Browsing by Author "Mugisha, Joseph"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Despondency Among HIV-Positive Older Men and Women in Uganda
    (Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 2012) Wright, Stuart; Zalwango, Flavia; Seeley, Janet; Mugisha, Joseph; Scholten, Francien
    Forty people over 60 years of age took part in longitudinal research over the course of a year on the impact of the HIVepidemic 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 HIVand older carers in Uganda deserve greater attention
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Experiences of HIV-related stigma among HIV-positive older persons in Uganda – a mixed methods analysis
    (Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, 2014) Kuteesaa, Monica O.; Wright, Stuart; Seeley, Janet; Mugisha, Joseph; Kinyanda, Eugene; Kakembo, Frederick; Mwesigwa, Richard; Scholten, Francis
    There is limited data on stigma among older HIV-infected adults in sub-Saharan Africa. We describe the experiences of stigma and disclosure in a cohort of HIV-positive older people in Uganda. Using data from the Wellbeing of Older Peoples’ Study of Kalungu (rural site) and Wakiso district (peri-urban site) residents, we measured self-reported stigma levels for 183 respondents (94 on antiretroviral therapy (ART); 88, not on ART) using a stigma score generated using three questions on stigma perceptions where 0 meant no stigma at all and 100 was maximum stigma. Based on two questions on disclosure, an overall score was computed. High disclosure was assigned to those who often or very often disclosed to the family and were never or seldom afraid to disclose elsewhere. We examined the experiences of HIV stigma of 25 adults (52% females) using semi-structured, open-ended interviews and monthly oral diaries over one year. Mean age of the respondents was 70 years (range 60–80 years) and 80% of all respondents were enrolled in ART. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic content analysis. Overall, 55% of respondents had a high disclosure score, meaning they disclosed easily, and 47% had a high stigma score. The stigma scores were similar among those with high and low disclosure scores. In multivariate analyses with disclosure and stigma scores as dependent variables none of the respondents’ characteristics had a significant effect at the 5% level. Qualitative data revealed that stigma ranges from: (1) perceptions (relatively passive, but leading to behaviour such as gossip, especially if not intended maliciously); to (2) discriminatory behaviour (active or enacted stigma; from malicious gossip to outright discrimination). Despite the relatively high levels of disclosure, older people suffer from high levels of stigma of various forms apart from HIVrelated stigma. Efforts to assess for different forms of stigma at an individual level deserve greater attention from service providers and researchers, and must be context specific.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Health, wellbeing, and disability among older people infected or affected by HIV in Uganda and South Africa
    (Informa UK Limited, 2013-01-23) Nyirenda, Makandwe; Newell, Marie-Louise; Mugisha, Joseph; Mutevedzi, Portia C.; Seeley, Janet; Scholten, Francien; Kowal, Paul
    Abstract Objective : To describe and compare the health status, emotional wellbeing, and functional status of older people in Uganda and South Africa who are HIV infected or affected by HIV in their families. Methods : Data came from the general population cohort and Entebbe cohort of the Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute, and from the Africa Centre Demographic Information System through cross-sectional surveys in 2009/10 using instruments adapted from the World Health Organization (WHO) Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (SAGE). Analysis was based on 932 people aged 50 years or older (510 Uganda, 422 South Africa). Results : Participants in South Africa were slightly younger (median age − 60 years in South Africa, 63 in Uganda), and more were currently married, had no formal education, were not working, and were residing in a rural area. Adjusting for socio-demographic factors, older people in South Africa were significantly less likely to have good functional ability [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.72, 95% CI 0.53–0.98] than those in Uganda, but were more likely to be in good subjective wellbeing (aOR 2.15, 95% CI 1.60–2.90). South Africans were more likely to be obese (aOR 5.26, 95% CI 3.46–8.00) or to be diagnosed with hypertension (aOR 2.77, 95% CI 2.06–3.73). Discussion and conclusions : While older people's health problems are similar in the two countries, marked socio-demographic differences influence the extent to which older people are affected by poorer health. It is therefore imperative when designing policies to improve the health and wellbeing of older people in sub-Saharan Africa that the region is not treated as a homogenous entity.