To assess contexts of adherence with hypertension care among Hmong Americans, in-person interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 323 adults using culturally adapted survey instruments. The mean age of participants was 58 years; 91% had no education, and 86% spoke no English. Although more than 90% had health insurance and were treated with medications, the rate of blood pressure control was low (27%). A majority (> 90%) suffered from psychological distress, and 46% lived with physical illness. Over 50% reported nonadherence with hypertension care. Respondents who were 50 years of age or older, had no physical illness, did not know that hypertension was preventable, or believed that American medicine was too strong, were more likely to report nonadherence with proper medication consumption. Findings suggest that adherence was not due to lack of health care coverage; instead, it may be due to gaps in health services.

Objectives We sought to investigate independent contributions of risky sexual behaviors and bleeding caused by intimate partner violence to prediction of HCV infection. Methods We conducted a case–control study of risk factors among patients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic with and without HCV antibodies, group-matched by age. Results Multivariate analyses indicated that Black race (odds ratio [OR]=2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.3, 4.4), injection drug use (OR=20.3; 95% CI=10.8, 37.8), sharing straws to snort drugs (OR=1.8; 95% CI=1.01, 3.0), sharing razors (OR=7.8; 95% CI=2.0, 31.0), and exposure to bleeding caused by intimate partner violence (OR=5.5; 95% CI=1.4, 22.8) contributed significantly to the prediction of HCV infection; risky sexual behavior and exposure to blood or sores during sexual intercourse did not. Conclusions HCV risk among patients of a sexually transmitted disease clinic can be explained by direct blood exposure, primarily through injection drug use. Exposure to bleeding caused by intimate partner violence may be a previously unrecognized mechanism for HCV transmission associated with risky sexual behavior.