Influence of social determinants of alcohol use among migrant workers

Background: Alcohol use is a major health issue among migrant workers. In order to address this major health risk, it is important to look at what influences this behavior by examining the elements in the environment where people live, age, and work. This study examines the impact of social determinants on alcohol use. Methods: Baseline data (n=431) from an HIV/AIDS intervention among Migrant Workers (MWs) from Immokalee, Florida was used to analyze the social determinants on alcohol use. Multivariate analysis was conducted examining age, gender, individual lifestyle factors, social and community networks, and socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions as independent variables. Results: The majority of participants were single (n=350, 81.2%), males (n=312, 72.4%) with and average age of 41.56±12.39 years. The average educational level of the participants was 8.45±3.19 years. All MWs spoke either Spanish (n=216, 50.3%) or English (n=213, 49.7%). The majority was born in the U.S. (264, 61.3%) and the rest were mainly from Mexico. The multivariate analysis model identified three significant predictors of alcohol use. MWs that were male (B= -0.515, Wald *2 = 3.958, p=.047), without medical insurance (B=-0.666, Wald *2 = 5.657, p=.017), and less educated (B=0.083, Wald *2 = 6.899, p=.009) were more likely to drink 5 or more drinks a day. Conclusion: These social determinants need to be taken into account in future HIV risk reduction interventions in order to effectively reduce alcohol use among migrant workers.