Throughout the past decade, HIV rates in Florida—particularly South Florida, where many Latina seasonal farmworkers reside and work—have ranked among the highest in the nation. In this brief report, we delineate important lessons learned and preliminary findings from the implementation of the HIV prevention intervention Progreso en Salud (Progress in Health). Among the 114 Latina seasonal farmworker participants, there were significant increases from baseline to 6-month follow-up in the percentages of overall condom use, HIV testing, HIV/AIDS-related communications with friends, HIV knowledge, condom use self-efficacy, and correct use of condoms. Lessons learned from this study can be used to inform future HIV intervention strategies to improve the adoption and maintenance of HIV risk reduction behaviors among high-risk Latina seasonal workers and other high-risk underserved populations. Future research is needed to support our findings.

In the early 1990s, a series of seminal research studies were published on substance use disorders among Latino adolescent males in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Expanding upon these studies, the aims of the present dissertation project were to (1) Determine whether the following adolescents’ and parents’ characteristics/cultural values are associated with current (past 30 days) or lifetime (ever) alcohol or marijuana use among Latino adolescents: sex, age, country of birth, GPA, family’s socio-economic status, living with both parents, mother’s highest level of education, father’s highest level of education, Familism Support, Familism Obligations, Familism Referents, Respect, Religion, Traditional Gender Roles, Independence and Self-Reliance; (2) Assess if recreational activities (sports participation, after-school activities and volunteering) moderate the association between Latino adolescents’ friends’ age, sex, and ethnicity and Latino adolescents’ current alcohol or marijuana use and; (3) Assess if recreational activities moderate the association between Latino adolescents’ perceptions of their friends’ alcohol or marijuana use and Latino adolescents’ current alcohol or marijuana use. This cross-sectional dissertation study used survey data from 193 Latino adolescent males and females (15.7 ± 1.6 years old; 55.4% females, 44.6% males) in Miami-Dade County collected in 2016-2017. Analyses included t-tests, chi-square tests and logistic regressions. Being born in the U.S. increased the risk of current alcohol use. Identifying more strongly with the cultural value religion decreased risk of current alcohol use and current marijuana use. Participants who reported having no close friends who use alcohol were less likely to currently (within past 30 days) use alcohol themselves when compared to participants who reported having at least one close friend who uses alcohol. The interaction between participation in sports activities and reporting having friends who use alcohol on outcome currently using alcohol was significant. Participants who reported having no close friends who use marijuana were less likely to currently use marijuana themselves. Findings from this study suggest that factors contributing to substance use among Latino adolescents throughout the United States may be different than those which play a role among the unique Latino adolescent population in Miami-Dade County. This study further validated what has been shown in the general U.S. population: adolescents who perceive their friends to be using alcohol or marijuana are more likely to use alcohol or marijuana, respectively, themselves. Further research is suggested to determine the role of recreational activities in alcohol and marijuana use among Latino adolescents.