I had a very insightful time at APHA in Chicago this year, I came away with more ideas for projects to start here in the SJV and had very helpful talks with other researchers. Jennifer Mendiola presented several of the analyses we are working on at APHA.
We presented as part of the three sections:
- Effects of socioeconomic status on sexual risk behaviors among Hispanic and non-Hispanic young adults in the HIV/AIDS section,
- Social determinants of physician care utilization vary by generational status for Mexican-identified Californians in the Medical Care Section, and
Each of these analyses is part of a much larger project we are working on looking at health behavioral differences between first and second generation Latinos. There have been some significant demographic and cultural shifts taking place in the Latino community in the US. While the Latino population is expanding in the United States, most of the growth is taking place in the native born population. In California this has resulted in significant age differences between US and foreign born Latinos– the median age of US born Latinos in CA is 18, while the median age of foreign born Latinos is 41. There are also significant differences in language use – per the California Health Interview Survey, most US born Mexicans report consuming media in English. There are also significant differences in educational attainment, and attitudes. These kinds of differences should lead to differences in behaviors, and we are interested in the differences in health behaviors that can occur.
We have recently received news that a manuscript based on one of the posters we presented to APHA last year has been accepted for publication. That research was also part of the larger research project to examine generational behavioral differences among Latinos in the US, in California, and in the SJV.