The Impacts of HIV/AIDS on Older Populations in Developing Countries: Some Observations based upon the Thai Case (Revised June 2000)

We describe features of the older population and the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Thailand, and discuss potential links between them. We address both direct and indirect impacts of AIDS upon the Thai older population, but focus our discussion on how older persons could be indirectly affected by AIDS infections occurring among their adult children. We identify five major mechanisms through which these indirect effects can occur: via finances, health, time commitments, social relationships, and emotional status. We discuss factors that could affect the degree and the distribution of such impacts. We then propose a research agenda for exploring the impact of AIDS upon older persons in developing countries, drawing upon our current research project on this topic in Thailand. We suggest a number of substantive areas that warrant investigation, and discuss the advantages and weaknesses of a number of methodologies that could be used to pursue these topics.