Reducing the Impact of Immigration Enforcement Policies to Ensure the Health of North Carolinians: Statewide Community-Level Recommendations.

Background: Research indicates that fear of immigration enforcement among Latinos in North Carolina results in limited access to and utilization of health services and negative health consequences. This project developed recommendations to mitigate the public health impact of immigration enforcement policies in North Carolina.

Methods: Our community-based participatory research partnership conducted 6 Spanish-language report-backs (an approach to sharing, validating, and interpreting data) and 3 bilingual forums with community members and public health leaders throughout North Carolina.

Listening to the voices of Latina women: Sexual and reproductive health intervention needs and priorities in a new settlement state in the United States.

Latina women in the United States are disproportionately affected by negative sexual and reproductive health outcomes. Our community-based participatory research partnership conducted in-depth interviews exploring sexual and reproductive health needs and priorities with 25 Latinas in North Carolina and identified themes through constant comparison, a grounded theory development approach. Participants described individual-, interpersonal-, and clinic-level factors affecting their sexual and reproductive health as well as potentially successful intervention characteristics.

Once a Navegante, Always a Navegante: Latino Men Sustain Their Roles as Lay Health Advisors to Promote General and Sexual Health to Their Social Network.

Little is known about the sustainability of male- and men's health-focused lay health advisors. HoMBReS Por un Cambio was a community-level social network intervention designed to improve sexual health among Latino men who were members of soccer teams. During the year after the intervention implementation, lay health advisors (Navegantes) continued to promote sexual health; over 84% (16 of the 19) Navegantes conducted 9 of 10 primary health promotion activities.

The impact of local immigration enforcement policies on the health of immigrant hispanics/latinos in the United States.

Objectives: We sought to understand how local immigration enforcement policies affect the utilization of health services among immigrant Hispanics/Latinos in North Carolina.

Methods: In 2012, we analyzed vital records data to determine whether local implementation of section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Secure Communities program, which authorizes local law enforcement agencies to enforce federal immigration laws, affected the prenatal care utilization of Hispanics/Latinas. We also conducted 6 focus groups and 17 interviews with Hispanic/Latino persons across North Carolina to explore the impact of immigration policies on their utilization of health services.

Latino men's qualitative perspectives on a lay health advisor intervention to promote their sexual health.

Lay health advisor (LHA) approaches are a promising strategy to reduce health disparities among communities considered 'hard to reach' by researchers and practitioners. LHAs have addressed a variety of health issues, but limited studies have included men as LHAs. The purpose of this study was to better understand the roles of male LHAs and their male-helping relationships.

Novel approaches to HIV prevention and sexual health promotion among Guatemalan gay and bisexual men, MSM, and transgender persons.

The burden of HIV is disproportionate for Guatemalan sexual minorities (e.g., gay and bisexual men, men who have sex with men [MSM], and transgender persons).

The ecology of sexual health of sexual minorities in Guatemala City.

Guatemalan gay and bisexual men, men who have sex with men (MSM), and transgender persons carry disproportionate burden of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections compared with other Guatemalan subgroups. However, little is known about the determinants of sexual health to inform health promotion and disease prevention interventions among these sexual minorities. We sought to explore sexual health and HIV risk among Guatemalan sexual minorities, using a community-based participatory research approach.

Predictors of Heavy Episodic Drinking and Weekly Drunkenness Among Immigrant Latinos in North Carolina.

Few studies have examined correlates of heavy drinking among rural immigrant Latino men. This analysis identified correlates of typical week drunkenness and past 30-day heavy episodic drinking, within a sample of immigrant Latino men in rural North Carolina (n = 258). In the bivariate analyses, Mexican birth, entering the United States as an adult, and year-round employment were associated with increased odds of typical week drunkenness, and higher acculturation and affiliation with a religion with strict prohibitions against drinking alcohol were associated with lower odds of typical week drunkenness.

Adaptation and implementation of HoMBReS: a community-level, evidence-based HIV behavioral intervention for heterosexual Latino men in the midwestern United States.

Over the past decade, the midwestern United States has witnessed a dramatic increase in its Latino population. The lack of culturally and linguistically congruent resources coupled with high incidence and prevalence rates of HIV among Latinos living in the Midwest merits attention. HoMBReS: Hombres Manteniendo Bienestar y Relaciones Saludables (Men Maintaining Wellbeing and Healthy Relationships) is a community-level social network intervention designed for Latino men.

Social support among immigrant Latino men: a validation study.

Objective: To explore the factor structure of the Index of Sojourner's Social Support (ISSS) within a sample of Spanish-speaking immigrant Latino men.

Methods: We explored the factor structure and calculated correlations to examine associations between the ISSS subscales and self-esteem, mastery, and depression.

Results: Mean age of the 244 participants was 26.

Depressive symptoms among immigrant Latino sexual minorities.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and identify correlates of depressive symptoms among immigrant Latino sexual minorities.

Methods: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, and univariate and multivariable analyses were conducted to identify correlates of depressive symptoms.

Results: Unweighted and RDS-weighted prevalence estimates of depressive symptoms were 69.

A snapshot of how latino heterosexual men promote sexual health within their social networks: process evaluation findings from an efficacious community-level intervention.

Hombres Manteniendo Bienestar y Relaciones Saludables (HoMBReS) was a community-level social network intervention designed to increase sexual health among Latino heterosexual men who were members of a multicounty soccer league. Process data were collected each month during 18 months of intervention implementation from each of 15 trained Latino male lay health advisors (known as Navegantes) to explore the activities that Navegantes conducted to increase condom and HIV testing among their social network members. The Navegantes reported conducting 2,364 activities, for a mean of 8.

A systematic community-based participatory approach to refining an evidence-based community-level intervention: the HOLA intervention for Latino men who have sex with men.

Our community-based participatory research partnership engaged in a multistep process to refine a culturally congruent intervention that builds on existing community strengths to promote sexual health among immigrant Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). The steps were the following: (1) increase Latino MSM participation in the existing partnership, (2) establish an Intervention Team, (3) review the existing sexual health literature, (4) explore needs and priorities of Latino MSM, (5) narrow priorities based on what is important and changeable, (6) blend health behavior theory with Latino MSM's lived experiences, (7) design an intervention conceptual model, (8) develop training modules and (9) resource materials, and (10) pretest and (11) revise the intervention. The developed intervention contains four modules to train Latino MSM to serve as lay health advisors known as Navegantes.

Using community-based participatory research (CBPR) to develop a community-level HIV prevention intervention for Latinas: a local response to a global challenge.

Introduction And Background: The arsenal of interventions to reduce the disproportionate rates of HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) infection among Latinos in the United States lags behind what is available for other populations. The purpose of this project was to develop an intervention that builds on existing community strengths to promote sexual health among immigrant Latinas.

Methods: Our community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership engaged in a multistep intervention development process.