HIV and Latino migrant workers in the USA

Abstract

Migrant workers from Latin America are an essential source of economic development in the US agricultural industry. A majority of migrants are from Mexico and are undocumented and they represent a vulnerable and marginalized group in American society. There is a growing concern for HIV disease in the migrant community. The HIV prevalence rate among migrants is higher than the average rates in USA and in countries of Latin America. There are many behavioural, social, cultural, and health care risk factors and barriers that place migrants at increased risk for HIV infection. Many migrant workers contract HIV while working and living in the USA, which has contributed to rising HIV infection rates in Mexico. In order to prevent an increasing epidemic of HIV disease in Latino migrant workers, there is an urgent call for new and improved health care policies at the international, federal, state, and local levels.

Needs, Risks, and Context in Sexual Health Among Temporary Foreign Migrant Farmworkers in Canada: A Pilot Study with Mexican and Caribbean Workers

“…Compared with the results in the previous studies in the US [23], our survey participants reported more accurate knowledge of condoms (e.g., their effectiveness against pregnancy and HIV, and the fact that their use should not be restricted to sex with prostitutes and between men). Despite this knowledge, however, the actual condom use among our survey participants was as low as among participants in previous studies [12,[14][15][16][17][18][19]23]. Our study also found MFWs' beliefs and cultural barriers lead to their hesitation to use condoms (e.g., condoms are uncomfortable, ''Mexican men don't like to use condoms'').…”

“…This overlaps with the findings of the previous Canadian study [2,4,20], although it is impossible to compare the ratios as we did not include these questions in our survey. A cause for concern is that focus group participants, like their counterparts in the United States, reported potentially risky behaviour, including sex with multiple partners, transactional sex [12,18], and sex between men, possibly in part as a result of the imbalance between male and female workers [3,12], as well as low and inconsistent condom use [12,[14][15][16]19]. Compared with the results in the previous studies in the US [23], our survey participants reported more accurate knowledge of condoms (e.g., their effectiveness against pregnancy and HIV, and the fact that their use should not be restricted to sex with prostitutes and between men).…”

“…Displaced from their families and communities, migrants, who are normally in their reproductive years, tend to find solace through intimacy in their place of temporary residence [12][13][14][15]. Research in the United States, predominantly with Latinos, has found that MFWs are at increased risk of HIV and STIs due to various structural, cultural and economic factors, including limited education, poor working and living conditions, high mobility, lack of access to health care, isolation, use of sex workers, low rates of condom use, and multiple partner encounters [12,[14][15][16][17][18][19]. Unlike most Latino MFWs in the United States, the majority of MFWs in Canada are under legal temporary work permits, and thus in theory, have access to Canada's public health care system [6].…”

Prevalence, patterns and predictors of substance use among Latino migrant men in a new receiving community

“…Most studies suggest that drug use is initiated in the U.S., while binge drinking, a more socially sanctioned behavior, is carried over from the country of origin (Alaniz, 2002; Borges et al, 2009; Davis and Winters, 2002; Hernández et al, 2004; Magis-Rodriguez et al, 2009; Mills et al, 2012; Persichino and Ibarra, 2012; Valdez et al, 2009; Worby and Organista, 2013). These studies suggest that the environment in the U.S. may play a role in increased substance use.…”

Migration and HIV risk: life histories of Mexican-born men living with HIV in North Carolina

“…For many men in the study, HIV infection was detected after they had developed symptoms and, in some cases, were seriously ill. Emilio and the other participants described fear, stigma, fatalism, lack of knowledge, and lack of access as reasons that they did not test earlier, all of which are common barriers identified in the migrant health literature (Persichino and Ibarra 2012; Rhodes et al 2006; Rhodes and Hergenrather 2007). However, several, including Emilio, described ways that some aspects of their lives had improved after they finally were diagnosed and began receiving HIV care.…”