The Economics of AIDS: The Impact of AIDS on the Lives of its Victims in the Champaign-Urbana Community
This research examines how the lives of Champaign-Urbana residents have changed after their contraction of the HIV/AIDS virus. This study analyzes interviews of people who work with this disease on a daily basis and well as reading literature on the disease and gathering statistical information for the Champaign-Urbana community. The focus of this analysis will be on how the lives of HIV/AIDS victims have changed financially since their diagnosis. Although the impact of the disease changes from victim to victim, HIV/AIDS has dramatically changed the lives, especially the financial lives, of all of its victims. The reasons that victims to AIDS suffer severe decline in economic well-being is due to several reasons. The principal reason being the impossibility of obtaining a high-quality insurance or in some cases any health insurance. Also severely impacting victims is the high cost of medical treatment, hospitalization, and the loss of employment due to frequent illnesses and hospital visits. I will establish that due to the high cost of treatment and support for the disease, and the lack of insurance, the financial lives of HIV/AIDS victims have been drastically impacted.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Economics
Research Advisor:
Fred Gottheil
Department of Research Advisor:
Economics
Year of Publication:
2003