{"title":"Social network characteristics and HIV testing among older adults in South Africa.","authors":"Jin A Lee, Markus H Schafer","doi":"10.1017/s0144686x21000532","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Drawing from theory and research on the role of social networks in promoting or undermining preventative public health measures, this article considers how structural, compositional and functional aspects of older adults' close social networks are associated with HIV testing in the context of rural South Africa. Analyses use data from the population-based Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) - a sample of rural adults age 40+ (N = 4,660). Results from multiple logistic regression show older South African adults with larger, more heavily non-kin and more literate networks were most likely to report testing for HIV. People whose network members provided frequent information were also most likely to be tested, though interaction effects indicate that this pattern is primarily found among those with highly literate networks. Taken together, the findings reinforce a key insight from social capital perspectives: network resourcefulness - literacy in particular - is crucial for promoting preventative health practice. The synergy between network literacy and informational support reveals the complex interplay between network characteristics in shaping health-seeking behaviour. Continued research is needed on the connection between networks and HIV testing among sub-Saharan older adults, as this population is not currently well served by many public health efforts in the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":51364,"journal":{"name":"Ageing & Society","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9983780/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Ageing & Society","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0144686x21000532","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Drawing from theory and research on the role of social networks in promoting or undermining preventative public health measures, this article considers how structural, compositional and functional aspects of older adults' close social networks are associated with HIV testing in the context of rural South Africa. Analyses use data from the population-based Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) - a sample of rural adults age 40+ (N = 4,660). Results from multiple logistic regression show older South African adults with larger, more heavily non-kin and more literate networks were most likely to report testing for HIV. People whose network members provided frequent information were also most likely to be tested, though interaction effects indicate that this pattern is primarily found among those with highly literate networks. Taken together, the findings reinforce a key insight from social capital perspectives: network resourcefulness - literacy in particular - is crucial for promoting preventative health practice. The synergy between network literacy and informational support reveals the complex interplay between network characteristics in shaping health-seeking behaviour. Continued research is needed on the connection between networks and HIV testing among sub-Saharan older adults, as this population is not currently well served by many public health efforts in the region.
本文借鉴了有关社会网络在促进或削弱预防性公共卫生措施方面作用的理论和研究,探讨了在南非农村地区,老年人亲密社会网络的结构、组成和功能方面如何与艾滋病检测相关联。分析使用了基于人口的 "非洲健康与老龄化"(Health and Aging in Africa:南非 INDEPTH 社区纵向研究》(HAALSI)中的数据进行了分析,该研究的样本为 40 岁以上的农村成年人(N = 4,660 人)。多元逻辑回归的结果显示,拥有更大、更多非亲属关系和识字率更高的网络的南非老年人最有可能报告进行 HIV 检测。网络成员经常提供信息的人也最有可能接受检测,但交互效应表明,这种模式主要出现在那些拥有高文化水平网络的人身上。综上所述,研究结果强化了社会资本视角的一个重要观点:网络资源(尤其是识字率)对于促进预防性保健实践至关重要。网络素养与信息支持之间的协同作用揭示了网络特征在塑造寻求健康行为方面复杂的相互作用。需要继续研究网络与撒哈拉以南地区老年人艾滋病毒检测之间的联系,因为目前该地区的许多公共卫生工作都没有很好地为这一人群服务。
期刊介绍:
Ageing & Society is an interdisciplinary and international journal devoted to the understanding of human ageing and the circumstances of older people in their social and cultural contexts. It draws contributions and has readers from many disciplines including gerontology, sociology, demography, psychology, economics, medicine, social policy and the humanities. Ageing & Society promotes high-quality original research which is relevant to an international audience to encourage the exchange of ideas across the broad audience of multidisciplinary academics and practitioners working in the field of ageing.