Choosing sides: HIV health care practices among shared populations of HIV-positive Latinos living near the US-Mexico border.

BACKGROUND: We compared HIV-positive patients receiving care in the border cities of San Diego, United States, with Tijuana, Mexico.

METHODS: Participants were HIV-positive Latinos (n = 233) receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) from San Diego-Tijuana clinics (2009-2010). Logistic regression identified correlates of receiving HIV care in San Diego versus Tijuana.

RESULTS: Those with their most recent HIV visit in San Diego (59%) were more likely to be older, have at least a high school education, and were less likely to have been deported than those with last visits in Tijuana. Despite reporting better patient-provider relationships and less HIV-related stigma than those with visits in Tijuana, San Diego patients were twice as likely to make unsupervised changes in their ART regimen.

CONCLUSIONS: We observed poorer relative adherence among HIV-positive Latinos receiving care in San Diego, despite reports of good clinical relationships. Further study is needed to ascertain underlying reasons to avoid ART-related resistance.