"Helping my neighbour is like giving a loan…" -the role of social relations in chronic illness in rural Uganda.

Background: Understanding individuals' experience of accessing care and tending to various other needs during chronic illness in a rural context is important for health systems aiming to increase access to healthcare and protect poor populations from unreasonable financial hardship. This study explored the impact on households of access to free healthcare and how they managed to meet needs during chronic illness.

Methods: Rich data from the life stories of individuals from 22 households in rural south-western Uganda collected in 2009 were analysed.

The relevance of timing of illness and death events in the household life cycle for coping outcomes in rural Uganda in the era of HIV.

Introduction: Predicting the household's ability to cope with adult illness and death can be complicated in low-income countries with high HIV prevalence and multiple other stressors and shocks. This study explored the link between stage of the household in the life cycle and the household's capacity to cope with illness and death of adults in rural Uganda.

Methods: Interviews focusing on life histories were combined with observations during monthly visits to 22 households throughout 2009, and recorded livelihood activities and responses to illness and death events.

Perspectives on local environmental security, exemplified by a rural South African village.

This paper analyzes the human-nature interaction in a village in rural South Africa. It discusses preconditions, perceptions, and consequences of natural resource use, and places these findings into a regional and historical context. Applying an interdisciplinary perspective, the study uses interviews, questionnaires, remote sensing, and participatory mapping to analyze land cover changes and local perceptions of the environment.