Social Capital, Health and HIV Awareness of Girls in a Rural Caribbean Community.

Girls and young women are bearing the heaviest burden of the rising HIV epidemic in the English-speaking Caribbean. Previous research has highlighted the importance of understanding geographical and sociocultural factors in the spread of HIV among this population. This paper reports an exploratory case study which assessed the role of social capital in health and HIV awareness among girls and young women in a rural isolated community on Andros Island Bahamas. We examined features of rural community life such as social networks community engagement safety and trust in relation to the health and HIV/AIDS awareness of school-aged girls living in this environment. Using focus group discussions and structured writing exercises we collected information from 18 schoolgirls aged 9 to 16 years about community structure friendship networks participation in community life and issues of safety and trust. We further explored concepts of health and perspectives on HIV/AIDS. Findings revealed a close-knit community in which girls were social as well as economic participants. Girls felt safe trusted their elders and had an awareness of health and HIV related issues. These social capital elements can play an important role in HIV prevention for girls in the rural Caribbean. (authors)