Health as perceived by gang members

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the health perceptions of gang members. Participant observation and ethnographic interviews were used to determine these perceptions. The interviews were conducted in a charter school in Tucson, Arizona. Three gang members and one nongang member participated in these interviews. Six domains resulted from this study. These doma.ins were: Exercise Practices Associated with Health, Eating Habits Associated with Health, Substance Abuse, Perceptions of a Future, Behaviors Associated with Safety and SelfProtection, and Social Support Systems. Four cultural themes were also identified from this study. The cultural themes are: Health is not important to gang members, gang members have a structure of time that is very now focused, gang members have a strong sense of hopelessness and choicelessness, and finally, lack of social support turns youth towards gang membership and, thus, a higher risk for poor health. Recommendations for health care providers are presented. Suggestions for future studies are also given.