Use of HIV primary care by HIV-positive Haitian immigrants in Miami, Florida

Abstract

Little is known about the use of HIV primary care among Haitian immigrants in the U.S. The present study utilizes data from a survey of HIV positive Haitians recruited from an HIV primary care clinic in Miami, Florida to examine barriers and facilitators of regular use of HIV care by this population. Selection of measures was guided by the Andersen Model of Health Services Utilization for Vulnerable Populations. The dependent variable, regular use of HIV primary care, was operationalized as completion of 4 or more HIV primary care visits during the previous 12 months. Of the 96 participants surveyed, approximately three-fourths did not graduate from high school and reported an annual income of up to $5,000. Seventy-nine percent of participants completed 4 or more visits in the past year. On univariate as well as multivariate analyses, participants without formal education or those with high psychological distress were significantly less likely to have used HIV primary care regularly than those who attended school or who were less distressed, respectively. The findings emphasize the need for health care practitioners to pay close attention to the education level and the mental health status of their Haitian HIV patients. The data also suggest that once these individuals are linked to care and offered assistance with their daily challenges they are very likely to stay connected to care and to take their antiretroviral medicines.

Health Care and HIV Testing Experiences Among Black Men in the South: Implications for “Seek, Test, Treat, and Retain” HIV Prevention Strategies

“…This model has been used to study health care utilization in a wide variety of populations, including routine health screening for Black men, 31 breast cancer screening, 33 spinal cord injury, 34 and for HIV patients. 35 Understanding the factors that influence the health care utilization experiences and behaviors of Black men has been understudied. 36,37 There are limited data that examines the influence of general health care experiences on HIV testing experiences.…”

Mapping patient-identified barriers and facilitators to retention in HIV care and antiretroviral therapy adherence to Andersen's Behavioral Model

“…These factors can be grouped into 7 domains: patient factors (predisposing, enabling, perceived need), health care environment factors (system, clinic, provider), and external environment factors. ABM has been used to examine health care and treatment utilization among PLWH (Andersen et al, 2000; Kilbourne et al, 2002; Saint-Jean et al, 2011; Smith & Kirking, 1999). Unlike other models, such as the Health Belief Model and the Transtheoretical Model, ABM considers both patient-related and environmental determinants of health behaviors (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008).…”

Predictors of Sexual Activity in Haitian-American Adolescents

“…Although comprising just under 5% of Miami-Dade’s population, Haitians represent 9% of incident HIV cases, and are characterized by late diagnosis and treatment. (29, 30, 31) The disproportionate burden of the epidemic, however, is most telling among Haitian women, who in 2010 comprised 56.5% of new cases in Haitians, compared to black women in the county, who represented 32.7% of new cases in blacks. (29, 30, 31) Thus, although research is limited on U.S. Haitian youth, the prospect of HIV risk facing them suggests a significant contrast to other minority communities.…”