Network Data Collection and its Relevance for the Analysis of STDs: The NHSLS and the CHSLS

For epidemiologists and public health professionals, the global epidemic of HIV/AIDS has provoked a fundamental re-examination of infectious disease prevention and the research needed to support it. This book documents and explains a breakthrough in behavioural research design that has emerged to confront this new challenge: the network survey. It represents a paradigm shift in epidemiology, broadening the focus from the traditional “knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP)” of individuals to mapping the relational networks that spread infection, and constrain behavioural change. Eight pioneering network studies from around the world are reviewed, with extensive detail on the sampling strategy, questionnaire development, fieldwork experiences, and key findings. In addition, there is an introduction that lays out the basics of network survey design, and a glossary of network terminology. This is a unique resource for all who wish to understand or undertake a network study.