摘要：Althou gh neighbou rhood social ca pita l is considered useful a nd be nefic ia l for individua l hea lth, supporting evidence in South Africa is very scant and thin. Against this backdrop, this study assessed the associa tion betwee n ne ighborhood socia l stru cture a s a source or dimension of soc ial ca pita l and HIV /AID S prevention. T he purpose of the study was to assess the role s of a neighbourhood measure of social capital and its ef fec ts on HIV/ AIDS avoida nce. It dra ws mainly on qua lita tive ethnographic da ta gathered in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal in South A frica. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect informa tion from villagers who were purposively sam ple d. In this stu dy, the r esea rche rs aimed to establish the ne t effe ct o f ne ig hbourhood socia l c a pita l on individual health particularly in the context of H IV/AID S. Evidence ga thered in this study tends to single out the rura l neighbourhood as a rich source of HIV /AIDS knowledge and informa tion tha t ca n benefit every citizen who is a ctively enga ged or involved in it. The study also esta blished that neighbourhood social capital in rural communities is re sponsible for the a voida nce of H IV/AI DS infection a nd tra nsmission. Community netw ork s a nd assoc ia tions have been identified useful in facilita ting the sharing of critica l information on HIV/AIDS. Associa tional membership a nd the a symmetric excha nge of HIV /AID S knowledge inc luding instru me nta l resourc es has been found to be corre la ted to the adoption of protective behaviour and H IV/AID S pr evention
关键词：Socia l Ca pital. H IV Avoida nce. Neighbour hood Effects. Sexual Awa reness
