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SEXUAL NETWORKS AND THE TRANSMISSION OF HIV IN LONDON

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1998

MELISSA PARKER ,
HELEN WARD  and
SOPHIE DAY
MELISSA PARKER
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London
HELEN WARD
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London
SOPHIE DAY
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of London
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Abstract

This paper discusses ways in which empirical research investigating sexual networks can further understanding of the transmission of HIV in London, using information from a 24-month period of participant observation and 53 open-ended, in-depth interviews with eighteen men and one woman who have direct and indirect sexual links with each other. These interviews enabled the identification of a wider sexual network between 154 participants and contacts during the year August 1994-July 1995. The linked network data help to identify pathways of transmission between individuals who are HIV+ and those who are HIV−, as well as sexual links between ‘older’ and ‘younger’ men, and with male prostitutes. There appears to be considerable on-going transmission of HIV in London. The majority of participants reported having had unprotected anal and/or vaginal sex within a variety of relationships. The implications of these findings for policies designed to prevent the transmission of HIV are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 63 - 83
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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