WORKING WITH RURAL COMMUNITIES

BACKGROUND

• Rural immigrant communities face many difficulties when it comes to accessing HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, services and information.

• There are few bilingual health care facilities and outreach workers for Spanish-speaking individuals in rural communities.

• Immigrant communities are usually marginalized and may have low literacy rates.

• Most Hispanic/Latino immigrants are uninsured.

• Anti-immigrant sentiments decrease the probability immigrants will visit healthcare facilities.

• Hispanic/Latino immigrants have little to no access to preventative care and often wait until they are sick or in the late stages of diagnosis to get treated, making treatment more costly and less effective.

• Oftentimes, Hispanics/Latinos go into the emergency room at a hospital only to find out they have AIDS. Sexual encounters with sex workers are more likely when Hispanic/Latino immigrants enter the U.S.

• Hispanics/Latinos in rural communities are often transient, which makes access to consistent healthcare services, including HIV/AIDS prevention programs, difficult.

• Prevention focused specifically on male-to-male HIV transmission in Hispanic/Latino communities is uncommon despite the fact that this accounts for approximately half of new infections.

• Due to the current climate on immigration, the fear Hispanics/Latinos are experiencing has created a reluctance to access public services.

CHECKLIST

	The most effective way to reach rural immigrant communities is to provide materials and services in Spanish that are culturally sensitive
	Make sure there are a sufficient amount of Spanish speaking employees or volunteers in your organization. If you do not have Spanish speaking staff you can; Identify an organization near you that may be willing and able to partner with you; Recruit Hispanic/Latino volunteers, bilingual university students, or local residents; work with your local church/parish/community/opinion leaders who speak Spanish
	Go to areas where migrant workers congregate in order to deliver the message to them directly, such as churches or sports activities
	Establish contact with locations, such as factories, that hire a large number of Hispanics/Latinos and establish HIV testing or hold an NLAAD health fair there
	Provide facts in Spanish about health wellness, HIV/AIDS, treatment methods and HIV/AIDS prevalence in the Hispanic/Latino Community
	Design materials and programs with language and literacy rates in mind
	Post signs and posters in Spanish in neighborhoods and stores frequented by Hispanics/Latinos
	Establish trust and develop rapport within the community
	Use mobile vans or a sidewalk clinic that does HIV testing and provides information to the local community
	Seek the trust of a few community members who are familiar with the migrant community and will disseminate information throughout the community
	Create a hotline that can take calls in Spanish
	Hold an HIV-positive Hispanic/Latino support group
	Create a door-to-door HIV testing program
	Work with the church to organize a health program geared for Hispanics/Latinos
	Work with the church to organize a health program geared for Hispanics/Latinos
	Adjust clinic hours to ensure Hispanics/Latinos can visit when they are not working
	Partner with other HIV/AIDS organizations in order to collaborate and find best practices