Older Persons' AIDS Knowledge and Willingness to Provide Care in an Impoverished Nation: Evidence from Cambodia

The premise of this 18-page research document is, as stated by the authors: "One potentially effective route for the Government and NGOs [non-governmental organisations] to improve AIDS knowledge among Cambodian elderly generally - and to weaken the link between poverty and poor AIDS knowledge - would be to facilitate ownership of radios or televisions for those who do not have them." In this study of the knowledge levels of HIV/AIDS in older adult populations, the authors observe that older people have the potential to contribute to the effort of dealing with the epidemic both in areas of care and in prevention, due to their concern for the wellness of non-HIV infected adult children. They examine knowledge, attitudes, and sources of knowledge related to HIV/AIDS
among persons aged 60 and over in Cambodia. This document describes the analytical framework for their study; aspects about the country setting and the data sources and measures used; and findings on how age relates to AIDS knowledge and attitudes towards care giving, the association of knowledge and willingness to provide care, and determinants of knowledge, especially the role of poverty and
mass media exposure.

Results indicate that women above age 60 are less
knowledgeable about AIDS than women in their reproductive years, with an even stronger decrease in knowledge above age 70; but those in their 70's are more
likely to state a willingness to provide care up to their 80's when willingness begins to show a decrease. Men show a greater willingness to provide care, though authors speculate that this may be connected to the fact that 82% were married, while two-thirds of older women intervewed were widows. Given this level of willingness, the authors state, "... the importance of improving AIDS knowledge among older
Cambodians is underscored by the finding that willingness to provide care to a family
member increases with the level of correct knowledge. One mechanism which may
underpin this relationship is that correct knowledge reduces unfounded fear
concerning risks of contagion associated with caregiving."


In short, there is a strong relationship between knowledge and willingness. Moreover,
although economic poverty and low education contribute to poor AIDS knowledge, according to research cited by the authors,
the association is mediated by mass media exposure, even more than education. Those interviewed who had a higher exposure to radio or television generally had a higher level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS than those with lower exposure. Using available data, the authors state that "only 48 per cent judged as being very [economically] poor had a radio or TV in their household compared to 99 per cent of those judged to be above average economically". Hence, the authors
conclude that facilitating ownership of radios and televisions in
economically poverty-stricken households may be effective for promoting AIDS understanding and willingness to provide care.



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