expectancy, caused (and exacerbated) by HIV prevalence rates of 43% amongst the
adult population (MOHSS 2004).
Using a range of qualitative methods, the wider research programme aimed to
examine the impacts of HIV/AIDS on livelihoods, vulnerability and support networks
in three rural villages in the Caprivi Region. A livelihoods survey with 100
households and participatory methods were used to initiate discussions of the
perceived impacts of HIV/AIDS. Semi-structured repeat interviews with 18 case study
households enabled investigation into household composition and transfers, coping
strategies, belief systems and the perceived impacts of illness and death. In addition,
12 focus groups provided further insight into customs and norms and local
understandings of HIV/AIDS. These methods provided in-depth understanding of the
socio-cultural, economic and environmental context of the study sites, and the
perceived impacts of HIV and AIDS on livelihoods, vulnerability and support
networks. However, it became clear that households in which a person was currently
ill with AIDS-related symptoms were under-represented in the research and that open
discussion of HIV/AIDS was only possible in a generalised, non-personal context.
The reluctance of such households to participate was due largely to their lack of
available time between caring duties and livelihood activities. One way to ensure that
the research gave voice to people experiencing illness was through the use of solicited
text and photo diaries.
Although often overlooked as a research method, solicited diaries have proved
important in research on health and behaviour (Coxon 1998; Elliott 1997). However,
as Crang (2003, 493) argues, qualitative methods that are “often derided for being
somehow soft and ‘touchy-feely’ have in fact been rather limited in touching and
feeling” and the use of diaries has tended to focus primarily on the recording of daily