Comparing Two Sexual Mixing Schemes for Modelling the Spread of HIV/AIDS

Abstract

In this paper we compare the impact of two sexual mixing schemes on thecharacteristics of the resulting sexual networks and the spread of HIV.This work is part of our studying social complexity in the Sekhukhunedistrict of the Limpopo province in South Africa. While the agent-basedmodels are constrained by evidence wherever possible, little or noevidence is available about individuals' choice of partners in theregion and their sexual behaviour. Since we therefore have to depend onplausible assumptions we decided to study different sexual mixingschemes and their effect on the formation of sexual networks. We reporton some fundamental network signatures and discuss the resultingHIV/AIDS prevalence as a macro-level output of the simulation.