Wagner Glenn, Rana Yashodhara, Linnemayr Sebastian, Balya James, Buzaalirwa Lydia
Health Unit, RAND Corporation, 1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90407, USA.
AIDS Res Treat. 2012;2012:318957. doi: 10.1155/2012/318957. Epub 2012 Jun 21.
HIV medical care, including antiretroviral therapy (ART), is often successful in restoring physical health and functioning. But in developing countries, HIV medical care is often insufficient to achieve social and economic health, and hence innovative economic support programs are much needed. We conducted semistructured interviews with 30 adults receiving ART and microcredit loans operated by Uganda Cares. Using content analysis, we explored the impact of the microcredit loans on the economic, social, and psychological well-being of respondents. Most respondents indicated that the microcredit loans played a positive role in their lives, helped them to keep their children in school and sustain their families, and improved their self-esteem and status in the community. In addition, we also found significant positive knowledge spill-over and network effects in the program with regard to business management and support. However, more than half of the participants indicated experiencing repayment problems either personally or with other group members due to unexpected emergencies and sickness. These findings highlight that microcredit programs have the potential of being an economic support system for HIV clients trying to reestablish their livelihoods, especially in resource-constrained settings, though more research is needed to determine the overall economic viability of such programs.
艾滋病毒医疗护理，包括抗逆转录病毒疗法（ART），通常能成功恢复身体健康和机能。但在发展中国家，艾滋病毒医疗护理往往不足以实现社会和经济健康，因此非常需要创新的经济支持项目。我们对30名接受乌干达关爱组织运营的抗逆转录病毒疗法和小额信贷贷款的成年人进行了半结构化访谈。通过内容分析，我们探讨了小额信贷贷款对受访者经济、社会和心理健康的影响。大多数受访者表示，小额信贷贷款在他们的生活中发挥了积极作用，帮助他们让孩子继续上学并维持家庭生计，还提高了他们的自尊和在社区中的地位。此外，我们还发现该项目在商业管理和支持方面存在显著的积极知识溢出和网络效应。然而，超过一半的参与者表示，由于意外紧急情况和疾病，他们个人或与其他小组成员都遇到了还款问题。这些发现凸显出，小额信贷项目有可能成为艾滋病毒感染者重新建立生计的经济支持系统，尤其是在资源有限的环境中，不过还需要更多研究来确定此类项目的整体经济可行性。
