A cross-sectional description of social capital in an international sample of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH)

BMC Public Health

Research Article

Kenn Kirksey¹  Allison Webel²  Robert A Salata³  John Brion⁴  Kathleen Nokes⁵  Patrice Nicholas⁶  Lynda Tyer-Viola⁷  Inge B Corless⁷  William L Holzemer⁸  Lucille Eller⁸  Dean Wantland⁸  Puangtip Chaiphibalsarisdi⁹  Elizabeth Sefcik^1,10  Carmen Portillo^1,11  Mallory O Johnson^1,12  J Craig Phillips^1,13  Carol Dawson Rose^1,14  Scholastika Iipinge^1,15  Jeanne Kemppainen^1,16  Marta Rivero-Méndez^1,17  Joachim Voss^1,18  Wei-Ti Chen^1,19 

[1] Center for Nursing Research, Seton Family of Hospitals, Austin, USA;Clinical Research Scholar, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, 44106-4904, Cleveland, OH, USA;Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases and HIV Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, USA;Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, USA;Hunter College, CUNY, Hunter Bellevue SON, New York, USA;Institute of Health Professions, Global Health and Academic Partnerships, Brigham and Women's Hospital and MGH, Boston, USA;MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, USA;Rutgers College of Nursing, Newark, USA;Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand;Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, USA;UCSF School of Nursing - Community Health Systems, San Francisco, USA;UCSF, San Francisco, USA;University of British Columbia School of Nursing, Vancouver, Canada;University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing, San Francisco, USA;University of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia;University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, USA;University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico;University of Washington, Saettle, USA;Yale University, New Haven, USA;

关键词: Social capital;    HIV/AIDS;    Global health;    Social science;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-188

 received in 2011-10-26, accepted in 2012-03-13,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSocial capital refers to the resources linked to having a strong social network. This concept plays into health outcomes among People Living with HIV/AIDS because, globally, this is a highly marginalized population. Case studies show that modifying social capital can lead to improvements in HIV transmission and management; however, there remains a lack of description or definition of social capital in international settings. The purpose of our paper was to describe the degree of social capital in an international sample of adults living with HIV/AIDS.MethodsWe recruited PLWH at 16 sites from five countries including Canada, China, Namibia, Thailand, and the United States. Participants (n = 1,963) completed a cross-sectional survey and data were collected between August, 2009 and December, 2010. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and correlational analysis.ResultsParticipant's mean age was 45.2 years, most (69%) identified as male, African American/Black (39.9%), and unemployed (69.5%). Total mean social capital was 2.68 points, a higher than average total social capital score. Moderate correlations were observed between self-reported physical (r = 0.25) and psychological condition (r = 0.36), social support (r = 0.31), and total social capital. No relationships between mental health factors, including substance use, and social capital were detected.ConclusionsThis is the first report to describe levels of total social capital in an international sample of PLWH and to describe its relationship to self-reported health in this population.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Webel et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012