scholarly journals Intergenerational differences in dietary acculturation among Ghanaian immigrants living in New York City: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margrethe F. Horlyck-Romanovsky ◽  
Terry T.-K. Huang ◽  
Ramatu Ahmed ◽  
Sandra E. Echeverria ◽  
Katarzyna Wyka ◽  
...  

Abstract Dietary acculturation may explain the increasing risk of diet-related diseases among African immigrants in the United States (US). We interviewed twenty-five Ghanaian immigrants (Youth n 13, Age (Mean ± sd) 20 y ± 5⋅4, Parents (n 6) and Grandparents (n 6) age 58⋅7 ± 9⋅7) living in New York City (NYC) to (a) understand how cultural practices and the acculturation experience influence dietary patterns of Ghanaian immigrants and (b) identify intergenerational differences in dietary acculturation among Ghanaian youth, parents and grandparents. Dietary acculturation began in Ghana, continued in NYC and was perceived as a positive process. At the interpersonal level, parents encouraged youth to embrace school lunch and foods outside the home. In contrast, parents preferred home-cooked Ghanaian meals, yet busy schedules limited time for cooking and shared meals. At the community level, greater purchasing power in NYC led to increased calories, and youth welcomed individual choice as schools and fast food exposed them to new foods. Global forces facilitated nutrition transition in Ghana as fast and packaged foods became omnipresent in urban settings. Adults sought to maintain cultural foodways while facilitating dietary acculturation for youth. Both traditional and global diets evolved as youth and adults adopted new food and healthy social norms in the US.

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Prova Shukla ◽  
Melissa Fuster

Abstract Objectives The United States is experiencing an increased influx of Bangladeshi and Bengali immigrants, yet there is limited research on how migration may affect the traditional diet in this population. Addressing this research need, the present study aimed to: (1) Examine the dietary changes upon migration among Bangladeshi women in New York City (NYC), and (2) Explore the influence of religion (Islam) on the dietary acculturation process. Methods Cross-sectional qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews with 18 Bangladeshi-born, Muslim women, who immigrated to the US within the last 15 years. Interview transcripts were analyzed iteratively using Dedoose to organize and compare themes emerging from the interview. Results The women reported having access to traditional ingredients in NYC, given the expansion of South Asian stores. Drivers for dietary change included trying new foods as part of celebrating American holidays, learning about new foods through their children, and trying new recipes for American and other ethnic foods found through social media. Following Islamic diet laws prevented the women from consumption of pork products, and led them to modify dishes served during American holidays (i.e., Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day). Changes were also reported in views regarding the healthfulness of Bengali cuisine after migration. These changes included the switch to brown rice instead of white rice, grilling meat rather than frying, and portion control. Conclusions This study contributes to understanding of the dietary acculturation process in Bangladeshi- American population, including the influence of religion in the process. The results show that immigrants seek to keep their identities and that food is one of the main ways to keep their memories of their homelands. These findings can be applied to future interventions targeting the growing South Asian immigrant population in the US. Funding Sources CUNY-Brooklyn College.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-88
Author(s):  
Sienna R. Craig ◽  
Nawang T. Gurung ◽  
Ross Perlin ◽  
Maya Daurio ◽  
Daniel Kaufman ◽  
...  

Abstract This article analyzes the audio diaries of a Tibetan physician, originally from Amdo (Qinghai Province, China), now living in New York City. Dr. Kunchog Tseten describes his experiences during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring and summer 2020, when Queens, New York—the location where he lives and works—was the “epicenter of the epicenter” of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the United States. The collaborative research project of which this diary is a part combines innovative methodological approaches to qualitative, ethnographic study during this era of social distancing with an attunement to the relationship between language, culture, and health care. Dr. Kunchog’s diary and our analysis of its contents illustrate the ways that Tibetan medicine and Tibetan cultural practices, including those emergent from Buddhism, have helped members of the Himalayan and Tibetan communities in New York City navigate this unprecedented moment with care and compassion.


1997 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-223
Author(s):  
Lillian Taiz

Forty-eight hours after they landed in New York City in 1880, a small contingent of the Salvation Army held their first public meeting at the infamous Harry Hill's Variety Theater. The enterprising Hill, alerted to the group's arrival from Britain by newspaper reports, contacted their leader, Commissioner George Scott Railton, and offered to pay the group to “do a turn” for “an hour or two on … Sunday evening.” In nineteenth-century New York City, Harry Hill's was one of the best known concert saloons, and reformers considered him “among the disreputable classes” of that city. His saloon, they said, was “nothing more than one of the many gates to hell.”


1984 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avraham Shama ◽  
Joseph Wisenblit

This paper describes the relation between values and behavior of a new life style, that of voluntary simplicity which is characterized by low consumption, self-sufficiency, and ecological responsibility. Also, specific hypotheses regarding the motivation for voluntary simplicity and adoption in two areas of the United States were tested. Analysis shows (a) values of voluntary simplicity and behaviors are consistent, (b) the motivation for voluntary simplicity includes personal preference and economic hardship, and (c) adoption of voluntary simplicity is different in the Denver and New York City metropolitan areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin Gruer ◽  
Kim Hopper ◽  
Rachel Clark Smith ◽  
Erin Kelly ◽  
Andrew Maroko ◽  
...  

Abstract Background There has been increasing recognition that certain vulnerable populations in the United States of America struggle to meet their menstruation-related needs, including people experiencing homelessness. Media and policy attention on this subject has focused on the provision of free menstrual products to vulnerable populations, including a New York City legislative bill, which guarantees access to menstrual products for Department of Homeless Services shelter residents (Intros 1123-A). Methods This qualitative study explored the challenges people experiencing homelessness in New York City face in accessing menstrual products. Data collection was conducted from June to August 2019 and included: Semi-structured key informant interviews with staff from relevant government agencies and homeless service providers (n = 15), and semi-structured in-depth interviews with individuals with experience living on the street and in shelters (n = 22). Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Key themes that emerged included: (1) insufficient and inconsistent access to menstrual products; (2) systemic challenges to providing menstrual products; and (3) creative solutions to promote access to menstrual products. Both shelter- and street-living individuals reported significant barriers to accessing menstrual products. While both populations struggle, those in shelters were more likely to be able to purchase menstrual products or access free products at their shelter, while those living on the streets were more likely to have to resort to panhandling, theft, or using makeshift materials in place of menstrual products. Across both populations, individuals described barriers to accessing free products at shelters and service providers, primarily due to distribution systems that rely on gatekeepers to provide a few pads or tampons at a time, sometimes of inadequate quality and only upon request. Shelters and service providers also described challenges providing these products, including inconsistent supply. Conclusion These findings highlight the critical importance of expanding and improving initiatives seeking to provide access to menstrual products for vulnerable populations. Despite policy level efforts to support menstrual product access, individuals experiencing homelessness in New York City, whether living in shelters or on the street, are often not able to access the menstrual products that they need to manage their monthly menstrual flow.


2008 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin C. Fenley ◽  
Sarah J. Bober ◽  
Mebane E. Powell ◽  
Jacquelin Berman ◽  
Barbara N. Altman

This article reports on the first 2 years of an ongoing project that examined the efficacy of a 10-hour dementia training provided to entry-level personal care aide (PCA) trainees from the Hispanic, White, African American, and Asian communities in New York City. Participants were enrolled in a 90-hour PCA training program offered by the New York City Department for the Aging and were either recipients of public assistance, displaced employees from September 11, or recent immigrants to the United States from China. Classes were conducted in Spanish, English, and Mandarin/Cantonese. An 11-item Knowledge of Alzheimer’s Disease instrument was developed for the purposes of this project and administered before and after the dementia training and at 3 months following graduation. All groups, regardless of language, showed a significant increase in knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease at the conclusion of the training and retention of this knowledge at 3 months follow-up. Age was strongly correlated with an increase in knowledge, while gender and education were not.


2021 ◽  
pp. 003335492110075
Author(s):  
Claudia Chernov ◽  
Lisa Wang ◽  
Lorna E. Thorpe ◽  
Nadia Islam ◽  
Amy Freeman ◽  
...  

Objectives Immigrant adults tend to have better health than native-born adults despite lower incomes, but the health advantage decreases with length of residence. To determine whether immigrant adults have a health advantage over US-born adults in New York City, we compared cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among both groups. Methods Using data from the New York City Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013-2014, we assessed health insurance coverage, health behaviors, and health conditions, comparing adults ages ≥20 born in the 50 states or the District of Columbia (US-born) with adults born in a US territory or outside the United States (immigrants, following the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) and comparing US-born adults with (1) adults who immigrated recently (≤10 years) and (2) adults who immigrated earlier (>10 years). Results For immigrant adults, the mean time since arrival in the United States was 21.8 years. Immigrant adults were significantly more likely than US-born adults to lack health insurance (22% vs 12%), report fair or poor health (26% vs 17%), have hypertension (30% vs 23%), and have diabetes (20% vs 11%) but significantly less likely to smoke (18% vs 27%) (all P < .05). Comparable proportions of immigrant adults and US-born adults were overweight or obese (67% vs 63%) and reported CVD (both 7%). Immigrant adults who arrived recently were less likely than immigrant adults who arrived earlier to have diabetes or high cholesterol but did not differ overall from US-born adults. Conclusions Our findings may help guide prevention programs and policy efforts to ensure that immigrant adults remain healthy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Nycz

AbstractThis paper examines stylistic variation in the (oh), (o), (aw), and (ay) classes among native speakers of Canadian English living in or just outside either New York City or Washington, DC. Speakers show evidence of change toward US norms for all four vowels, though only (aw) shows consistent style shifting: prevoiceless (aw) is realized with higher nuclei when speakers express ambivalence about or distance from the United States, and lower nuclei when closeness to or positive affect about the United States is being conveyed. Canadians in New York also show topic- and stance-based shift in (oh): (oh)s are higher when expressing positive affect or closeness to New York City and lower when expressing negative affect or distance. These results suggest that mobile speakers continue to exploit the socioindexical links in their native dialect while learning and using new links in their adopted dialect—but only if those links are socially salient.


2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-105
Author(s):  
Peter G. Vellon

“For Heart, Patriotism, and National Dignity”: The Italian Language Press in New York City and Constructions of Africa, Race, and Civilization” examines how mainstream and radical newspapers employed Africa as a trope for savage behavior by analyzing their discussion of wage slavery, imperialism, lynching, and colonialism, in particular Italian imperialist ventures into northern Africa in the 1890s and Libya in 1911-1912. The Italian language press constructed Africa as a sinister, dark, continent, representing the lowest rung of the racial hierarchy. In expressing moral outrage over American violence and discrimination against Italians, the press utilized this image of Africa to emphatically convey its shock and disgust. In particular, Italian prominenti newspapers capitalized on this racial imagery to construct a narrative of Italianness and Italian superiority in order to combat unflattering depictions of Italian immigrants arriving in the United States.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Lasek-Nesselquist ◽  
Navjot Singh ◽  
Alexis Russell ◽  
Daryl Lamson ◽  
John Kelly ◽  
...  

AbstractNew York State, in particular the New York City metropolitan area, was the early epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United States. Similar to initial pandemic dynamics in many metropolitan areas, multiple introductions from various locations appear to have contributed to the swell of positive cases. However, representation and analysis of samples from New York regions outside the greater New York City area were lacking, as were SARS-CoV-2 genomes from the earliest cases associated with the Westchester County outbreak, which represents the first outbreak recorded in New York State. The Wadsworth Center, the public health laboratory of New York State, sought to characterize the transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 across the entire state of New York from March to September with the addition of over 600 genomes from under-sampled and previously unsampled New York counties and to more fully understand the breadth of the initial outbreak in Westchester County. Additional sequencing confirmed the dominance of B.1 and descendant lineages (collectively referred to as B.1.X) in New York State. Community structure, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic analyses suggested that the Westchester outbreak was associated with continued transmission of the virus throughout the state, even after travel restrictions and the on-pause measures of March, contributing to a substantial proportion of the B.1 transmission clusters as of September 30th, 2020.


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