Sexual health interventions targeting Mexican migrants: A review

Abstract

Purpose – A systematic literature review was performed to better understand the health promotion interventions proposed within the academic literature that aim to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted disease (STD) among Mexican migrants. Design/methodology/approach – The systematic review performed in this paper aimed to answer the research question: What interventions have been proposed within the academic literature to reduce the incidence of STD among Mexican migrants? A five-step decision tree was developed to review the 5,121 generated from the initial query. The final data set included 384 articles, 19 of which focussed on the target population. Findings – Results of the systematic review reflected eight themes: cultural, attitudinal, and contextual considerations, behavior modification, demographic factors, education, community mobilization, and access to services. The majority of themes suggest that structural level change is needed. Originality/value – Research on Mexican migrants in the USA is scant. Oftentimes research studies focus on “Hispanics” as a unit, neglecting the uniqueness of each individual subgroup. This paper addresses this limitation by focussing on Mexican migrants, a rapidly growing US population. © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited