Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Volume 23, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 678-693

The use of prescription medications obtained from non-medical sources among immigrant Latinos in the rural southeastern U.S. (Article)

Song E.-Y.* , Leichliter J.S. , Bloom F.R. , Vissman A.T. , O'Brien M.C. , Rhodes S.D.
  • a Wake Forest School of Medicine, United States
  • b Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States
  • c Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States
  • d Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, at, Emory University, United States
  • e Wake Forest School of Medicine, United States
  • f Wake Forest School of Medicine, United States

Abstract

We explored the relationships between behavioral, socio-cultural, and psychological characteristics and the use of prescription medications obtained from non-medical sources among predominantly Spanish-speaking Latinos in the rural southeastern U.S. Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) was used to identify, recruit, and enroll immigrant Latinos to participate in an interviewer-administered assessment. A total of 164 respondents were interviewed in 2009. Average age was 34 years old, 64% of respondents were female, and nearly 85% reported being from Mexico. Unweighted and RDS-weighted prevalence estimates of any non-medical source of prescription medications were 22.6% and 15.1%, respectively. In multivariable modeling, respondents who perceived their documentation status as a barrier to health care and those with higher educational attainment were significantly more likely to report use of non-medical sources. Interventions are needed to increase knowledge of eligibility to sources of medical care and treatment and ensure culturally congruent services for immigrant communities in the U.S. © Meharry Medical College.

Author Keywords

Latino immigrants ethnic minority groups Non-medical sources Prescription medications

Index Keywords

Questionnaires male human Emigrants and Immigrants rural population female Humans questionnaire Hispanic Americans prescription drug Prescription Drugs Article United States Young Adult Southeastern United States adult migration Hispanic
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84860458742&doi=10.1353%2fhpu.2012.0063&partnerID=40&md5=06ef606acf8b74aa5a92fde901bb4108
DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2012.0063
ISSN: 10492089
Cited by: 9
Original Language: English