IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jafrec/v20y2011i1p60-89.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Virgin HIV Puzzle: Can Misreporting Account for the High Proportion of HIV Cases in Self-reported Virgins?

Author

Listed:
  • Eva Deuchert

Abstract

It is widely believed that HIV is predominantly sexually transmitted in Sub-Saharan Africa. This claim is inconsistent with national representative data from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Swaziland which reveals that a significant proportion of HIV infections occurred in adolescents who claim to be virgins. Two explanations for this observation have been proposed: adolescents misreport sexual status or non-sexual risks are more prevalent than previously asserted. This paper empirically uncovers the implicit assumptions underlying this discussion, by estimating the proportion of sexually transmitted HIV infections assuming that misreporting is irrelevant, and the proportion of misreporting necessary to conclude that HIV is predominantly sexually transmitted. It shows that under the no-misreporting assumption, 70% of HIV cases in the respective sample of unmarried adolescent women is not due to sexual transmission. The assumption that HIV is predominantly sexually transmitted is valid only if more than 55% of unmarried adolescent women who are sexually active have misreported sexual activity status. This research is designed to gain better understanding on the importance of different transmission modes. This is important to design combination prevention to achieve maximum impact on HIV prevention. Copyright 2011 The author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Eva Deuchert, 2011. "The Virgin HIV Puzzle: Can Misreporting Account for the High Proportion of HIV Cases in Self-reported Virgins?," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 20(1), pages 60-89, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jafrec:v:20:y:2011:i:1:p:60-89
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jae/ejq032
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. John Bongaarts & Thomas Buettner & Gerhard Heilig & François Pelletier, 2008. "Has the HIV Epidemic Peaked?," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 199-224, June.
    2. Emily Oster, 2005. "Sexually Transmitted Infections, Sexual Behavior, and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 467-515.
    3. Tulio de Oliveira & Oliver G. Pybus & Andrew Rambaut & Marco Salemi & Sharon Cassol & Massimo Ciccozzi & Giovanni Rezza & Guido Castelli Gattinara & Roberta D'Arrigo & Massimo Amicosante & Luc Perrin , 2006. "HIV-1 and HCV sequences from Libyan outbreak," Nature, Nature, vol. 444(7121), pages 836-837, December.
    4. Catharina Hjortsberg, 2003. "Why do the sick not utilise health care? The case of Zambia," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(9), pages 755-770, September.
    5. Schneider, W.H. & Drucker, E., 2006. "Blood transfusions in the early years of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 96(6), pages 984-994.
    6. de Walque, Damien, 2007. "How does the impact of an HIV/AIDS information campaign vary with educational attainment? Evidence from rural Uganda," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 686-714, November.
    7. Peter J. Glick & David E. Sahn, 2008. "Are Africans Practicing Safer Sex? Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys for Eight Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 397-439, January.
    8. David E. Sahn & Stephen D. Younger & Garance Genicot, 2003. "The Demand for Health Care Services in Rural Tanzania," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 65(2), pages 241-260, May.
    9. Rockhill, B. & Newman, B. & Weinberg, C., 1998. "Use and misuse of population attributable fractions," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 88(1), pages 15-19.
    10. Damien De Walque, 2007. "Sero‐Discordant Couples in Five African Countries: Implications for Prevention Strategies," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 33(3), pages 501-523, September.
    11. Luke, Nancy, 2006. "Exchange and Condom Use in Informal Sexual Relationships in Urban Kenya," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(2), pages 319-348, January.
    12. Mark Gersovitz, 2005. "The HIV Epidemic in Four African Countries Seen through the Demographic and Health Surveys," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 14(2), pages 191-246, June.
    13. Alan D. Lopez & Colin D. Mathers & Majid Ezzati & Dean T. Jamison & Christopher J. L. Murray, 2006. "Global Burden of Disease and Risk Factors," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7039, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vidhura Tennekoon & Robert Rosenman, 2014. "‘Behold, A Virgin Is With Hiv!’ Misreporting Sexual Behavior Among Infected Adolescents," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(3), pages 345-358, March.
    2. Ibrahim Kasirye, 2016. "HIV/AIDS Sero-prevalence and Socio-economic Status: Evidence from Uganda," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(3), pages 304-318, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ibrahim Kasirye, 2016. "HIV/AIDS Sero-prevalence and Socio-economic Status: Evidence from Uganda," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 28(3), pages 304-318, September.
    2. Djemaï, Elodie, 2008. "Risk Taking of HIV-Infection and Income Uncertainty: Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," MPRA Paper 15605, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 09 Jan 2009.
    3. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7314 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Lucia Corno & Damien de Walque, 2012. "Mines, Migration and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 21(3), pages 465-498, June.
    5. Yao Yao, 2022. "Fertility and HIV Risk in Africa," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 45, pages 109-133, July.
    6. Marshall Burke & Erick Gong & Kelly Jones, 2015. "Income Shocks and HIV in Africa," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(585), pages 1157-1189, June.
    7. Jeremy Greenwood & Philipp Kircher & Cezar Santos & Michèle Tertilt, 2019. "An Equilibrium Model of the African HIV/AIDS Epidemic," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 87(4), pages 1081-1113, July.
    8. Jonathan Robinson & Ethan Yeh, 2011. "Transactional Sex as a Response to Risk in Western Kenya," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(1), pages 35-64, January.
    9. Djemaï, Elodie, 2008. "Is the risk taking of HIV-infection influenced by income uncertainty? : Empirical Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," MPRA Paper 11731, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. repec:dau:papers:123456789/7310 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Durevall, Dick & Lindskog, Annika, 2009. "How Does Communal HIV/AIDS Affect Fertility? - Evidence from Malawi," Working Papers in Economics 369, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics, revised 25 Aug 2009.
    12. Bertocchi, Graziella & Dimico, Arcangelo, 2019. "The long-term determinants of female HIV infection in Africa: The slave trade, polygyny, and sexual behavior," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 90-105.
    13. Pedro de Araujo, 2008. "Socio-Economic Status, HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Stigma, and Sexual Behavior in India," Caepr Working Papers 2008-019_updated, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Economics Department, Indiana University Bloomington, revised Sep 2008.
    14. Baland, Jean-Marie & Aldashev, Gani, 2012. "Awareness and AIDS: A Political Economy Perspective," CEPR Discussion Papers 8908, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Ishida, Kanako & Arnold, Michael & Stupp, Paul & Kizito, Paul & Ichwara, Jared, 2012. "Exploring the connections between HIV serostatus and individual, household, and community socioeconomic resources: Evidence from two population-based surveys in Kenya," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 185-195.
    16. Pokhrel, Subhash, 2007. "Determinants of parental reports of children's illnesses: Empirical evidence from Nepal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 65(6), pages 1106-1117, September.
    17. Yao, Yao, 2016. "Fertility and HIV risk in Africa," Working Paper Series 19501, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    18. Mojola, Sanyu A., 2011. "Fishing in dangerous waters: Ecology, gender and economy in HIV risk," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(2), pages 149-156, January.
    19. Esther Duflo & Pascaline Dupas & Michael Kremer, 2015. "Education, HIV, and Early Fertility: Experimental Evidence from Kenya," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(9), pages 2757-2797, September.
    20. Peter J. Glick & David E. Sahn, 2008. "Are Africans Practicing Safer Sex? Evidence from Demographic and Health Surveys for Eight Countries," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(2), pages 397-439, January.
    21. Mark Gersovitz, 2011. "Infectious Diseases: Responses to the Security Threat Without Borders," Chapters, in: George Mavrotas (ed.), Security and Development, chapter 9, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    22. Qian, Dongfu & Lucas, Henry & Chen, Jiaying & Xu, Ling & Zhang, Yaoguang, 2010. "Determinants of the use of different types of health care provider in urban China: A tracer illness study of URTI," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(2-3), pages 227-235, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C14 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods: General
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:jafrec:v:20:y:2011:i:1:p:60-89. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/csaoxuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.