HIV Risks and Seroprevalence Among Mexican American Injection Drug Users in California

✍ Scribed by Alexis N. Martinez; Ricky N. Bluthenthal; Neil M. Flynn; Rachel L. Anderson; Alex H. Kral

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 187 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1090-7165
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-009-9614-2

✦ Synopsis

Latinos in the United States are an ethnically diverse group disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. We describe HIV seroprevalence, HIV risk behaviors and utilization of health services among Mexican American injection drug users (IDUs) in California (n = 286) and compare them to White (n = 830) and African American (n = 314) IDUs. Study participants were recruited from syringe exchange programs (n = 24) in California. HIV seroprevalence among Mexican Americans (0.5%) was dramatically lower than Whites (5%) and African Americans (8%). Mexican Americans reported fewer sex-related risks than Whites and African Americans though injection-related risks remained high. Compared to Whites, Mexican Americans were more likely to participate in drug treatment during a 6 month period (AOR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1, 2.0) but less likely to receive any health care (AOR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5, 0.8). Exploring cultural and structural factors among Mexican American IDUs may offer new insights into how to maintain low rates of HIV seroprevalence and reduce barriers to health care utilization.