How do sexual networks affect HIV/STD prevention?
Focusing on risk behavior alone does not explain why some persons and communities continue to be infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) more than others. Networks help explain why persons can have the same risk behavior and yet one may have a much greater risk of contracting or transmitting HIV. Sexual networks are groups of persons who are connected to one another sexually. The number of persons in a network, how central high-risk persons are within it, the percentage in monogamous relationships and the number of “links” each has to others all determine how quickly HIV/STDs can spread through a network.1 Sexual networks are distinct from, but often overlap with social networks.
