Francien Scholten
Independent Consultant,
Related Interests
Health and aging in general.
Impact of AIDS on older people and how these can be translated into better health services.
Projects
Current research project to describe the roles, health problems (physical and emotional) and social wellbeing of older people who have adult children infected or dead due to HIV/AIDS, with special attention to the effects of the introduction of ARV therapy in Uganda.
Completed projects have included development of a toolkit for an integrated approach to meet the needs of orphans and vulnerable children and their caretakers, with special reference to older caretakers in Kwimba district, Tanzania. The toolkit also aims to be useful for government staff working at the subdistrict level and civil society organizations, including non-government organizations and community-based organizations.
Related Projects
This study aims to contribute to the evidence base to guide the development and implementation of health programmes to meet older people's needs, especially those who have offspring infected or dead due to HIV/AIDS. This study will undertake to describes the roles and health issues of older people (55 years and older) who have offspring infected or dead due to HIV/AIDS. It will also investigate the effects of the introduction of ART on this sub-population. What are the effects of HIV/AIDS and its treatment on the (physical and mental) health status of older people? What are the effects on the income and social situation? What are the family tasks and responsibilities of older people who have offspring infected or dead due to HIV/AIDS and how do they differ from those of older people who do not have offspring infected or dead due to HIV/AIDS? One of the goals is to have a better understanding of the impact of the AIDS epidemic on the overall health of older people. The study will compare health and well/being among older people in three groups of respondents. These include older people whose child has died from AIDS, older people with a child on ARV therapy and a comparison group not affected by AIDS. Data collection will include objective health assessment, an individual, household and in-depth interviews. Field work is expected to take place during 2008.
Related Publications
Floyd S, Marston M, Hosegood V, Scholten F, and Zaba B. 2005. "HIV and Orphanhood, Final Report on Phase 3." UNICEF .
Scholten F. 2005. "Toolkit: Participatory needs assessment and response planning for orphans and their families, for NGO TANESA ‘Tanzania Essential Strategies Against AIDS” ." UNICEF and Community REACH/USAID .