The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Gender, migration and HIV in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Gender, migration and HIV in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Gender, migration and HIV in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Objectives: research on migration and HIV has largely focused on male migration, often failing to measure HIV risks associated with migration for women. We aimed to establish whether associations between migration and HIV infection differ for women and men, and identify possible mechanisms by which women's migration contributes to their high infection risk.

Design: data on socio-demographic characteristics, patterns of migration, sexual behavior and HIV infection status were obtained for a population of 11,677 women aged 15–49 and men aged 15–54, resident members of households within a demographic surveillance area participating in HIV surveillance in 2003–04.

Methods: logistic regression was conducted to examine whether sex and migration were independently associated with HIV infection in three additive effects models, using measures of recent migration, household presence and migration frequency. Multiplicative effects models were fitted to explore whether the risk of HIV associated with migration differed for males and females. Further modeling and simulations explored whether composition or behavioral differences accounted for observed associations.

Results: relative to non-migrant males, non-migrant females had higher odds of being HIV-positive (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.72; 95% confidence interval [1.49–1.99]), but odds were higher for female migrants (aOR = 2.55 [2.07–3.13]). Female migrants also had higher odds of infection relative to female non-migrants (aOR = 1.48 [1.23–1.77]). The association between number of sexual partners over the lifetime and HIV infection was modified by both sex and migrant status: For male non-migrants, each additional partner was associated with 3% higher odds of HIV infection (aOR = 1.03 [1.02–1.05]); for male migrants the association between number of partners and HIV infection was non-significant. Each additional partner increased odds of HIV infection by 22% for female non-migrants (aOR = 1.22 [1.12–1.32]) and 46% for female migrants (aOR = 1.46 [1.25–1.69]).

Conclusions: higher risk sexual behavior in the context of migration increased women's likelihood of HIV infection
1932-6203
e11539
Camlin, C.
b27683fe-119c-485f-8a9b-ef51fa3fe37c
Hosegood, Victoria
c59a89d5-5edc-42dd-b282-f44458fd2993
Newell, M.
fced7ba6-4d11-463f-8285-99fd50a9d001
McGrath, N.
b75c0232-24ec-443f-93a9-69e9e12dc961
Barnighausen, N.
a5a871fe-7191-42d7-8956-c6776a7dbd9d
Snow, R.C.
43448436-2bdb-4e34-99ad-24e17e7c22b8
Camlin, C.
b27683fe-119c-485f-8a9b-ef51fa3fe37c
Hosegood, Victoria
c59a89d5-5edc-42dd-b282-f44458fd2993
Newell, M.
fced7ba6-4d11-463f-8285-99fd50a9d001
McGrath, N.
b75c0232-24ec-443f-93a9-69e9e12dc961
Barnighausen, N.
a5a871fe-7191-42d7-8956-c6776a7dbd9d
Snow, R.C.
43448436-2bdb-4e34-99ad-24e17e7c22b8

Camlin, C., Hosegood, Victoria, Newell, M., McGrath, N., Barnighausen, N. and Snow, R.C. (2010) Gender, migration and HIV in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. PLoS ONE, 5 (7), e11539. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011539). (PMID:20634965)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives: research on migration and HIV has largely focused on male migration, often failing to measure HIV risks associated with migration for women. We aimed to establish whether associations between migration and HIV infection differ for women and men, and identify possible mechanisms by which women's migration contributes to their high infection risk.

Design: data on socio-demographic characteristics, patterns of migration, sexual behavior and HIV infection status were obtained for a population of 11,677 women aged 15–49 and men aged 15–54, resident members of households within a demographic surveillance area participating in HIV surveillance in 2003–04.

Methods: logistic regression was conducted to examine whether sex and migration were independently associated with HIV infection in three additive effects models, using measures of recent migration, household presence and migration frequency. Multiplicative effects models were fitted to explore whether the risk of HIV associated with migration differed for males and females. Further modeling and simulations explored whether composition or behavioral differences accounted for observed associations.

Results: relative to non-migrant males, non-migrant females had higher odds of being HIV-positive (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.72; 95% confidence interval [1.49–1.99]), but odds were higher for female migrants (aOR = 2.55 [2.07–3.13]). Female migrants also had higher odds of infection relative to female non-migrants (aOR = 1.48 [1.23–1.77]). The association between number of sexual partners over the lifetime and HIV infection was modified by both sex and migrant status: For male non-migrants, each additional partner was associated with 3% higher odds of HIV infection (aOR = 1.03 [1.02–1.05]); for male migrants the association between number of partners and HIV infection was non-significant. Each additional partner increased odds of HIV infection by 22% for female non-migrants (aOR = 1.22 [1.12–1.32]) and 46% for female migrants (aOR = 1.46 [1.25–1.69]).

Conclusions: higher risk sexual behavior in the context of migration increased women's likelihood of HIV infection

Other
fetchObject.action_uri=info_doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011539&representation=PDF - Version of Record
Available under License Other.
Download (205kB)

More information

Published date: July 2010

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 181361
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/181361
ISSN: 1932-6203
PURE UUID: d9af1a40-56eb-4477-9443-420be4ca91c7
ORCID for Victoria Hosegood: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2244-2518
ORCID for N. McGrath: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1039-0159

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Apr 2011 10:30
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:59

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: C. Camlin
Author: M. Newell
Author: N. McGrath ORCID iD
Author: N. Barnighausen
Author: R.C. Snow

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×