The Effect of Altruism on the Spending Behavior of Elderly Caregivers of Family Members With HIV/AIDS in South African Townships

Abstract

HIV/AIDS has led to an enormous demand for health care in the developing world and many governments have opted to capitalize on altruistic home-based caregivers. These caregivers are mainly poor older women and their financial survival is critically important to themselves and their families. We found that as the patient's illness progressed: (a) the altruistic cultural norm “ubuntu” led the caregiver to increase spending and (b) the social pressure (sanction) of stigma led to a very dramatic drop in direct interpersonal assistance. The impact on their spending, health care, and the related public policies are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• international marketing
• cross-cultural
• health care
• nonprofit
• PLS

Notes

Black tribal affiliations include Ndebele, Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. However, Xhosa and Zulu are the major groups in the townships and are the subjects of this research.