ABSTRACT
HIV/AIDS epidemics. The second approach, on the other hand, which considers
in significant detail the types of economic and social terrain in which epidemic
disease flourish, has received far less attention. Looking at what has also been
referred to among other things as the ‘‘biosocial,’’ ‘‘structural,’’ ‘‘distal,’’ or
‘‘economic and social determinants’’ of disease, this approach has attempted to
move beyond the subject of individual agency in its explanation of epidemic dis-
ease. Despite its neglect to date, there is now growing interest in these so-called
structural determinants of disease, including those related to HIV/AIDS. The pri-
mary purpose of this book is to apply some of the ideas of this approach, with a
view to further understanding China’s HIV/AIDS problem from this alternative
perspective. As such, this contribution to the understanding of China’s HIV/AIDS
epidemic takes a somewhat novel and different approach to those already made.
