Rural Hispanic Men Need Better Sexual Health Services

We can often take basic medical care like sexual health services for granted. In the UK, our sexual health services are provided to us for free without us really having to think about it. But this isn’t the case all over the world, and in fact, some places that you might think would be completely in control of sexual health services, in reality are struggling to provide good care for everyone.

This was highlighted by a recent study based on in-depth interviews with Latino men who live in western Oregon. The study showed that these men need a greater number of sexual health services which are actually designed for their needs, including more male health providers, more convenient clinic hours, and Spanish-speaking doctors. You might have thought that in a multicultural and advanced place like America these sorts of things wouldn’t be a problem, but it seems that they really are.

The results were published in the American Journal of Men’s Health. A team of researchers at Oregon State University conducted interviews with a number of young Latino men from rural backgrounds and asked them questions relating to their sexual health and how they use sexual health services.

It has been shown that Latinos in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections STIs and HIV. These sexual health disparities have the potential to grow especially if the sexual health services are not improved for them. Latinos continue to be the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States.

The research team interviewed 49 Latino men who have immigrated to the United States in the last ten years. The average age in the study was 24. The majority of the men came from rural areas of Mexico.

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Rural Hispanic Men Need Better Sexual Health Services

Categories: Hispanic, Oregon, rural

Does Lower Income Make You More Likely To Have HIV?

According to the results of a new CDC study, HIV prevalence among heterosexuals with low socioeconomic status was 2.3 percent overall. It was also reported that among the survey participants who did not report a previous positive HIV test, the prevalence was 1.1 percent. These results only serve to remind us of the importance of reaching this population with targeted prevention and testing efforts. It is also clear that we need to address the complex social, economic and structural factors that fuel more problems among people in lower-income situations.

The authors of the study were quick to point that it is important to note that these data provide insight into one population – low-income heterosexuals, and in only one type of setting – urban areas with high AIDS prevalence. Across the nation, it’s still true that gay and bisexual men continue to be most affected by HIV.

Metropolitan statistical areas in the Northeast and South regions of the United States had the highest overall prevalence. The prevalence was also very high among those who had reported exchanging sex for money or drugs or those who had reported using crack cocaine in the past 12 months.

This study shows that there is a need for new HIV prevention approaches that move beyond individual risk behaviours and also address environmental factors. It’s no longer possible to look at HIV in isolation from the situations in which people live. It is clear that being in a lower socio-economic bracket places you at a higher risk of developing the condition and this should be addressed.

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Does Lower Income Make You More Likely To Have HIV?

Categories: aids, Hispanic, HIV