The social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS in poor countries: a review of studies and lessons

This review accompanies the Guidelines for Preparation and Execution of Studies of the Social and Economic Impact of HIV/AIDS. Its purpose is to supplement and complement those practical guidelines by presenting some of the literature which informed their development. The first section of the review provides some background to the epidemic and an indication of where on the World Wide Web up to date information may be found. This complements the broader range of sources of data which is presented in the Guidelines. The idea of impact is defined making clear that the impact of an epidemic cannot be thought of only as a shock but must also be understood as a series of slow cumulative events over a long time period. The Guidelines make very clear that data are vital for effective impact studies. To underline this point the first section of the Review: Data and Methods for studying Impact provides an account of the different theoretical approaches to studying impact not from a disciplinary perspective - the Review argues that most impact studies have been done by economists and demographers - but rather from a consideration of the quality and type of data used. It recognises that diverse types of data will be used in impact studies and those undertaking such studies must be aware of the uses and limitations of such material and furthermore or the ways that data are related to the theories and methods which informed their collection. (excerpt)