Mexican migrant workers residing in the United States are a vulnerable population at high risk for HIV infection. This article critically appraises the published data surrounding HIV prevalence in this vulnerable group, as seen through the lens of the Vulnerable Populations Conceptual Model. This model demonstrates how exposure to risk and resource availability affect health status. The health status of Mexican migrants in the United States is compromised by a number of factors that increase risk of HIV: limited access to health services, multiple sexual partners, low rates of condom use, men having sex with men, and lay injection practices. Migration from Mexico to the United States has increased the prevalence of HIV in rural Mexico, making this an issue of urgent binational concern. This review highlights the implications for further nursing research, practice, and policy. © 2011 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

Vulnerable populations conceptual model HIV Mexican migrant workers Risk

Vulnerable Populations vulnerable population HIV Infections Human immunodeficiency virus infection nursing demography human Health Behavior Stress, Psychological mental stress health status ethnology Mexico United States Humans theoretical model Models, Theoretical Article migration nursing research Transients and Migrants