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| 7 August 2001 - The San Diego Union-Tribune Substance abuse threatens Latinos, researchers say By Jeff McDonald Latinos drink more alcohol, drop out of high school more often, get arrested for driving under the influence more frequently and contract AIDS and HIV infection at a higher rate than blacks and whites, researchers say. The people who promote substance-abuse prevention and better health care in Latino communities have their work cut out for them, said experts attending a national conference that opened in San Diego yesterday. "It's a challenge for all of us," said Aida Giachella, director of the Midwest Latino Health Research, Training and Policy Center at the University of Illinois, Chicago campus. "We have done all kinds of intervention and we haven't been able to change anything," Giachella said in her keynote address. Nearly 100 social workers, drug-abuse counselors, anti-smoking crusaders and others met at the U.S. Grant Hotel for the Latino Immigration and Substance Abuse 2001 Prevention Conference. The three-day gathering seeks to strengthen ties within Latino communities and reduce alcohol and drug use. According to the Hispanic Cluster, an outgrowth of the federally-funded Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Hispanic teens between 13 and 17 have the highest proportion of all reported AIDS cases. Mexican-Americans are twice as likely to be arrested for drunken driving, and are far more likely to be heavy abusers of alcohol than the general population of the United States, researchers said. They are also the most-targeted group of consumers by the alcohol industry, in part because the median age in the Latino community is 24 -- well below the 33.5 years for all other groups, the center said. "The earlier kids start, the more likely they are to be addicted," said Maria Felix Ortiz, a longtime UCLA professor who spoke at a panel. "You want to prevent the onset, the initiation, of drug use." Alfredo Ortego-Trillo of the National City-based Border Health Initiative said much drug and alcohol abuse he encounters is caused in part by the pressure of migrating to a new country. "It's being in another place where you don't know the language," he said between workshops yesterday. "They feel like aliens." Among other things, the Border Health Initiative promotes sports and churches as alternatives to drinking and drug use. "We try and bring them together to make them feel more involved in the community," Ortego-Trillo said. Giachella warned the conference not to focus too much on immigrants, however. Almost 2 out of 3 Latinos living in the United States were born on American soil, she said. She also urged the social workers and drug-abuse counselors to inspire clients to join the political process and pressure Congress for resources. "Our communities are hurting," Giachella said. "We need to commit ourselves to intervening in a way that will make a difference." |
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