Towards a Critical Biocultural Approach: Understanding HIV/AIDS Transmission Among Women in the United States and Implications for Prevention Programmes

Abstract

Recent trends in AIDS research suggest anthropologists must modify traditional conceptions to include political economics and multiple levels of analysis. A critical biocultural approach would integrate the political economy of risk behaviour; the ethnographic examination of insider understandings, meaning systems, and behaviours; and the biological analysis of health-related issues. This paper employs critical bioculturalism to investigate the factors contributing to the increased susceptibility of women in the United States to HIV/AIDS. Arguably, to develop appropriate prevention strategies, collaboration between anthropologists and community-based organizations is needed. Such strategies would help address the immediate needs of women, while advancing an agenda aimed at ameliorating oppressive conditions.