Coping With COVID-19: The Impact of the Pandemic on Latina Immigrant Women’s Mental Health and Well-being

Introduction We sought to describe how Latina immigrants living in King County coped with the pandemic, including their attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19, and the impact of the pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing. Method We conducted surveys by phone with adult Spanish-speaking Latina immigrants ( n = 137) in the summer of 2020. Results Very few women had been infected with COVID-19, and 23% reported having been tested. Most frequent reasons for not being tested were not knowing where to go (14%), concerns over the cost (15%), and not wanting to know if they were infected (12%). Most participants had concerns about paying for housing (76%) and food (73%). Depression and anxiety symptoms were in the moderate range. Almost all participants were practicing recommended preventive behaviors. Conclusion Although few participants had COVID-19 infection, the pandemic had significant impacts on their mental health and ability to meet basic needs.

Police Response to Latina Immigrant Intimate Partner Violence Victims: A Qualitative Analysis

While an increasing body of literature has assessed police response to intimate partner violence (IPV), a dearth of this research has examined police decision-making with formal reports of IPV among Latina immigrants. Using a LatCrit theoretical framework, the current study addressed this substantive gap through the systematic methods of the grounded theory approach to assess a sample of 36 police case files drawn from an agency located in one of the fifth most populous and diverse US cities. Results from the current study identified five themes related to shortcomings in police response to Latina immigrant IPV victims. The themes included cultural coercive control, language barriers, victim participation, case clearance efforts, and service provision. Policy implications and avenues for future research are discussed.

COVID-19: Threat and Vulnerability Among Latina Immigrants

As has been documented in public health data, infections and deaths from COVID-19 have been inequitably distributed in the United States, producing adverse health outcomes among vulnerable populations including Latina immigrants. Using a critical feminist theoretical perspective, this discussion examines the mechanisms informing these outcomes including lack of access to health insurance and health care and work in low-waged jobs with high potential exposure to the virus. In addition, we examine related risks to this population, including domestic violence during stay-at-home orders. We argue that social workers can join forces with immigrant-led organizations to support advocacy to reverse government policies that limit immigrants’ access to health care as well as ensuring that Latina women workers earn adequate wages for essential jobs.

Honoring Older Latino Immigrants’ Perspectives on Cancer: Informing the Future

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Latinos in the U.S. Approximately 32.2% of Latinas and 44.1% of Latinos aged 60 years or older have a lifetime probability of developing invasive cancer (ACS, 2018), with lower survival rates for most cancers even when allowing for age and stage distribution. There is some evidence that older Latino/Latina immigrants lack knowledge about cancer treatment options and are often adversely impacted by healthcare inequities regarding cancer treatment and care options. This study compared the cancer beliefs and attitudes of 58 Latinos and 110 Latinas with a mean age of 67.9 years who reside in the Greater Tampa Bay area. Recruitment occurred in community-based settings, and interviews were conducted in Spanish and transcribed into English. The qualitative methods of constant comparison and thematic analysis will be presented along with the results related to diagnosis, medical decisions, finances, death, and family.

Physical Activity Patterns and Neighborhood Characteristics of First Generation Latina Immigrants Living in Arizona (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Metabolic disease conditions, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, are a major health concern for Latina immigrants. Regular aerobic physical activity (PA) is an independent risk factor for the prevention and control of these conditions. Yet, the PA levels of most Latina immigrants are below national guidelines; highlighting the need for effective efforts to reduce PA and metabolic health disparities in this population. OBJECTIVE This study explored PA patterns of first generation US Latina immigrants and examined how neighborhood environment factors influence these PA patterns. Findings will be used to inform development of a culturally tailored PA intervention for first generation Latina immigrants. METHODS Using a cross-sectional study design, 39 first generation Latina immigrants completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Mujahid Neighborhood Scales Questionnaire, which assessed 6 perceived neighborhood factors: walking environment, aesthetic quality, safety, violence, social cohesion, and activities with neighbors. Median self-reported MET-minutes/week of PA were used to summarize domain (i.e., work, domestic, household, leisure) and intensity (i.e., walking, moderate, vigorous, moderate-to-vigorous) specific PA patterns. Logistic regression examined associations between neighborhood factors and engaging in leisure-time PA (i.e., dichotomous outcome of some vs. no leisure-time PA), transportation PA (i.e., dichotomous outcome of some vs. no transportation PA), and meeting national PA guidelines (i.e., dichotomous outcome of meeting vs. not meeting guidelines). RESULTS Participants (age = 40.5 ± 4.3 years; length of US residency = 4.6 ± 1.0 years) reported engaging in a median of 4512 MET-minutes/week of total PA. The majority of their PA was acquired through domestic activities (2160 MET-minutes/week), followed by leisure (396 MET-minutes/week), transportation (198 MET-minutes/week), and work PA (0 MET-minutes/week). Intensity-specific PA patterns showed that participants engaged in a median of 594 MET-minutes/week of walking activity and 3500 MET-minutes/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA. Logistic regression models showed that neighborhood factors of walking environment, aesthetic quality, and safety were significantly associated with engaging in leisure PA (odds ratios of 5.95 [95% CI:1.49; 23.74], 2.45 [95% CI:1.01; 5.93] and 3.30 [95% CI:1.26; 8.67], respectively) and meeting national PA guidelines (odds ratios of 8.44 [95% CI: 1.63; 43.69] 11.99 [95% CI: 1.79; 80.29], and 3.54 [95% CI:1.21; 10.29] respectively). Neighborhood factors of violence, social cohesion, and activities with neighbors were not significantly associated with PA outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Although most participants engaged in PA at levels that met national guidelines, the majority of their PA was achieved through domestic activity, with limited leisure, transportation, and work PA. Given leisure PA, in particular, plays a significant role in improving health outcomes, findings suggest that many Latina immigrants could benefit from a leisure PA intervention. Such interventions should consider neighborhood environmental influences, as our data suggest these factors can serve as determinants to PA.