Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Genotypic Inference of HIV-1 Tropism Using Population-based Sequencing of V3
Published on: December 28, 2010
Integrating demographic and epidemiological approaches to research on HIV/AIDS: the proximate-determinants framework
1Department of Epidemiology and Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, USA. boermat@who.int
Abstract:
This article presents a conceptual framework for the study of the distribution and determinants of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in populations, by combining demographic and epidemiological approaches. The proximate-determinants framework has been applied extensively in the study of fertility and child survival in developing countries. Key to the framework is the identification of a set of variables, called "proximate determinants," that can be influenced by changes in contextual variables or by interventions and that have a direct effect on biological mechanisms to influence health outcomes. In HIV research, the biological mechanisms are the components that determine the reproductive rate of infection. The proximate-determinants framework can be used in study design, in the analysis and interpretation of risk factors or intervention studies that include both biological and behavioral data, and in ecological studies.
Related Concept Videos
Introduction to Epidemiology
Study Designs in Epidemiology
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies.
Criteria for Causality: Bradford Hill Criteria - II
Causality in Epidemiology
Confounding in Epidemiological Studies
Strategies for Assessing and Addressing Confounding
Confounding can be addressed at both the design phase of a study and through analytical methods after data...

