hearle & Kanchana Ruwanpura, 2009. "Contentious Care: Foster Care Grants and the Caregiver-Orphan Relationship in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(4), pages 423-437.
    11. El Badaoui, Eliane & Mangiavacchi, Lucia, 2018. "Fostering, Child Welfare, and Ethnic Cultural Values," IZA Discussion Papers 11691, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Ruth Evans, 2015. "HIV-related stigma, asset inheritance and chronic poverty: Vulnerability and resilience of widows and caregiving children and youth in Tanzania and Uganda," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 15(4), pages 326-342, October.
    13. Ice, Gillian H. & Sadruddin, Aalyia F.A. & Vagedes, Amy & Yogo, Jaja & Juma, Elizabeth, 2012. "Stress associated with caregiving: An examination of the stress process model among Kenyan Luo elders," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(12), pages 2020-2027.
    14. D. Omariba & Roderic Beaujot & Fernando Rajulton, 2007. "Determinants of infant and child mortality in Kenya: an analysis controlling for frailty effects," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 26(3), pages 299-321, June.
    15. Nyambedha, Erick Otieno, 2008. "Ethical dilemmas of social science research on AIDS and orphanhood in Western Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(5), pages 771-779, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Lauren Bachan, 2014. "Anticipatory child fostering and household economic security in Malawi," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(40), pages 1157-1188.
    18. Fournier, Bonnie & Bridge, Andrea & Pritchard Kennedy, Andrea & Alibhai, Arif & Konde-Lule, Joseph, 2014. "Hear our voices: A Photovoice project with children who are orphaned and living with HIV in a Ugandan group home," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 55-63.
    19. Aramide Kazeem & Leif Jensen, 2017. "Orphan status, school attendance, and relationship to household head in Nigeria," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(22), pages 659-690.
    20. Beegle, Kathleen & Filmer, Deon & Stokes, Andrew & Tiererova, Lucia, 2010. "Orphanhood and the Living Arrangements of Children in Sub-Saharan Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(12), pages 1727-1746, December.

    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:113:y:2014:i:c:p:161-168. 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.