Socio-Economic Impact of HIV and AIDS in Tamil nadu

Chapter 2
Data and Methodology
As mentioned in Chapter one the main
objective of this study is to assess the
impact of HIV on infected individuals
and their households. The study is based
on the household survey conducted by
NCAER in all the six HIV high-prevalence
states. In the state of Tamil Nadu, the
field survey was conducted during the
period December 2004 to February
2005. Keeping in mind the objectives of
the study, NCAER conducted a survey
of both HIV and non-HIV households.
The purpose of surveying both HIV and
non-HIV households (control group)
was to compare their socio-economic
characteristics, pattern of household
expenditure, prevalence of morbidity,
differences in enrolment and dropout
rates of children and time use pattern of
all the household members. In addition,
qualitative techniques like case studies
and Focus Group Discussions have also
been made use of.
2.1 Sample size
In each of the high-prevalence states, the
survey covered roughly 1600 households,
nearly one-fourth of which have PLWHA.
Since for a state-level analysis, it was
thought that a minimum sample of 400
households would be required, it was
decided to draw a sample of 400 HIVpositive
households from each of the
selected states. This number is large
enough considering the difficulties
involved in identifying People Living
with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) and their
households, and more importantly,
securing their consent for interview.
The sample was drawn from both rural
and urban areas of the states; out of 410
sample HIV households, there were 223
households belonging to rural areas of
Tamil Nadu, while 187 households were
from urban localities.
2.1.1 Selection of districts
Based on the Sentinel Surveillance Reports
of the respective State AIDS Control
Societies, the HIV high-prevalence
districts in the state of Tamil Nadu were
identified and out of these districts, six
districts were selected for conducting
the survey.
Criteria for selection:
1. In every state, the state capital, which
also happens to be one of the highprevalence
districts, was purposively
selected as one of the sample sites. In
Tamil Nadu, Chennai was purposively
selected and although a primarily
urban sample was drawn from the
state capital, the survey covered a
few rural households surrounding the
capital city too.
2. While selecting the districts it was
kept in mind to get as much of a
geographic spread as possible in
Data and Methodology
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