scholarly journals Socioenvironmental Risk Factors for Adolescent Marijuana Use in a United States-Mexico Border Community

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-27
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Salerno Valdez ◽  
Luis Valdez ◽  
Josephine Korchmaros ◽  
David O. Garcia ◽  
Sally Stevens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Drug Trafficking ◽  
Marijuana Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Border Community ◽  
United States Mexico Border ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
United States Mexico ◽  
Neighborhood Stress

Purpose: We examined how socioenvironmental risk factors unique to the United States-Mexico border, defined as border community and immigration stress, normalization of drug trafficking, and perceived disordered neighborhood stress, contribute to tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use among adolescents residing there. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: The study was conducted at a high school on the United States-Mexico border. Subjects: A sample of 445 primarily Hispanic students (ages 14-18). Measure: Perceived Disordered Neighborhood Stress Scale, Border Community and Immigration Stress Scale, and Normalization of Drug Trafficking Scale. Analysis: Logistic regression assessed the association between the socioenvironmental risk factors and past 30-day tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use. Results: Participants with higher border community and immigration stress scores were significantly more likely to have used tobacco (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.41, P < .01) and alcohol (aOR = 1.31, P < .01) in the past 30 days. Perceived disordered neighborhood stress also was associated with past 30-day alcohol use (aOR = 1.46, P < .00). The normalization of drug trafficking was associated with past 30-day marijuana use (aOR = 1.45, P < .05). Conclusions: Public health practitioners, educational institutions, and policy makers should consider the economic and normative environment of the United States-Mexico border for future substance use prevention and risk reduction efforts targeting border adolescents.

scholarly journals Seroprevalence of spotted fever group rickettsiae in canines along the United States–Mexico border

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (8) ◽  
pp. 918-926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily G. Pieracci ◽  
Juan Diego Perez De La Rosa ◽  
Daniel Luna Rubio ◽  
Mario Eduardo Solis Perales ◽  
Manuel Velasco Contreras ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Spotted Fever ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spotted Fever Group ◽  
Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae ◽  
United States Mexico Border ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
United States Mexico

scholarly journals 1618. Public Health at the United States/Mexico Border: Evaluation of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency’s Health Screening Assessment of Asylum-Seeking Families at the San Diego Rapid Response Network Shelter

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S590-S590
Author(s):  
Lucy E Horton ◽  
Susannah Graves ◽  
Kathleen Fischer ◽  
Gina Fleming-Magit ◽  
Camila Romero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Communicable Disease ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Screening ◽  
Response Network ◽  
United States Mexico Border ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
United States Mexico

Abstract Background Many families arrive at the United States–Mexico border seeking asylum. Jewish Family Service and the San Diego Rapid Response Network operate a shelter in San Diego that provides shelter, food, clothing, legal services and travel coordination for asylum-seeking families. Two local federally qualified health centers provide on-site urgent care. Methods In late December 2018, the County of San Diego expanded public health efforts by conducting health screenings of guests upon entry to the shelter with the goal of identifying health issues requiring urgent or emergent evaluation and preventing the spread of communicable disease. University of California San Diego Health physicians contracted by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) nurses and ancillary staff provide daily on-site services to all shelter entrants including: health screening for diseases of public health significance, treatment and/or referral of urgent conditions, and medical clearance for shelter entry or medical isolation as needed. Official tracking of screening outcomes from January 2 to April 24, 2019 were collected using standardized surveys and analyzed for program evaluation and surveillance purposes. Results During that time a total of 9,124 asylum-seekers were screened, averaging 81 guests daily, identifying: 42 influenza-like illness, 645 lice, 330 scabies, 8 varicella, and 0 hepatitis A cases. Chest radiography for suspected tuberculosis was performed for 29 guests. Only one chest x-ray was abnormal. Sputum specimens for acid-fast stain (n = 3) and nucleic acid testing (n = 2) were all negative and no tuberculosis cases were diagnosed. Emergency department referrals were made for <1% of guests (n = 90) for conditions including pregnancy complications, asthma, dysentery, hemoptysis and fractures. No deaths or outbreaks of communicable disease occurred. Conclusion Coordination among local partner agencies resulted in early identification of communicable and acute health conditions prior to shelter entry allowing evaluation, treatment and off-site isolation, and minimizing stress on the emergency medical services system. This approach provides a successful model for health screening of asylum-seeking families arriving at the United States–Mexico border. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

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