Is social capital a useful conceptual tool for exploring community level influences on HIV infection? An exploratory case study from South Africa

Campbell, Christopher J.; Williams, Brian G.; Gilgen, D.

doi:10.1080/09540120220097928

Cited by 156 publications

(131 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Previous studies examined the role of social capital in HIV. 10,[30][31][32] However, these studies relied on social capital measures that reflect only social cohesion, civic participation, norms of reciprocity, and trust between individuals. These measures have limited relevance for understanding how the social environment influences health disparities because they only tap relational aspects of social capital without considering the material and political aspects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Social Capital and HIV Risk in Rural African American Communities

et al. 2011

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BACKGROUND: African Americans (AA) and rural communities often suffer disproportionately from poorer health. Theory-guided research examining how individual-and community-level factors influence health behaviors and contribute to disparities is needed. OBJECTIVE: To understand how a social network model that captures the interplay between individual and community factors might inform communitybased interventions to reduce HIV risk in rural AA communities. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Eleven focus groups with 38 AA 16-24 year olds, 42 adults over age 25, and 13 formerly incarcerated individuals held in community settings in two rural, predominantly AA counties in North Carolina. Thirty-seven semi-structured interviews with multiethnic key informants. APPROACH: Semi-structured interviews and focus groups with open-ended questions assessed a) perceptions of multi-level HIV risk determinants from a social network model (individual, interpersonal, social, economic, political and structural) identified through literature review and b) community needs and assets affecting local HIV rates. Qualitative data was analyzed using directive content analysis guided by a social network model. RESULTS: We identified four themes regarding the interaction between individuals and their communities that mediate HIV risk: interpersonal processes, community structural environment, social disorder, and civic engagement. Communities were characterized as having a high degree of cohesiveness, tension, and HIV-related stigma. The community structural environment-characterized by neighborhood poverty, lack of skilled jobs, segregation, political disenfranchisement and institutional racism-was felt to reduce the availability and accessibility of resources to combat HIV. Adults noted an inability to combat social problems due to social disorder, which fuels HIV risk behaviors. Civic engagement as a means of identifying community concerns and developing solutions is limited by churches' reluctance to address HIV-related issues. CONCLUSION: To combat HIV-related stigma, physicians should follow recommendations for universal HIV testing. Besides asking about individual health behaviors, physicians should ask about the availability of support and local community resources. Physicians might consider tailoring their treatment recommendations based on available community resources. This strategy may potentially improve patient adherence and clinical outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Social Capital and HIV Risk in Rural African American Communities

et al. 2011

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“…Studies concerning the relationships between social capital and health also include such different topics as for instance mortality rates in individual level (Lochner et al 2003) and ecological studies (Skrabski et al 2003), self rated health in individual level (Veenstra 2000) and multilevel studies (Putnam 2000;Lindström 2004a;Subramanian et al 2002), mental health (Drukker et al 2003), smoking and smoking cessation (Lindström et al 2002), cannabis smoking (Lindström 2004b), leisure time physical activity (Lindström et al 2001;Lindström et al 2003), as well as alcohol consumption (Weitzman et al 2000) analysed at the individual level of analysis. Social capital has also been discussed as a tool for exploring community level influences on HIV infection (Campbell et al 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social capital, the miniaturisation of community, traditionalism and first time acute myocardial infarction: A prospective cohort study in southern Sweden

Ali

Merlo

Rosvall

et al. 2006

Social Science & Medicine

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“…During 1996, as part of a study on factors influencing the differential spread of HIV infection in four African cities, a large crosssectional population-based survey was Original Article However, a different study among the same sample population only found a significant difference in HIV prevalence between those who had consumed alcohol and those who had never consumed alcohol, regardless of frequency of drinking (daily, weekly or monthly) (Campbell, Williams & Gilgen, 2002).…”

Section: Community/population-based Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Descriptive systematic review of sub-Saharan African studies on the association between alcohol use and HIV infection

Pithey

Parry

2009

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS

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The purpose of this review was to identify and assess studies that have quantified the association between alcohol consumption and HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa. PubMed, CAB Abstracts and article references were searched to identify studies published in English between 2000 and 2008 that reported relative measures of the association between alcohol use and HIV prevalence and/or seroconversion rates. Twenty-one eligible studies were described in detail and information on study characteristics extracted. All of the identified studies were conducted either in east or southern Africa, and varied substantially regarding study population and alcohol use definitions. Overall, users of alcohol and especially problem drinkers were more likely to be HIV seropositive (HIV+) than non-users, frequency or quantity of alcohol use was positively associated with HIV prevalence, and the association varied by gender. The use of alcohol in sexual contexts was significantly associated with an increased risk of HIV acquisition and prevalence.The findings of this review of sub-Saharan African research strongly support an association between alcohol consumption and HIV infection. Although a causal relationship could not be established with certainty from the mainly cross-sectional studies, the negative consequences of such an association have profound implications for the burden of disease in this region. To confirm causality, future research should use prospective study designs, use clearly defined standardised measures of alcohol use (and problematic drinking) and an 'event-specific' approach to examine the situational links between alcohol use and HIV acquisition. Keywords: Alcohol, HIV, sexual risk, Africa.Anne Pithey is an independent researcher who has worked for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit (ADARU) of the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) over a number of years. Her primary role has been to undertake systematic reviews of the literature and to assist with a variety of writing tasks. She holds an MSc (Med) from the University of Cape Town. Charles

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Is social capital a useful conceptual tool for exploring community level influences on HIV infection? An exploratory case study from South Africa

Cited by 156 publications

References 26 publications

Understanding Social Capital and HIV Risk in Rural African American Communities

Understanding Social Capital and HIV Risk in Rural African American Communities

Social capital, the miniaturisation of community, traditionalism and first time acute myocardial infarction: A prospective cohort study in southern Sweden

Descriptive systematic review of sub-Saharan African studies on the association between alcohol use and HIV infection

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