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Networks and the Spread of HIV and other Infections Sponsored by: The International
Union for the
The IUSSP Committee on AIDS is sponsoring a meeting on partnership networks and HIV transmission. Networks of sexual and needle-sharing partners play an important role in the population dynamics of the AIDS epidemic. The structure of these networks can amplify or constrain the speed at which the the pathogen is transmitted through the population, and channel the direction of spread. Our goal is to introduce demographers to the techniques of social network analysis; from the impact it has on data collection instruments, to the issues it raises for sampling methodology, to the range of methods available for network data analysis, and finally, to what we have learned from network studies regarding the spread of HIV. The impact of networks on the population dynamics of HIV transmission is the primary focus of this meeting, but we will also cover networks and sexual behaviour, injecting drug use, and migration, as these topics are closely related. The meeting will feature a set of invited presentations by research teams, three contributed paper sessions, and a training workshop. The research teams have long-standing empirical projects in this area. Their presentations will cover how their network study was conceived, how the survey instruments were developed and tested, how the data were analysed, and the insights obtained by focussing on network structure rather than individual behaviour. Each team will have an entire session to report on its study. Their studies cover the range of network sampling options, from local network designs to complete network designs, as well as the many types of partial network sampling that make up the middle ground. The contributed paper sessions will focus on three topics: the population dynamics of HIV in different populations, the role of discussion networks in diffusing information and behavioral change, and recent methodological developments for network modeling in epidemiology. The training workshop will be held just prior to the meeting. Participants will receive both an introduction to the concepts and methods of social network analysis and hands-on training on the use of computer packages. This conference is organised by the IUSSP Committee on AIDS in collaboration
with the University of Chiang Mai. Additional support is provided
by the Population Research Institute at The Pennsylvania State University.
Further information on this conference may be obtained by following
the links on the sidebar of this page, or from the organisers:
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