Social Networks and HIV Risk Behaviors of Special Populations of Drug Users

描述（由申请人提供）：这个重新提交的K 02应用程序的主要目标是进一步发展博士凯莉奥瑟的生产独立的研究生涯，并通过获得新的培训社交网络和艾滋病毒干预发展，以增加她对艾滋病毒，药物滥用治疗，犯罪和健康差距的研究重点。K 02建立在她对特殊人群的关注之上，包括农村吸毒者和非洲裔美国吸毒者。拟议的培训目标将在社交网络、艾滋病毒干预措施的发展和负责任的研究行为方面提供新的指导。具体目标是：（1）确定与男性相比，503名农村戒毒妇女的社交网络中的艾滋病毒和丙型肝炎风险以及风险的纵向变化;（2）检查社交网络的影响，包括结构（例如，尺寸，密度），功能（例如，情感和工具支持），和内容（例如，对医生的态度），对艾滋病毒和丙型肝炎病毒的风险行为和卫生服务利用的非洲裔美国吸毒妇女，与男子相比，跨刑事司法地位。这项重要的创新研究将对公共卫生产生重大影响，并将支持NIDA的健康差异倡议，因为它有可能有助于我们理解农村和非洲裔美国人吸毒者之间健康差异的文化和社会网络相关性。此外，本研究通过检查各种社交网络（例如，自我中心的，二元的，和社会中心的），并使用纵向数据的多层次模型。这 拟议的项目将允许从K 02培训活动中获得的实质性知识和分析技能的实际应用，并最终导致即将到来的调查员发起的NIDA赠款申请的发展。具体而言，这些发现将被用作未来基于艾滋病毒社交网络的干预措施的基础，以增加特殊人群对预防性卫生保健的使用，从而减少对昂贵医疗服务的需求，并减少艾滋病毒风险行为，包括吸毒、无保护性行为和累犯。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The primary goal of this resubmitted K02 application is to further develop Dr. Carrie Oser's productive independent research career and to augment her research focus on HIV, substance abuse treatment, crime, and health disparities by gaining new training on social networks and HIV intervention development. The K02 builds upon her focus on special populations, including both rural drug users and African American drug users. The proposed training goals will provide new instruction in social networks, HIV intervention development, and the responsible conduct of research. The specific aims are: (1) to identify HIV and HCV risk and longitudinal changes in risk in the social networks of 503 rural out-of-treatment drug using women, as compared to men; and (2) to examine the effect of social networks, including structure (e.g., size, density), function (e.g., emotional and instrument support), and content (e.g., attitudes towards physicians), on HIV and HCV risk behaviors and health services utilization among African American drug using women, as compared to men, across criminal justice status. This significant and innovative study will have strong public healt impacts and will support NIDA's Health Disparities Initiative because of its potential to contribut to our understanding of the cultural and social network correlates of health disparities among both rural and African American drug users. In addition, this study improves upon the methodological limitations of previous research findings by examining various social networks (e.g., egocentric, dyadic, and sociocentric) and using longitudinal data in multilevel models. This proposed project will allow for a practical application of the substantive knowledge and analytical skills acquired from the K02 training activities and will ultimately culminate in the development of forthcoming investigator initiated NIDA grant applications. Specifically, these findings will be used as a foundation for future HIV social networks based intervention to increase special populations' use of preventative health care and subsequently reduce the need for expensive medical services, as well as to decrease HIV risk behaviors including drug use, unprotected sex, and recidivism.