Culturally Competent HIV Prevention with Mexican/Chicano Farmworkers. JSRI Occasional Paper No. 47. Latino Studies Series.

This paper reviews the research on HIV risk, attitudes, knowledge, and behavior for Mexican/Chicano farmworkers and discusses culturally relevant prevention strategies. Following sociodemographic and HIV risk profiles for Mexican farmworkers, the major HIV exposure categories for farmworkers are discussed: prostitution, sex between men, needle sharing, and wives and female partners of men who engage in these behaviors. Farmworker knowledge and misconceptions about HIV transmission and condom use are examined. The results of large surveys concerning condom use are reported. Three behaviors--using condoms with occasional sex partners, using condoms with regular sex partners, and carrying condoms--were all predicted by social norms and perceived AIDS vulnerability. However, the addition of "condom efficacy" (the ability to negotiate condom use in challenging situations) as a predictor variable greatly reduced the effects of social norms. Aspects of culturally competent HIV research and implications for future HIV research with Mexican farmworkers are discussed. Implications for HIV prevention services for Mexican farmworkers are suggested, including general recommendations and suggestions for male-focused and female-focused interventions. Contains 32 references. (SV)