Towards a Structural-Environmental Model of Risk for HIV and Problem Drinking in Latino Labor Migrants: The Case of Day Laborers

The purpose of this article is to describe a researchable conceptual model of structural-environmental (SE) risk for HIV and problem drinking in Latino labor migrants (LLMs) in the United States, with an emphasis on day laborers. Implications for developing SE prevention interventions that target risky situations, embedded in stressful living and working conditions, and not simply risky behaviors are discussed. Presently, most HIV and alcohol-related research on LLMs in the U.S. has focused almost exclusively on assessing and modifying behavioral risk, which, while important, teaches us very little about the broader environmental context of risk in this unique population of Latinos. Literature is reviewed regarding what is known about risk for HIV and problem drinking, as well as contextual factors in LLMs in general and day laborers in particular, as a prelude to describing a SE risk model and basic research methods necessary for its exploration and development. Foundational SE risk frameworks in the HIV/AIDS literature are discussed as well as examples of SE prevention interventions that enhance environmental resources and activities and hence coping with risky situations at the individual level.