14.12.2012 Views

The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

The Context of HIV Risk Among Drug Users and Their Sexual Partners

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

Bringing the <strong>Context</strong> in From the<br />

Cold: Substantive, Technical, <strong>and</strong><br />

Statistical Issues for AIDS<br />

Research in the Second Decade<br />

Ann F. Brunswick<br />

This chapter discusses an ecological model <strong>of</strong> health that has guided the<br />

author’s research for 25 years. Its articulation is derived from<br />

Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) paradigm <strong>of</strong> behavioral influences. <strong>The</strong> idea <strong>of</strong><br />

applying a behavioral model to guide conceptualizations about an illness<br />

follows from a cross-fertilization <strong>of</strong> social psychology <strong>and</strong> health. This<br />

model is particularly apt for studying illnesses incurred through human<br />

immunodeficiency virus (<strong>HIV</strong>) <strong>and</strong> acquired immunodeficiency<br />

syndrome (AIDS), which undeniably have strong behavioral linkages.<br />

<strong>The</strong> behavioral underpinning refers not only to underst<strong>and</strong>ing that<br />

contagion comes about through specific behaviors, but also to the<br />

behavioral responses <strong>HIV</strong> exacts at multiple social levels <strong>and</strong> the crosscurrents<br />

<strong>of</strong> social response it has evoked at different social levels.<br />

Following from table 1, which summarizes the model discussed here,<br />

these include: moral (macrosystem), legal <strong>and</strong> institutional (exosystem),<br />

interpersonal (microsystem), <strong>and</strong> individual knowledge, belief, <strong>and</strong><br />

attitudes (ontogenic or intrapersonal system) (Brunswick 1985).<br />

<strong>The</strong> ecological model is a reminder <strong>of</strong> what needs to be considered when<br />

attempting to bring the context in from the cold. It bridges the spheres <strong>of</strong><br />

interest <strong>of</strong> different social science disciplines: political science,<br />

anthropology, social psychology, <strong>and</strong> sociology. <strong>The</strong> model provides a<br />

heuristic device for conceptualizing the nature <strong>of</strong> the epidemic(s) <strong>and</strong><br />

identifying how <strong>HIV</strong> infection is experienced differently by low-income<br />

people <strong>of</strong> color, as compared to the experience <strong>of</strong> the mostly middle-class<br />

gay community on whom earlier scientific findings were based.<br />

This basic ecological paradigm serves as a guide to variables to be<br />

included in <strong>HIV</strong>/AIDS studies <strong>and</strong> identifies some measurement pitfalls<br />

to avoid in the context <strong>of</strong> injection drug users (IDUs). <strong>The</strong> need for a<br />

contextual approach in <strong>HIV</strong>-related research, policies, <strong>and</strong> programs is<br />

underscored by the fact that <strong>HIV</strong>-related disease is not r<strong>and</strong>omly<br />

distributed, either geographically or socially, nor does symptom<br />

187

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!