(CRUSADA)Finally, the notion that one-size-fits-all when it comes to health care is slowly starting to fade away.
The National Institutes of Health gave Florida International University a $6.5 million grant to research drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among Latinos. One of the university’s goals is to design ways to help prevent the disease in the area the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported had the highest increase in new HIV/AIDS cases in the country in 2005: South Florida.
"There's a growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Miami's Hispanic community and among Hispanics nationwide. The population in Miami is in many ways different than in the rest of the country. It hopefully will provide us with some answers as to why Latinos abuse substances and why there's a growing rate of AIDS," Mario De La Rosa, director of the Center for Research on U.S. Latinos, HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University told the Miami Herald.
CRUSADA is currently conducting studies on subjects such as the impact of the hurricanes on HIV/AIDS and the differences of HIV and substance abuse behaviors between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth in Florida.
However, another research topic may prove to be especially valuable to the Latino community. De La Rosa and doctoral candidate Patria Rojas are conducting a study on the inter-generational transmission of drug use between Latina mothers and daughters. Relationships between Latina mothers and daughters are paramount and may serve as reliable indicators for behaviors and lifestyle choices.
The importance in studying Latina drug use lies in the fact that Latinas who are casual or chronic substance abusers are at an increased risk for HIV/AIDS. A paper published in American Psychologist stated that “studies have shown that people who are heavier drinkers or drug users tend to have more sexual partners and to use condoms less consistently.” Risky behaviors like this put this group at an increased risk for becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinas are five times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than white women.
However, this study will not only give insight into the all important correlation between drug use and HIV/AIDS risk, but will also address the issue of culturally relevant methods of educating the diverse population of South Florida.
The study evaluates the methods that were used in obtaining the information from subjects. For example, all but one of the interviewers were bilingual, thus making it easier for the subject to speak in the language with which they were more comfortable. The interviewers were all women because previous research shows that women are more comfortable speaking about their sex lives with other women.
Of course, the researchers admit their pitfalls, especially in translation and word choice. For example, the paper cites one instance where a woman did not understand the term “partner” to mean significant other and initially said she did not have a partner. Later, researchers realized she did in fact have boyfriend but that she had been unfamiliar with the term used.
The National Institutes of Health gave Florida International University a $6.5 million grant to research drug abuse and HIV/AIDS among Latinos. One of the university’s goals is to design ways to help prevent the disease in the area the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported had the highest increase in new HIV/AIDS cases in the country in 2005: South Florida.
"There's a growing problem of HIV/AIDS in Miami's Hispanic community and among Hispanics nationwide. The population in Miami is in many ways different than in the rest of the country. It hopefully will provide us with some answers as to why Latinos abuse substances and why there's a growing rate of AIDS," Mario De La Rosa, director of the Center for Research on U.S. Latinos, HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University told the Miami Herald.
CRUSADA is currently conducting studies on subjects such as the impact of the hurricanes on HIV/AIDS and the differences of HIV and substance abuse behaviors between Hispanic and non-Hispanic youth in Florida.
However, another research topic may prove to be especially valuable to the Latino community. De La Rosa and doctoral candidate Patria Rojas are conducting a study on the inter-generational transmission of drug use between Latina mothers and daughters. Relationships between Latina mothers and daughters are paramount and may serve as reliable indicators for behaviors and lifestyle choices.
The importance in studying Latina drug use lies in the fact that Latinas who are casual or chronic substance abusers are at an increased risk for HIV/AIDS. A paper published in American Psychologist stated that “studies have shown that people who are heavier drinkers or drug users tend to have more sexual partners and to use condoms less consistently.” Risky behaviors like this put this group at an increased risk for becoming infected with HIV/AIDS.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Latinas are five times more likely to be infected with HIV/AIDS than white women.
However, this study will not only give insight into the all important correlation between drug use and HIV/AIDS risk, but will also address the issue of culturally relevant methods of educating the diverse population of South Florida.
The study evaluates the methods that were used in obtaining the information from subjects. For example, all but one of the interviewers were bilingual, thus making it easier for the subject to speak in the language with which they were more comfortable. The interviewers were all women because previous research shows that women are more comfortable speaking about their sex lives with other women.
Of course, the researchers admit their pitfalls, especially in translation and word choice. For example, the paper cites one instance where a woman did not understand the term “partner” to mean significant other and initially said she did not have a partner. Later, researchers realized she did in fact have boyfriend but that she had been unfamiliar with the term used.
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