Date of Conferral

8-25-2025

Degree

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)

School

Public Health

Advisor

Claire Robb

Abstract

Cancer is a major public health problem in the United States and around the world. The condition is reported to be among the leading causes of death and has a significant impact on quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore the association of smoking, education, and income level with cancer in the Mexican migrant population at U.S./Mexico border while controlling for age and gender. This quantitative, retrospective, cross-sectional study with a sample size of 988 used secondary data from the Mexican Migrant Project to explore the potential association between smoking, education and income level with cancer in the population of interest. The health belief model was selected as the theoretical framework for the study. Binomial logistic regression was used to analyze the data. Multiple imputation techniques were used for the replacement of missing data with imputed values. Five models were created with variables subsequently recoded. From these models a pooled category was created from which the findings of the study are reported. It was found that smoking, age, education, and sex were not statistically significant and therefore have no association with cancer in the Mexican migrant population at the U.S./Mexico border. However, regarding income level, people earning 1-25,000 pesos annually were 34.12 times more likely to experience cancer compared to people earning greater than 50,000 pesos annually (p = 0.001; 95% CI [5.34, 217.73]). This finding suggests that low income has a strong association with cancer in the Mexican migrant population at the U.S./Mexico border. Targeted education to Mexican migrants earning low wages could help with decreasing risk for cancer and improving socioeconomic conditions.

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