227922 Sexual risk behavior and drug use among migrant workers

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 8:45 AM - 9:00 AM

Roderick Renfrew, MBA, MPH , Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
H. Virginia McCoy, PhD , Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Muni Balakrishnan Rubens, MBBS , Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Nancy Shehadeh, MPH, CHES , Department of Health Promotion & Disease Prevention, Florida International University, Miami, FL
Kelly Winter, BA, MPH candidate , Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL
     
Background: Drug use, high risk sexual behavior, and migration play a vital role in the transmission of HIV. Yet, associations between these factors are not well documented.

Method: Using baseline data from an ongoing HIV/AIDS intervention among Migrant Workers (MWs) from Immokalee, Florida, the association between sexual risk behavior and drug use was analyzed. Based on positive urine tests for marijuana and crack/cocaine, drug use (N=326) was compared. Sexual risk behavior was assessed using the Vaginal Episode Equivalent (VEE), which weights various sexual acts based on a differential risk as the outcome variable. A simple linear regression analysis was conducted with both several demographic variables and drug use as independent variables.

Results: More than half the participants (n=184, 56.4%) were positive for drugs. Most drug users were born in the U.S. (n=129, 70.1%), spoke English (n=105, 57.1%), and were single or lived as single (n=158, 85.9%). Drug users were significantly younger (M=39.17±12.39) and had resided longer in Immokalee (M=21.04±15.88). Regression analysis showed that drug use (Beta=1.998, p=0.033), marital status (Beta=3.078, p=0.010) and gender (Beta=2.417, p=0.042) significantly predicted VEE score.

Conclusion: Drug use among MWs is associated with high-risk sexual behavior. Programs designed to prevent HIV should address drug use as well as sexual behavior.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Occupational health and safety
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Program planning
Public health or related education
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. To analyze characteristics and particular challenges migrant workers are facing with respect to HIV/AIDS. 2. To assess the association between sexual risk behaviors and drug use among migrant workers.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Migrant Workers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: After 20 years of health care corporate and public finance experience in both institutional banking and venture capital, I am now a doctoral student at FIU in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention working under H. Virginia McCoy, PhD. on her NIH grant number NIAAA R01-AA015810.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3037.0: Shattering the Silence: HIV/AIDS in Rural Communities