Social capital and HIV risk behavior among rural migrants in China

描述（由申请人提供）：全球数据表明，移民感染艾滋病毒的风险增加。艾滋病毒感染率高和移徙人口的流动性使移徙者成为在原籍国/目的地国/目的地之间传播艾滋病毒的活桥梁。研究结果表明，流动人口中艾滋病毒感染的增加与他们高流行率的艾滋病毒危险行为（药物使用和危险性行为）有关，而这反过来又由社会环境和情境因素决定。然而，环境因素导致艾滋病毒危险行为的机制知之甚少。在社会资本理论的指导下，本研究拟检验社会影响与流动人口艾滋病风险行为之间的两个假设机制--社会支持（包括信息支持、工具支持和情感支持）的缺乏和非正式社会控制（包括集体效能和规范信念）的弱化。农村移民失去了深深扎根于农村的社会资本（定义为一个人积累的持久、资源丰富、值得信赖和互惠的网络联系），由于社会经济地位低下，他们可能难以在城市重建社会资本。社会资本有限的移徙者可能难以获得信息、工具和情感支持，以在紧张的城市环境中建立自己的职业和生活;因此，使用物质成为一种有吸引力和方便的选择。社会资本的缺乏也可能使移民对基于社会资本的集体效能（社区成员对可能贬低社区价值的偏离行为的志愿行动）的反应较弱，从而增加了从事危险性行为的可能性。在重建社会资本的过程中，流动人口可能会采取更自由的性态度和更开放的性价值观，从而导致风险性行为。在城市环境中获得更多机会将进一步加剧这种可能性。女性移民的社会经济地位较低，这可能是她们感染艾滋病毒的风险高于男性移民的原因。中国前所未有的农村人口向城市流动，以及艾滋病流行的日益严重和农村流动人口中艾滋病危险行为的高流行率，为研究这些问题提供了一个窗口机会。我们将在中国武汉进行拟议的研究，武汉是一个拥有810万人口和100万农村移民的大都市和省会城市。该研究具有重要意义和创新性。将使用概率样本收集拟议研究的数据。研究样本将使用地理信息系统/全球定位系统技术支持的成本效益方法进行选择，并将1 200名农村移民样本与农村移民原籍农村地区的相同数量的非移民居民和农村移民目前生活和工作的城市地区的非移民居民进行对比。除调查数据外，还将评估性传播感染情况。我们期望这项研究的结果将促进我们对与移民有关的艾滋病毒/艾滋病传播的理解，并为我们的下一步研究提供所需的数据-设计和实施创新的艾滋病毒预防计划。 公共卫生相关性：本研究采用随机抽样的方法，考察了中国农村流动人口的社会资本及其与艾滋病危险行为和性传播感染的关系。这项研究与公共卫生完全相关，因为这项研究的预期结果将提供数据，支持中国农村流动人口以及一般流动人口中的创新艾滋病毒/艾滋病预防-这是一项重要的全球战略，在21世纪，为了应对全球化和发展差距，国内和国际人口频繁迁移的时代。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Worldwide data suggest that migrants are at increased risk of HIV infection. The high rates of HIV infection and the mobility of migrant populations make migrants a living bridge to spread the AIDS virus between the countries/places of origin and the countries/places of destination. Research findings indicate that the increased HIV infection among migrants is associated their high prevalence of HIV risk behaviors (substance use and risky sex), which in turn, are determined by socioenvironmental and situational factors. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which environmental factors lead to HIV risk behavior. Guided by the Social Capital Theory, in this project, we propose to test two hypothesized mechanisms that may link social influences to HIV risk behavior among migrants - the lack of social support (including informational, instrumental and emotional) and the weakening of informal social control (including collective efficacy and normative beliefs). Rural migrants lost their social capital (defined as durable, resource-rich, trustworthy, and reciprocal network connections a person accumulated) deeply rooted in the place of rural origin and they may experience difficulties rebuilding social capital in the urban destination due to their low socioeconomic status. Migrants with limited social capital may then experience difficulties obtaining informational, instrumental, and emotional support to establish their career and life in the stressful urban settings; consequently use of substance becomes an attractive and convenient option. The lack of social capital may also make migrants less responsive to the social capital-based collective efficacy (volunteer actions by community members against deviate behaviors that may devalue the community), increasing the likelihood to engage in sexual risk behavior. When rebuilding social capital, migrants may adopt more liberal attitudes and more open values about sex, leading to sexual risk behavior. Exposure to more opportunities in urban settings will further exacerbate the likelihood. The low SES of female migrants may explain the higher HIV risk among them than among their male counterparts. The unprecedented rural-to-urban migration in China with the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic and the high prevalence of HIV risk behavior among rural migrants provide a window opportunity to investigate these issues. We will conduct the proposed research in Wuhan, China, a metropolitan city and provincial capital with a population of 8.1 million and one million rural migrants. The proposed research is highly significant and very innovative. Data for the proposed research will be collected using probability samples. The study samples will be selected using cost-effective methods supported by the GIS/GPS technology and a sample of 1200 rural migrants will be contrasted with the same number of non- migrant residents in the rural areas from where rural migrants originate and non-migrant residents in the urban areas where the rural migrants are currently living and working. In addition to survey data, sexually transmitted infections will also be assessed. We expected that findings from this research will advance our understanding of the migration-related HIV/AIDS transmission and provide needed data supporting our next step of research - devising and implementing innovative programs for HIV prevention. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: In this project, we propose to examine social capital and its relationship with HIV risk behavior and sexually transmitted infection among rural migrants in China using a random sample. This research is fully relevant to public health because the expected findings from this study will provide data supporting innovative HIV/AIDS prevention among Chinese rural migrants as well as migrants in general - a significant and global strategy in the era of frequent domestic and international population migration in response to globalization and the developmental disparities in the 21st century.