Abstract
This objective of this study was to examine the association between a woman's HIV status and specific (IDUs) characteristics of her social networks with respect to (1) number of injection drug users (2) number of drug partners and (3) number of HIV-positive contacts in her personal networks, after controlling for the respondent's demographic characteristics and drug use. Participants were recruited through posted announcements in three methadone clinics in Harlem, New York City. Individuals were considered eligible if they were enrolled as patients in one of the clinics for at least three months. A social network questionnaire modeled after the General Social Survey network section was developed by the investigators. Face-to-face interviews were conducted by trained interviewers and included demographics, drug use, self-reported HIV status of the woman and her network members, and the social network structures. Univariate analyses found that HIV-positive and HIV-negative women had different network profiles. HIV-positive women were more likely to associate with a higher number of current drug users, injection drug users, injection drug users who were HIV-positive, drug partners, drug partners who used injection drugs, and drug partners who were HIV-positive. Multivariate analyses indicated that HIV-positive respondents were more likely to associate with HIV-positive network members than their HIV-negative counterparts. The findings suggest that to better understand the spread of HIV among female drug users and to design more effective HIV/AIDS prevention programmes, efforts should move beyond focusing on individual attributes to address the contextual dynamics of social networks.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.