Social Context, Sexual Networks, and Racial Disparities in Rates of Sexually Transmitted Infections

Abstract

Given the importance of contextual factors and the sharply contrasting social contexts for blacks and whites, exclusive emphasis on individual risk factors and determinants is unlikely to produce solutions that will significantly decrease HIV rates among blacks. Effective HIV prevention in this population will require multidisciplinary research to address the contextual factors that promote patterns of sexual networks that facilitate transmission of STIs.