Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2011 Apr 17:10:28.
doi: 10.1186/1476-072X-10-28.

Geoadditive models to assess spatial variation of HIV infections among women in local communities of Durban, South Africa

Handan Wand  1 , Claire Whitaker, Gita Ramjee
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Geoadditive models to assess spatial variation of HIV infections among women in local communities of Durban, South Africa

Handan Wand et al. Int J Health Geogr. .

Abstract

Background: The severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa varies between and within provinces, with differences noted even at the suburban scale. We investigated the geographical variability of HIV infection in rural areas of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa.

Method: We used geoadditive models to assess nonlinear geographical variation in HIV prevalence while simultaneously controlling for important demographic and sexual risk factors. A total of 3,469 women who were screened for a Phase-III randomized trial were included in the current analysis.

Results: We found significant spatial patterns that could not be explained by demographic and sexual risk behaviors. In particular, the epidemic was determined to be much worse 44 km south of Durban after controlling for all demographic and sexual risk behaviors.

Conclusion: The study revealed significant geographic variability in HIV infection in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spatial variation of HIV infection in neighborhoods in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. 1language spoken at home, age at first sex, regular sex partner, 4 or more lifetime sexual partners, cohabitation status, contraception use, 2HSV, N gonorrhea
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. UNAIDS. Report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; 2008.
    1. Bärnighausen T, Hosegood V, Timaeus IM, Newell M-L. The socioeconomic determinants of HIV incidence: Evidence from a longitudinal, population-based study in rural South Africa. AIDS. 2007;21:S29–S38. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Coovadia H, Jewkes R, Barron P, Sanders D, McIntyre D. The health and health system of South Africa: Historical roots of current public health challenges. Lancet. 2009;374:817–834. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60951-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hunter M. The changing political economy of sex in South Africa: The significance of unemployment and inequalities to the scale of the AIDS pandemic. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:689–700. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.09.015. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Shisana O, Rehle T, Simbayi LC, Zuma K, Jooste S, Pillay-Van-Wyk V, South African national HIV prevalence, incidence, behaviour and communication survey 2008: A turning tide among teenagers? Cape Town: HSRC Press; 2009.

Publication types