title: Size, composition, and strength of ties of personal social support networks among adult people living with HIV/AIDS in Henan and Beijing, China.
abstract: To characterize the level of personal support available to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Henan and Beijing, China, face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect information on network size, composition, and strength of ties. The number of people as sources of support for participants in Henan varied from 1 to 13 and 1 to 16 in Beijing. In Henan, family members were more likely to provide support than non-relatives and they provided support more frequently; in Beijing non-relatives were more likely to provide support than family members. Family members were closer to PLWHA than non-relatives in both sites, but the closest type of relative and non-relative supporters were different between Henan and Beijing. PLWHA in Henan and Beijing receive considerable social support, but there is still opportunity for additional social support. Efforts should be made to mobilize civil society to provide support for PLWHA in China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Haidian District, Beijing, People's Republic of China. userzht@163.com
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Weihua
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Kathleen Heather
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Reilly
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Liming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000523:psychology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012934:Social Isolation; D060756:Social Networking; D012944:Social Support; D055815:Young Adult