Migrant Latino Day Laborers and Intentions to Test for HIV

Abstract

This cross sectional study utilized convenience sampling to investigate the HIV testing intentions of 290 sexually active, male, migrant Latino day laborers, 18 years old or older. The findings indicate that day laborers are indeed at risk for HIV. Nearly two-thirds of the men intended to test for HIV in the next year. Men who were at higher risk of infection from their sexual encounters with female partners were more likely to intend to test, as were men making less money and men who did not perceive themselves to be at risk. Men who attended high school or beyond, and reported using a condom with casual female partners, were much more likely to intend to test than men who did not attend school and reported no such condom use. The prevalence of high risk sex and the low rates of condom use have implications for the increased transmission of HIV.

A comparison of HIV testing protocols with Latino day laborers

“…Some possible areas of exploration could focus on the characteristics of the tests themselves, such as the length of test administration or a perception that a particular test is more stigmatizing than others. Several previous studies have described Latino day laborers as being potentially at risk for HIV (Ehrlich et al, 2007;Galvan et al, 2008;Organista & Kubo, 2005;Valdez et al, 2010).…”

“…One population of Latino immigrants that has received some attention in the HIV prevention literature is Latino day laborers (Ehrlich, Organista, & Oman, 2007;Galvan, Ortiz, Martinez, & Bing, 2008;Galvan, Ortiz, Martinez, & Bing, 2009;Solorio & Galvan, 2009;Organista & Kubo, 2005;Valdez, Cepeda, Negi, & Kaplan, 2010). Day workers seek jobs primarily in front of businesses and on busy streets (Valenzuela, Theodore, Melendez, & Gonzalez, 2006).…”

“…Given the association between higher HIV prevalence and lower socioeconomic status (CDC, 2011), studies with day laborers have begun to examine the extent to which they may be at risk for HIV. Potential factors identified with such risk among day laborers include alcohol and injection drug use (Organista & Kubo, 2005) (Ehrlich et al, 2007), being solicited for sex by male employers (Galvan et al, 2008) and smoking crack cocaine (Valdez et al, 2010).…”

Sampling and Surveying Hard-to-Reach Populations for Demographic Research

“…These problems are pervasive in research on irregular migrants and other hard-to-reach populations. Common solutions for these problems have been convenience and "snowball" sampling (e.g., Chavez [1992Chavez [ ] 1998Ehrlich et al, 2007;Faugier and Sargeant 1997;Organista and Kubo 2005;van Meeteren 2010). In addition, non-probability sampling approaches have been employed in research on migrants in Russia (Poletaev 2005) and China (Li et al, 2004).…”

HIV Stigmatization and Testing

“…The most commonly mentioned are demographics such as age, gender, ethnicity, religion, education, and marital status. These are generally followed by individual factors such as risky behaviors for HIV, perceptions of HIV risk, and knowledge about HIV [7][8][9]. A few studies have also identified clinical (previous sexually transmitted infections or history of HIV testing) and organizational factors that are associated with HIV testing [8][9][10].…”