HIV and African Americans in the Southern United States: Sexual Networks and Social Context
Sexually Transmitted DiseasesPublished 22 June 2006
Adaora A. Adimora, Victor J. Schoenbach, Irene A. Doherty
Citations264
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score0.97
SNIP0.89
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TL;DR
In areas of the rural South with high STI rates, there is extensive concurrency with evidence of dense sexual networks and bridging among the general population, core group members, and other high-risk subpopulations.
Abstract
Concurrency and bridging likely contribute to increased heterosexual HIV transmission among blacks in the South; contextual factors promote these network patterns in this population.
Keywords
Immunology and MicrobiologyMedicineHealth Professions
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