The Human Immunodeficiency Virus ( Hiv ) - 1653 Words

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Societies have been devastated by a number of epidemiological outbreaks, but few diseases have been as antagonistic as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The global transmission of this disease has been perpetuated by the ease of long distance travel and immigration (Magis-Rodriguez, 2004; Xu et al., 2014). Throughout the past 35 years the course of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as well as patterns of immigration, have changed immensely. Given the increase in both HIV and immigration, specifically in North Carolina (NC), this dissertation will focus mostly on changes, concerns, and strengths pertaining to the screening and treatment for HIV among Latino immigrants in NC. The†¦show more content†¦as a whole during these years (between 13% and 15%) (Terrazas Batalova, 2010). But immigration would wax and wane with economic circumstances, both in the U.S. and in foreign countries. As conditions deteriorated in some ar eas of the globe, and labor needs increased here in the U.S., immigration was a convenient answer to a dynamic situation (Bankston, 2007). By the late 1930’s, the economic situation in Mexico was worsening and employment was difficult to secure (Mexican Immigrant Labor History, retrieved 2014). When the U.S. entered WWII in 1942, there was another call from the agricultural industry for immigrant laborers (Mexican Immigrant Labor History, retrieved 2014). This initiated the Bracero Program which offered contract employment to Mexican men, and laborers to U.S. farmers, and became the precursor to later Mexico-U.S. migration (Philip, 2006). Latinos did not come exclusively from Mexico, but some migrated from countries south of the Mexican border, entering the U.S. illegally, and were presumed to have entered the U.S. through Mexico (Bankston, 2007). When the program officially ended in 1964, many of the migrant workers remained in the country unauthorized (Philip, 2006), a nd eventually migrated to southern states that offered economic opportunity, including NC (Bankston, 2007). Today, many Latino immigrants are choosing to make NC their home (Weeks, Weeks,