Venue-Based Affiliation Networks and HIV Risk-Taking Behavior Among Male Sex Workers
- 1 June 2013
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Sexually Transmitted Diseases
- Vol. 40 (6), 453-458
- https://doi.org/10.1097/olq.0b013e31829186e5
Abstract
Background This study examined venue-based networks constituted by affiliation with gay bars and street intersections where male sex workers (MSWs) congregate to find their sexual/drug-sharing partners and network influence on risky sexual behavior (e.g., unprotected anal intercourse [UAI]) and HIV infection. Methods Data collected in 2003 to 2004 in Houston, Texas, consists of 208 MSWs affiliated with 15 gay bars and 51 street intersections. Two-mode network analysis was conducted to examine structural characteristics in affiliation networks, as well as venue-based network influence on UAI and HIV infection. Results Centralized affiliation patterns were found where only a few venues were popular among MSWs, and these were highly interdependent. Distinctive structural patterns of venue-based clustering were associated with UAI and infection. Individuals who shared venue affiliation with MSWs who engage in UAI were less likely to have UAI themselves. This suggests a downhill effect; that is, individuals compensate for their risk of infection by adjusting their own risk-taking behavior, based on their perceptions of their venue affiliates. Conclusions Venue-based HIV/AIDs interventions could be tailored to specific venues so as to target specific clusters that are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
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