Social barriers to effective HIV prevention. Stigma, peer pressure and the role of soccer-based programs in South Africa

This thesis was written in 2008 after six months of field work and data collection in South Africa. It includes a comprehensive literature review on the theory and empirics of the behavioral response to HIV looking at: (1) the relationship between HIV incidence and sexual behaviors; (2) types of evidence resulting from observational studies, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), recent creative social experiments that go beyond conventional RCTs in testing different hypothesis in the field; (3) the socio-economic characteristics of HIV infection and associated sexual behaviors. The research and analysis is informed by the social perspective on HIV prevention, an approach that assumes the presence of community-level factors that influence sexual-health outcomes. The innovative role and potential to induce social change of sports in development and HIV prevention is highlighted by discussing the theoretical frameworks of two soccer-based programs (Grassroot Soccer; Whizz Kids United) and how they address social drivers of sexual-risk behaviors in the context of a generalized epidemic. New evidence is generated through regression analysis and a six-month follow-up field experiment contributing to the understanding of stigma and peer pressure as major social drivers of HIV in South Africa. Well designed sports-based programs are highly promising to curb the spread of HIV even in the worst affected countries where the riskiness of the sexual network explains why behavior change programs that focused on the individual did not prove efficacious at the population level. Academic peer-reviewed evidence to underpin the long-term benefits suggested here is practically non-existent and should be the concern of future research.

Details

• Title: Social barriers to effective HIV prevention
• Subtitle: Stigma, peer pressure and the role of soccer-based programs in South Africa
• Author: Jasmin Dirinpur
• ISBN: 978-3-86376-015-1
• Cover photo: © Jasmin Dirinpur
• Edition: 1st edition
  
• Published: 1st edition 07/23/2012
• Subject: social science, sports science
• Product Type: Book (Hardcover)
• Product type: textbook
• Language: English
• Binding: Softcover (paperback)
• Dimensions: 21.0 x 14.8 cm (DIN A5)
• Scope: 204 pages
• Condition: New (shrink-wrapped in foil)
• Keywords: AIDS, Community-level of HIV, Development through Sport, Grassroot Soccer, HIV, HIV Prevention, Randomized Controlled Trial, Randomized Field Experiment, Soccer-based HIV Prevention, Social Cognitive Theory, Social Drivers of HIV, South Africa

Author

Jasmin Dirinpur studied Development Economics at the University of Göttingen and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. After obtaining her Master's degree in early 2009 she worked as a junior consultant on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in the Evaluation Department of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In April 2010 she joined the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH where she currently works in the Education, Health and Social Protection Division as a technical advisor on results measurement and applied health research.

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