The Relative Influence of Perceived Immigration Laws and Consequences on HIV Testing Among US Latino Immigrants. AIDS Behav 2024 Apr;28(4):1301-1313
Date
08/27/2023Pubmed ID
37632603DOI
10.1007/s10461-023-04159-0Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85169133719 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
The CDC recommends that persons aged 13-64 receive an HIV test at least once in their lifetime and that some groups test annually or more frequently. Nearly one-half of US Latino immigrants have never been tested for HIV. To the extent that immigration-related laws deter documented and undocumented immigrants from engaging in communicable disease control measures, these laws undermine public health efforts. 1750 noncitizen adult, sexually active, Spanish-speaking Latino immigrants across four cities in the US completed a cross-sectional survey assessing perceptions of immigration-related laws and immigration consequences related to HIV testing and diagnosis. Participants were recruited in-person by staff in community settings, through flyers posted in places frequented by Latino immigrants, and by word-of-mouth through snowball sampling. Outcomes were whether participants had ever received an HIV test and whether they tested in the previous 12 months. Multivariable analyses examined the relative contribution of perceived immigration laws and consequences on HIV testing behaviors when considering established predictors of HIV testing. Perceptions of HIV-related immigration laws and immigration consequences was a significant predictor of never having had an HIV test even when considered relative to common predictors of HIV testing. The influence of perceived immigration laws and consequences on testing in the previous 12 months was not significant in multivariable analysis. Perceived HIV-related immigration laws and consequences appear to be a substantial contributor to reluctance to be tested for HIV among Latino immigrants who have never been tested. Effective interventions should be developed to address these.
Author List
Galletly CL, McAuliffe TL, Dickson-Gomez JB, Glasman LR, Ruelas DMAuthors
Julia Dickson-Gomez PhD Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinTimothy L. McAuliffe PhD Professor in the Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultCross-Sectional Studies
Emigrants and Immigrants
Emigration and Immigration
HIV Infections
Humans
