More than 1 million infants are exposed to HIV during pregnancy and childbirth in African countries significantly impacted by HIV, leading to 120,000 new infant infections each year. Early testing of babies who’ve been exposed to HIV and linking them to care if the test is positive can save lives. Yet only 60% of babies exposed to HIV worldwide are tested as recommended at 6 weeks old.
There are important gaps in ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment for babies. A new paper led by Alison Comfort, PhD, and colleagues in Uganda and the US explored whether having social ties to people who knew when babies should be tested for HIV was linked to a person’s knowledge about early infant testing.
In a rural parish in Uganda, the research team analyzed social network data and found that people who had at least one social tie with someone with correct knowledge about the timing of early HIV testing were much more likely to also have the correct information themselves. There was no apparent relationship between the number of people in their network who knew the correct information and someone’s own knowledge. What mattered was simply having at least one person with that correct knowledge.
Women, people with more education, and younger people were more likely to know when babies should be tested for HIV. Single people were less likely to have the correct information. Correct knowledge was also linked with having daily contact with social ties and being considered an “authority” for health advice in the community. In network terminology, authorities are individuals whom many people have ties to, in this case for seeking health information and advice.
It’s critical for parents and caregivers of infants exposed to HIV to know the recommended timing of early infant testing to identify babies living with HIV and connect them with treatment. Health networks act as important sources of health information and advice, especially for potentially stigmatizing topics like HIV among children.
This research showed that having at least one person in one’s health network who knows about timing of infant testing was critical to ensuring that someone knew these recommendations, and suggested that information sharing within networks was happening through social influence. Interventions to educate about early infant testing need to focus on the importance of peer-to-peer exchange of information, since people rely on close, trusted social ties for this information. There’s also an opportunity to target highly connected people within communities who are viewed as leaders, to make sure they have this information and are encouraged to share it directly with people who rely on them for health information and advice.