The economic consequences for parents of losing an adult child to AIDS: evidence from Thailand

An examination of the economic consequences for older-age parents of losing an adult child to AIDS in Thailand based on quantitative data derived from a key informant study and a direct interview survey with parents yielded the following main findings: (1) parents frequently paid for their children's care and treatment, but government health insurance and to a lesser extent welfare measures helped alleviate these expenses; (2) parental caregiving often disrupted economic activity, although the resulting opportunity costs were limited by the typically short duration of caregiving; (3) parents commonly paid for funeral costs but benefited from funeral society memberships and customary contributions from those attending; (4) only a minority of parents supported AIDS orphans although orphaned grandchildren often ended up with their grandparents; (5) most deceased children had contributed financially to the parental household but only a minority were main providers. Poorer parents, however, were most likely to lose a main provider and experience severe financial hardship; and (6) although poorer parents spent much less on expenses related to the illness and death of their children, they were much more likely than better-off parents to be seriously burdened by these expenses. Programs are needed to address the plight of AIDS parents but should target those who are most susceptible to resulting economic hardship.