Hosegood-Nastacio

In Hosegood's study "Revealing the Full Extent of Households' Experiences of HIV and AIDS in rural South Africa" it is interesting to note how HIV and AIDS has such a huge impact on the definition of a family. A household is usually composed of three generations who live with each other due to the fact that a high population is constantly dying of AIDS, leaving their immediate family without support. It seems as if the household in rural South Africa is a network for care. It is almost an obligation in the society to take in any family members whose parents have died from AIDS. It is also interesting to note the role that the idea of witchcraft plays within their society. Many people believed that they had been infected because of witchcraft by someone out of the family. It would be interesting to see why they believed it was witchcraft. Was it because people didn't understand the science behind the disease and just needed to place the blame on something? Also it seems from the given statistics that more females died of AIDS than men (73% female vs 61% male) so would that imply that the men were more likely to be the heads of the household caring for the sick? Or were they more likely to not be involved and therefore stayed healthier?