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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Augusta M Villanueva, PhD, School of Public Health, MCP Hahnemann University School of Public Health, Mail Stop 660, 1505 Race Street, 11th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19102, 2157626513, av28@drexel.edu and Etienne J Phipps, PhD, Ethics and Health Policy Initiatives, Thomas Jefferson University, Albert Einstein Healthcare Network-Germantown Community Health Services, 1 Penn Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19144.
This presentation discusses the significant impact that HIV/AIDS has among low-income middle-aged Latinos living with this disease based on research conducted with the Latino community in Philadelphia, including interviews with key leaders, a demonstration project on end-of-life, and focus groups held in North Philadelphia during 2001. Factors such as denial about HIV+ status, socioeconomic factors, fear of being searched and found to be carrying HIV medication, disclosure to family and presence of support systems, health beliefs, homophobia, discrimination, inadequate understanding of the disease, immigration concerns, acculturation, inaccessibility to medical care and/or medication, illicit drug dependency, alienation, language barriers, and unsatisfactory provider relationships contribute to Latinos’ capacity to seek treatment and medication adherence. Individual, relationship, and contextual factors also appear to predispose participants’ inhibition to treatment and medication adherence. Important values intrinsic to Latino cultures grounded in the role of the family and the community, and the marginalized status of a majority of Latinos in the U.S. call for the use of contextual factors in responding to the needs of Latinos living with HIV/AIDS disease. The findings obtained through this qualitative study suggest that while cultural competence is important in addressing the needs of Latinos living with HIV/AIDS, it is not a sufficient factor in it of itself. Rather, the integration of culture, gender, and context as well as providers’ capacity to address the distinctiveness of Latino HIV/AIDS sub-groups may provide a measure of progress in patients’ ability adhering to treatment and medication.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, Latino Health
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.