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Border Health: Inequities, Social Determinants, and the Cases of Tuberculosis and HIV

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Social Justice in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

Abstract

The US-Mexico border region attracts migrants from Mexico and Latin America who seek economic opportunities through relocation to the United States. These goals are not always achieved once they arrive in the region, thus creating populations that are displaced and vulnerable. Further, when poor people migrate into developed countries, there is an increased risk for adverse health outcomes. An example is the association between the distributions of TB and HIV with social disparities and access to medical care and treatment. The trend in public health research along the border has increased focus on an individual’s behavior while deemphasizing the social determinants of disease. This chapter includes a description of the social determinants of health and health outcomes prevalent along the border, the case of TB and HIV with appropriate or lack of structural interventions, and recommendations for policy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The initiative started in one state and expanded nationally. The initiative (also referred to as program) includes three basic components: (1) recruitment and training of dedicated TB workers, (2) capacity-building interventions and (3) advocacy, communication, and social mobilization strategies (ACMS). This intervention has the person affected by TB (PATB) at the center of the design and implemented within the infrastructure of the Ministry of Health, TB Program. The program targeted 35 health jurisdictions in 13 Mexican priority states, which account for 65% of all TB cases in the country.

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Acknowledgments

We want to thank our colleagues SOLUCION TB Project Concern International; Programa Nacional de Tuberculosis en Mexico; CDC Division of HIV/AIDS, STI, TB and Hepatitis; New Mexico Department of Health; Texas Department of State Health Services; Arizona Department of Health Services; and California Department of Health for their contributions to this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., 79968, El Paso, TX, USA

    Eva M. Moya

  2. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., 79968, El Paso, TX, USA

    Oralia Loza

  3. Department of Social Work, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., 79968, El Paso, TX, USA

    Mark Lusk

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Correspondence to Eva M. Moya .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Health Sciences, University of Texas, W. University Ave 500, El Paso, 79968, Texas, USA

    Mark Lusk

  2. , Department of Political Science, University of Texas, W. University Ave 500, El Paso, 79968, Texas, USA

    Kathleen Staudt

  3. Department of Social Work, University of Texas, W. University Ave. 500, El Paso, 79968, Texas, USA

    Eva Moya

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Moya, E.M., Loza, O., Lusk, M. (2012). Border Health: Inequities, Social Determinants, and the Cases of Tuberculosis and HIV. In: Lusk, M., Staudt, K., Moya, E. (eds) Social Justice in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4150-8_9

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