Gender and Social Capital: Structured Utilization of Health Services among People with HIV/AIDS in New York City

This book tries to develop social capital as an analytical concept in sociology and applies it in an empirical study of health service utilization among people who live with HIV/AIDS in New York City. Gender is one of the most important socio-demographic factors influencing social capital, through gender roles and gender characteristics. However, few studies have attempted to address social capital, health and gender simultaneously. This book investigates the differences in women's and men's social capital and health service utilization by analyzing the impact of gender on both the amount and the sources of social capital. Specifically, this study demonstrates the existence of gender differences in access to social capital defined as a source of information, and as a factor that affects social norms and exposure to stigmatization. This study is invaluable to scholars who interested in the theory and operationalization of social capital. This analysis will also be useful to applied researchers and professionals who develop and evaluate public health service programs.

Gunjeong Lee, PhD, is Associate Research Scientist of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University. She studied Women's Studies at Ewha Womans University, Korea, and Sociology at Columbia University. Her research has focused on analyzing gender differences in health service use and evaluating public health programs for vulnerable populations.