The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

3355.0: Monday, November 17, 2003 - Board 2

Abstract #65509

California-Mexico Epidemiological Surveillance Pilot

Melissa Sanchez, MA1, Maria Teresa Hernandez, MPH2, George Lemp, DrPH2, Bart Aoki, PhD1, Juan D. Ruiz, MD, MPH, Dr PH3, and Michael V. Drake, MD4. (1) University of California, Office of the President, Universitywide AIDS Research Program, 300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, 510 587 6131, melissa.sanchez@ucop.edu, (2) University of California Office of the President, Universitywide AIDS Research Program, 300 Lakeside Drive, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, (3) HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Branch, California Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, 611 N. 7th Street, Suite A, Sacramento, CA 95814-0208, (4) Office of Health Affairs, University of California, Office of the President, 1111 Franklin Street, 11th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607

Relatively little is known about the extent of the HIV/STD/TB epidemic among Mexican migrants residing in California. Given the limited data on HIV/STD/TB prevalence, trends in the underlying factors that lead to high-risk behaviors, and determinants of behavior, the California-Mexico Epidemiological Surveillance Pilot (CMESP) is currently being developed, implemented, and evaluated in California and Mexico. This enhanced epidemiological surveillance system provides improved monitoring of behavioral, medical, environmental, service, and demographic trends and changes over time and place. Ultimately this surveillance system will provide a better means for accurately assessing the burden and trends of HIV/STD/TB disease and for evaluating the impact of HIV/STD/TB prevention and health care programs and interventions for this population. CMESP is a collaborative project between research, surveillance, and healthcare delivery agencies in Mexico and California and is composed of three modules. Module One addresses ethnographic and observational surveillance and enumeration methodologies that provide the core framework for community health surveillance and evaluation of interventions. Module Two addresses the implementation of the Simplified Epidemiological Surveillance System, which combines syndromic assessment with community outreach methods. Module Three includes periodic targeted sampling for behavioral surveillance purposes and to determine disease prevalence. The expectation is that CMESP will address the highest priority HIV/STD/TB needs of Mexican migrants throughout California and Mexico and will provide an opportunity to evaluate the impact of migration on the transmission dynamics, risk behaviors, and mixing, given that poverty, isolation, lack of access, and discrimination define both the migrant experience and transmission.

Learning Objectives:

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Access as a Determinant of Health: Experiences Among Latinos

The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA