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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
APHA 2005
 
3244.0: Monday, December 12, 2005 - Board 7

Abstract #115048

HIV/AIDS and Mexican-Americans living in the US-Mexico border region of San Diego/Tijuana: Examining the relationship between quality of life, acculturation and barriers to medical care

Alisa Maria Olshefsky, BA1, Jesse Brennan, MA1, María Luisa Zúñiga, PhD1, Rosana Scolari, BA2, and Estela Blanco1. (1) School of Medicine, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0927, La Jolla, CA 92093, 619-243-7254, aolshefs@ucsd.edu, (2) San Ysidro Health Center, 4004 Beyer Boulevard, San Ysidro, CA 92173

Introduction: Limited information is available on the effects of acculturation on quality of life and barriers to entry into HIV medical care for Mexican-Americans in the San Diego/Tijuana border area. Understanding how these factors impact healthcare choices for people living with HIV/AIDS can help inform providers and policy makers on both sides of the border. Methods: 300 HIV+ clients were recruited from clinics in Southern California. Voluntary consent was obtained and a series of six survey instruments were completed on each person. The acculturation measure consisted of a thirteen item validated scale. Results: 245 Mexican-American respondents were predominately male (84%), homosexual (63%), reported ties to Mexico (95%), and lived in Mexico for at least 1-12 months in the past year (65%) Of the 200 respondents to the acculturation measure, 95 (47%) were un-acculturated to Anglo culture; 98 (48%) were found to have low acculturation levels, and only 9 (5%) were found to have medium or high acculturation. Low acculturated respondents reported a significantly higher quality of life than un-acculturated respondents (p<.05). A modest inverse correlation existed between the quality of life score and the number of perceived barriers to care (r=.21, p<.05), however, there was no significant difference between un-acculturated and low acculturated respondents in the number of perceived barriers to care. Conclusions: Those who scored a low to medium level of acculturation reported higher quality of life than un-acculturated respondents. The role of acculturation in perceived Quality of Life in HIV+ border-dwelling populations merits further consideration.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Barriers to Care, HIV/AIDS

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

HIV/AIDS: Care and Prevention across Diverse Settings

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA