Societal determinants as risk factors of HIV-infection spread in regions in the Russian Federation

The paper dwells on the results obtained via examining dependence between HIV-infection spread and factors related to social environmental and social structure of population in RF regions. These factors are considered to be potential health risk ones. The authors tested a hypothesis about influence exerted by demographic, economic, cultural and behavioral determinants and public healthcare availability on differences in territorial spread of the disease within social-epidemiologic approach. To solve the set task, data that characterized 85 RF regions were taken from official statistical reports. Descriptive statistic analysis was performed and regression models were built up; it allowed testing whether the analyzed factors had their influence in RF regions and selecting the most significant ones to be included into the overall regression model. The research revealed significant contextual differences in HIV-infection spread. Regression analysis showed that 22.0 % differences in a number of HIV-infected people detected in RF regions occurred due to differences in urban population numbers, provision with ambulatories and polyclinics, and unemployment rate. Moreover, a number of registered crimes committed by minors determined 32.5 % difference in a number of patients with the first diagnosed HIV-infection between the examined regions. These results allow assuming that the greatest influence on spread of the disease in RF regions is exerted by consequences of urbanization; this process is usually accompanied with a growth in a share of urban population in a given region, instability on the labor market there as well as related migration processes within the country and wider opportunities to pursue individual behavioral strategies including those that involve law violations and/or are destructive for people’s health.