TY - JOUR
T1 - Pre-COVID-19 Social Determinants of Health Among Mexican Migrants in Los Angeles and New York City and Their Increased Vulnerability to Unfavorable Health Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Vilar-Compte, Mireya
AU - Gaitán-Rossi, Pablo
AU - Félix-Beltrán, Lucía
AU - Bustamante, Arturo V.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - COVID-19 has disproportionally affected underrepresented minorities (URM) and low-income immigrants in the United States. The aim of the study is to examine the underlying vulnerabilities of Mexican immigrants in New York City (NYC) and Los Angeles (LA), its correspondence with area-level COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and to document the role of trusted and culturally sensitive services offered during the pandemic through the Ventanillas de Salud (i.e. VDS, Health Windows) program. The study uses a mixed-methods approach including a cross-sectional survey of Mexican immigrants in LA and NYC collected in the Mexican Consulates at the onset of the pandemic, complemented with a georeferencing analysis and key informant interviews. Data suggested an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 given participants reported health status, health care profile and place of residence, which coincided with the georeferencing analysis. The key informant interviews confirmed the vulnerability of this population and the supporting role of VDS in helping immigrants navigate health systems and disseminate health information. Mexican immigrants had an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 at the individual, geographic and systemic levels. Trusted and culturally sensitive services are needed to overcome some of the barriers and risk factors that increase the vulnerability of URM and immigrant populations to COVID-19.
AB - COVID-19 has disproportionally affected underrepresented minorities (URM) and low-income immigrants in the United States. The aim of the study is to examine the underlying vulnerabilities of Mexican immigrants in New York City (NYC) and Los Angeles (LA), its correspondence with area-level COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and to document the role of trusted and culturally sensitive services offered during the pandemic through the Ventanillas de Salud (i.e. VDS, Health Windows) program. The study uses a mixed-methods approach including a cross-sectional survey of Mexican immigrants in LA and NYC collected in the Mexican Consulates at the onset of the pandemic, complemented with a georeferencing analysis and key informant interviews. Data suggested an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 given participants reported health status, health care profile and place of residence, which coincided with the georeferencing analysis. The key informant interviews confirmed the vulnerability of this population and the supporting role of VDS in helping immigrants navigate health systems and disseminate health information. Mexican immigrants had an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 at the individual, geographic and systemic levels. Trusted and culturally sensitive services are needed to overcome some of the barriers and risk factors that increase the vulnerability of URM and immigrant populations to COVID-19.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Health outreach
KW - Hispanic
KW - Immigrant health
KW - Inequities
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85116269364&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10903-021-01283-8
DO - 10.1007/s10903-021-01283-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 34596830
AN - SCOPUS:85116269364
SN - 1557-1912
VL - 24
SP - 65
EP - 77
JO - Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
JF - Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
IS - 1
ER -