Culturally Sensitive Health Promotion Plan for Tuberculosis Prevention and Treatment in Mexican Migrant Farm Worker Populations

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is re-emerging as a national health priority. Healthcare providers have been attempting to address the challenge of providing preventative care as well as addressing TB cases through long-term treatment plans as these cases are identified. The migrant farm worker population has come into the spotlight as highly vulnerable to this disease with highly unsuccessful outcomes in prevention and treatment. Many factors contribute to this disturbing trend, including barriers related to a specific lack of cultural competence amongst health care providers for this specific patient population and patient related barriers associated with cultural beliefs, logistics such as transportation and clinic locations, and the transient nature of the farm worker lifestyle. Thus innovations to address these barriers to services are needed. There is a need to develop unorthodox service provision locations as well as the provision of appointment times that are suitable to the workers’ needs. Interventions such as reducing wait times, providing meaningful incentives and the renovation of disease specific educational approaches may improve outcomes. Treatment strategies that incorporate the cultural beliefs and practices of this population may narrow the service gap considerably. The purpose of this case study presentation is to illustrate the issues associated with providing TB treatment to this vulnerable patient population and to discuss possible solutions and interventions to stimulate culturally competent communication and care.