Delayed Disclosure of HIV Status and Lack of Resources Affect Older Persons during Care of Adult Family Members with AIDS-Related Illness in Rural Mpumalanga, South Africa

Table 1

Sociodemographic, health, and caring characteristics of older persons.

Variables	Categories	Frequency	Percentage
Age group	62–69	19	61.3
	70–82	12	38.7
Education attainment	No formal schooling	15	48.4
	Primary education	13	41.9
	Secondary education	3	9.7
Age of sick adults cared for	20–30 years	10	32.3
	31–35 years	5	16.1
	36–52 years	8	25.8
	Do not know	8	25.8
Sex of adult child with AIDS-related illness	Female	21	70
	Male	9	30
Number of sick adults cared for	1	26	83.87
	2	4	12.9
	3	1	3.23
Duration of care for sick adults	Less than a year	15	48.4
	1-2 years	6	19.4
	>2 years	7	25.8
	Do not remember	2	6.4
Outcome of care for sick adults	Died	24	80.0
	Alive	6	20.0
Knew about risk of HIV infection during care	No	17	54.8
	Yes	14	45.2
Knew about the use of gloves during care	No	16	51.6
	Yes	15	48.4
Used gloves during care	No	17	56.7
	Yes	13	43.3
Number people depending on older person	1–5 persons	22	73.3
	>5 persons	8	26.7
Skipped a meal in the past month	No	16	51.6
	Yes	15	48.4
Went to bed hungry in the past month	No	17	54.8
	Yes	14	45.2
Spending pattern of older persons	Food	14	45.2
	Food and medication	3	9.7
	Food and funeral policy	9	29.0
	Food and electricity	5	16.1
Child support grant for grandchildren	No	8	30.8
	Yes	18	69.2
Knowledge on caring for sick adults with HIV/AIDS	I do not have knowledge	14	45.16
	I have adequate knowledge	8	25.81
	I need information	9	29.03
Self-reported health status	Good health	12	38.7
	Poor health	19	61.3
Effects of caring on health	Did not affect health	13	41.9
	Affected health	18	58.1