Shameless self promotion...

For those of you (mom and dad) waiting on the edge of your seat for the publication of my 2nd dissertation paper, wait no more! "It’s not just who you are but where you live: An exploration of community influences on individual HIV status in rural Malawi" is finally available in print! It only took 18 arduous months from the initial submission date to acceptance at Social Science and Medicine, one of the most prestigious journals for international, interdisciplinary research (and I am not just saying so myself!).

For those of you still reading, here is the abstract:

Abstract

Approximately 1 million people are infected with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in Malawi. Despite efforts aimed at changing individual risk behaviors, HIV prevalence continues to rise among rural populations. Both previous research and the Political Economy of Health framework suggest that community-based socio-economic factors and accessibility may influence HIV transmission; however, these community factors have received little empirical investigation. To fill this gap, this research uses data from a nationally representative probability sample of rural Malawians combined with small area estimates of community socio-economic and accessibility data in logistic regression models to: 1) reveal relationships between community factors and individual HIV status; 2) determine whether these relationships operate through individual HIV risk behaviors; and 3) explore whether these associations vary by gender. Community socio-economic factors include relative and absolute poverty; community accessibility factors include distance to roads, cities, and public health facilities. Individual HIV risk behaviors include reported condom use, sexually transmitted infections, multiple partnerships, and paid sex. Results show that higher community income inequality, community proximity to a major road, and community proximity to a public health clinic are associated with increased odds of HIV for women. For men, community proximity to a major road and community proximity to a public health clinic are associated with increased odds of HIV infection. These direct relationships between community factors and individual HIV status are not mediated by individual HIV risk behaviors. The Political Economy of Health frames the discussion. This study provides evidence for expanding HIV prevention efforts beyond individual risk behaviors to consideration of community factors that may drive the HIV epidemic in rural Malawi.

And, for those of you still interested (mom and dad), I would be happy to send you a watermarked copy for you to add to your beach (or bathroom) reading list.