Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
HIV and AIDS Review, cilt.5, sa.2, ss.34-39, 2006 (Scopus)
Background: Health, illness or death has impact not only on the physical health of the individual but on the social, psychological and economic situations of the society in which he/she lives. Since the illness is irregular and is a risky event whose reason and period may be unpredictable, it is quite difficult to plan the health expenditures. HIV, which was not known before 1981 and which causes AIDS, has become very important worldwide as the result of spreading very fast during less than twenty years and losses which it causes, and brought the financing problems to the very serious levels. HIV/AIDS has important economic impacts on the families in which it occurs. HIV/AIDS causes gradually increasing demand in the health expenses. One of the family members becoming sick means the decreasing participation of that family member in work, life, and destruction of the family economics by the increasing treatment expenses. Material/Methods: Literature review method is employed in this study: Literature on the effects of HIV/AIDS on family economics has been reviewed. Consistent with the aims of the study, first of all, the main effects of illnesses on the family economics are reviewed briefly, and then the effects of HIV/AIDS on the family and the society in general are examined. Results: AIDS, which is an epidemic disease whose treatment is not available, creates big social, psychological and economic impacts on the individual and the environment. It causes the increase of treatment expenses of the individuals, decreasing their income and productivity, increasing expenditures, rearrangement of the share which is allowed to the expenditure groups, having negative impact on the saving tendency, increasing the debt rate, putting the families with lower income into the difficult situation and causing their impoverishment, changing the statute of the individual in the family, reducing the future income potential, preventing the economic development and narrowing the consumer markets. Conclusions: Generally illnesses and especially HIV/AIDS have a negative impact on the family economics and family income. The supportive services to the family income are necessary. As a result, the family-based studies should be carried out.