Panel studies and migration

Uptake of HIV testing is critical to halting the spread of HIV. Our study aimed to examine the coverage of HIV testing and self-testing and the individual-level, household-level and community-level factors associated with HIV testing and self-testing awareness. We analysed data of 12 312 men and women from 2016 SADHS and used multilevel mixed-effects models to examine the factors associated with uptake of HIV testing and self-testing awareness. About 80% of participants had ever tested for HIV, and 64% had tested in the past year. Only 49% of adolescents aged 15-19years had ever tested for HIV compared with over 80% of adults. Self-testing awareness was low (22%), and only 2.9% of respondents had ever self-tested for HIV. The odds of having ever tested for HIV were significantly higher among respondents who were aged 25-29 (AOR: 4.02; 95% CI: 3.27-4.95), had a higher level of education (AOR: 3.18; 95% CI: 2.19-4.61), were married (AOR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.36-1.94), had high media exposure (AOR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.06-1.44) and had ever had sex (AOR: 5.57; 95% CI: 4.67-6.64), but lower among men (AOR: 0.39; 95% CI: 0.35-0.44). In conclusion, HIV testing coverage is high in South Africa relative to most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, but falls short of the UNAIDS first 95. We found no evidence of socioeconomic and geographic inequalities in access to HIV testing. However, adolescents had a lower level of HIV testing uptake, suggesting a need for interventions to expand testing in this age group.

This study examined the relationship between individual, household, and community-level factors with obesity-related health behaviors. Households (n = 6110) were enumerated, and participants (>18 years) reported their screen time and how many sugar-sweetened beverages they consumed per day. Individuals from food insecure and higher SES households were more likely to report higher sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Screen time was negatively associated with age (p < .01), and being female was associated with 35 minutes more screen time per day (p < .01). Community and household factors were independent drivers of behavior that need to be incorporated into individual level interventions, or considered in analyses.

Social networks (SN) are becoming a common trend in almost every aspect of the world. Significantly, SN impacts students' studying in that they use it to support their assignments and tasks. However, in Vietnam and Can Tho, there is little research about the SN impact on students’ academic performance (SAP), so the authors decided to conduct this research. This project aims to research the impact of social networks on students’ academic performance (SAP) at the University of Greenwich Vietnam at Can Tho campus (UoG VN CT). A questionnaire gathered the data on the social network factors that impact students' academic performance. Variables identified are purpose, frequency of usage, SN sites (SNS), and SAP. The result shows a positive relationship between SNS usage and SAP, especially Facebook, the SNS that students use most, so UoG VN CT should take advantage of it to increase SAP. Otherwise, the research also demonstrates that the frequency of SN has a negative relationship with SAP: the more hours students spend on SN, the worse SAP students get, so UoG VN CT should give some policies to limit students’ SN time usage.

Social network factors and cardiovascular health among baltimore public housing residents

Stroke significantly impairs health-related quality of life (HRQL). Stroke survivors with aphasia (SWA) experience lower HRQL than stroke survivors without aphasia (SSA) as a result of poorer communication and social functioning. The extent to which aphasia influences HRQL in African-Americans and the components of social functioning that are most important to HRQL warrants further exploration. There were two main objectives of this paper. The first was to survey HRQL domains of communication, physical, mental/emotional, role, and social functioning in African American SWA and SSA. The second was to examine if social support and social network predicted HRQL in SWA. A total of 39 African American adults (62.4 ± 11.10) participated in this descriptive cross-sectional case control study. Patient-reported outcome measures were used to assess HRQL, perceived social support, and social network in SWA, SSA, and normal-aging healthy controls (NAH). Data analysis included an ANOVA and moderator regression to determine if social support or social network predicted HRQL in SWA. SWA reported a significantly lower overall HRQL (p = <.000) than NAH adults. Communication HRQL was the hallmark difference found between SWA and SSA (p = <.000). Social support and social network were relatively similar among all three groups. However, social support and social network did not predict HRQL in SWA. Findings from this study suggest that social HRQL continues to be significantly lower in SWA; however, social support and social network factors do not drive differences among African-Americans. Moreover, communication HRQL remains the hallmark difference between SWA and SSA.

Social network, social support and acute chest complaints among young and middle-aged patients in an emergency department—A case-control study

The attitudes of patients were measured after 4 days and at discharge during two 4-month periods. The attitudes were related to ratings of symptoms, patient background, and type of treatment contract used (cooperation or staff-directed). The patients were generally satisfied with their treatment. A mere 7% disapproved of the general ward structure. The attitude data were subjected to a factor analysis and a 7-factor solution explaining 70% of the variance was found to be suitable. The factors were labelled Ward Structure, Key Worker, Nursing Care, Group Treatment, Psychopharmacological Treatment, Social Network, and Other Patients. A high level of satisfaction in the Ward Structure, Nursing Care, Psychopharmacological Treatment, and Other Patients factors was found to be related to a lower incidence of symptoms at discharge. The staff-contract group showed more favourable attitudes in the Nursing Care factor (both initially and at discharge) and the Psychopharmacological Treatment factor (only initially), while the cooperation-contract group did so in the Social Network factor. It is suggested that the two contract procedures resulted in the development of different kinds of interpersonal relationships during treatment, the cooperation group relying more on the social network, whereas the staff-contract group was more apt to rely on psychopharmacological treatment and on the nursing staff.

A social support model for predicting the ease of transition into the motherhood role is presented. Four kinds of social network supports (relational, ideological, physical, and informational) and six social network agents (husband, friends, relatives, work associates, neighbors, and institutions) are considered. Ways in which each kind of support facilitates maternal and marital adaptation are discussed, along with implications of such support for influencing the nature of mother—child interactions. In addition, a case example (career women in transition) is presented to illustrate the predictive utility of the model. Policy and research implications of the present analysis follow.

As acceptance of the concept of agricultural sustainability has grown, it has become increasingly recognized that notions of sustainability and how to promote it will necessarily vary depending on the commodity in question. It thus becomes important to investigate how movements towards sustainability are emerging for different commodities. The objective of our paper is to present the results of an analysis of Washington wheat producers that investigates the degree to which interest in sustainability exists amongst those farmers and whether structural factors and farmer personal characteristics are more or less significant than social network factors in explaining farmers’ views of possible sustainable methods. Our findings indicate that a measure indicating use of local social networks to gain information is associated with a higher degree of interest in new production methods aimed at improving agricultural sustainability.

Gay neighbourhoods have historically served as vital places for gay socialising, and gay social networks are important sources of social support. Yet, few studies have examined the influence of these forms of community on sexual health. Informed by theoretical frameworks on neighbourhoods and networks, we employ multi-level modelling to test hypotheses concerning whether gay neighbourhoods and social network factors are associated with five sexual risk behaviours: receptive and insertive unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), barebacking identity, recent internet use for finding sexual partners, and 'Party and Play' (PnP). Our analyses of a community-based sample of gay men in New York City reveal little evidence for the direct effect of gay enclaves on sexual risk with the exception of PnP, which was more likely among gay enclave residents. Having a network composed predominantly of other gay men was associated with insertive UAI, PnP, and internet use for meeting sexual partners. This network type also mediated the association between gay neighbourhoods and higher odds of insertive UAI as well as PnP. Our findings highlight the sexual health implications of two important facets of gay community and, in doing so, indicate the need to better contextualise the sexual health risks faced by gay men.

Gay neighborhoods serve as vital places for gay men's socializing, yet few studies have examined their contributions to gay men's health-either directly or indirectly via residents' social networks. Drawing from theoretical perspectives on community and networks, we test hypotheses concerning whether gay neighborhoods and social network factors are associated with patterns of recent illicit drug use among a sample of 740 urban gay men from New York City. Higher odds of drug use were observed among individuals who resided in gay neighborhoods, had networks composed predominantly of other gay men, and had increased socialization with gay men. Network factors did not mediate associations between gay neighborhoods and drug use. These findings highlight the need to better contextualize the health risks faced by gay men by accounting for both neighborhood and network structures.

To provide an overview of studies within the past five years examining the impact of social network factors on addictive behaviors among college students, to discuss gaps, limitations, and controversies in the field, and to summarize with a discussion of future directions and implications for interventions. A review of 13 studies indicated that greater network exposure, centrality, reciprocated ties, and more tightly interconnected networks were associated with greater alcohol use and other addictive behaviors among college students. Greater research is needed that expands beyond alcohol use to other addictive behaviors among college students. Additionally, more studies are needed that longitudinally study the impact of changes in social networks on addictive behaviors and vice versa, as well as studies examining sociocentric (whole) networks. Social network approaches offer innovative perspectives in understanding social influences on addictive behaviors and novel intervention strategies for potentially reducing addictive behaviors among college students.

Depression is linked to a range of poor HIV-related health outcomes. Minorities and men who have sex with men (MSM), suffer from high rates of depression. The current study examined the relationship between depressive symptoms and social network characteristics among community-recruited Black MSM in HPTN 061 from 6 US cities. A social network inventory was administer at baseline and depression was assessed with the CES-D at baseline, 6, and 12-months. At baseline, which included 1167 HIV negative and 348 HIV positive participants, size of emotional, financial, and medical support networks were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms. In longitudinal mixed models, size of emotional, financial, and medical support networks were significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms as was the number of network members seen weekly. In the multivariate analyses, size of medical appointment network remained statistically significant (aOR 0.89, CI 0.81-0.98). These findings highlight the importance of network support of medical care on depression and suggest the value of support mobilization.

This paper provides an introduction to the research potential of household panel studies in general and the British Household Panel, in particular. It will discuss the relative strengths of longitudinal and cross‐sectional analysis. Panel studies, however, are only one type of longitudinal design and the advantages and disadvantages of panels are discussed, in comparison to repeated cross sections and retrospective designs. Panel studies have a number of analytical advantages. First they make it possible to distinguish transitory and persistent phenomena, and to disaggregate net change. Second, panel data can help disentangle ambiguities in causal relations by providing temporal ordering. Third, they allow researchers to take into account the timing (in terms of age, or life‐course stage) and the duration of conditions and experiences, both of which are crucial for understanding social continuity and change. Household panels have the additional feature of collecting personal data from each adult member. This enables analysts to explore the strong inter‐dependencies of family choices and constraints; to investigate the impact of various life events on household members; and to examine the contextual processes that determine individual transitions, life trajectories and inter‐generational change.

Key user mining is a crucial problem in social network analysis. Key users refer to those who hold important positions, possess influence, or have extensive social connections within a social network. By mining key users, we can gain in-depth insights into the patterns of information propagation, opinion formation, and social influence in social networks. This, in turn, provides scientific basis and decision support for the management, operation, and applications of social networks. Existing research in this field primarily focuses on calculating based on the structural features of social networks, neglecting users' personal preference characteristics, which leads to an inaccurate identification of key users within the social network. To address the aforementioned issues, this paper proposes a method for mining key propagating users in social networks based on heterogeneous graph neural networks. By introducing an attention mechanism, the proposed method dynamically measures the criticality of users based on their preferences and event topics. Experimental evaluations are conducted on publicly available real-world social network datasets, and the performance of the proposed method is assessed using multiple metrics. The results of the experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method presented in this paper.