Mexican immigrants' explanatory model of latent tuberculosis infection.

This article reveals how the multiple and disparate explanations of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) from the U.S. and Mexico professional health sectors and the popular sector are used to inform the explanatory model (EM) of LTBI for Mexican immigrants residing in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Fourteen immigrants, nine diagnosed with LTBI (n = 9) and their spouses (n = 5) participated in this critical ethnographic study. Because care seeking and treatment decisions are influenced by EMs, the results indicate that it is imperative that interventions for Mexican immigrants with LTBI are built on an understanding of their illness experience and are contextually meaningful.