Research challenges to the study of HIV/AIDS among migrant and immigrant Hispanic populations in the United States.
Migrant populations have been found to be at risk of HIV/AIDS. The growth in immigrant and migrant Hispanic populations in the United States increases the need to enhance understanding of influences on their HIV-risk behaviors. Four challenges to conducting research among these populations were identified: (1) the need to use multilevel theoretical frameworks; (2) the need to differentiate between Hispanic subgroups; (3) challenges to recruitment and data collection; and (4) ethical issues. This article describes how two studies of Hispanic immigrants and migrants in the New York area addressed these challenges. One study focused on new immigrants from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, and a second study focused on Puerto Rican drug users. Both studies incorporated qualitative and quantitative methods to study these hard-to-reach populations. Continued study of the sociocultural and contextual factors affecting HIV risk for mobile populations, and addressing the research challenges, is crucial to developing effective intervention programs.
Deren
Sherry
S
Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, National Development and Research Institute, New York, NY 10010, USA. deren@ndri.org
Shedlin
Michele
M
Decena
Carlos U
CU
Mino
Milton
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D035841:Behavioral Research; D003469:Culture; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000208:ethnology*; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000145:classification / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America / Q000208:ethnology; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000208:ethnology; D012107:Research Design; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014171:Transients and Migrants