Social Network Approaches to HIV Prevention: Implications to Community Impact and Sustainability

Latkin, C., & Knowlton, A. (2005). Social Network Approaches to HIV Prevention: Implications to Community Impact and Sustainability. Community interventions and AIDS (pp. 105-129). New York, NY US: Oxford University Press.

(from the chapter) In the present chapter we propose social theory-based strategies to a network approach to HIV prevention that capitalize on social influence processes. We discuss how such concepts as referent others, social identities, social roles, norms, behavioral settings, and social diffusion of innovation can be operationalized in network terms and applied to the development of HIV prevention intervention tailored to social environmental influences on HIV risk within a given community. We propose that greater attention to networks as not only channels of disease transmission but also as channels of resource exchange, information dissemination, and potential social influence may contribute to the development of more powerful approaches to HIV prevention. Furthermore, we propose that greater attention to the influence of behavioral settings on HIV risk, and common venue attendance as network may also improve the success of our targeting and intervention outcomes.

Find this article online
Site Courtesy of
McKenzie-Mohr & Associates

Expertise in Community-Based Social Marketing