Dismantling Structural Racism by Advancing Immigrant Health

Risk of Adverse Perinatal Outcomes Among African-born Black Women in California, 2011-2020

BACKGROUND

African-born women have a lower risk of preterm birth and small for gestational age (SGA) birth compared with United States-born Black women, however variation by country of origin is overlooked. Additionally, the extent that nativity disparities in adverse perinatal outcomes to Black women are explained by individual-level factors remains unclear.

METHODS

We conducted a population-based study of nonanomalous singleton live births to United States- and African-born Black women in California from 2011 to 2020 (n = 194,320). We used age-adjusted Poisson regression models to estimate the risk of preterm birth and SGA and reported risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Decomposition using Monte Carlo integration of the g-formula computed the percentage of disparities in adverse outcomes between United States- and African-born women explained by individual-level factors.

RESULTS

Eritrean women (RR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.3, 0.5) had the largest differences in risk of preterm birth and Cameroonian women (RR = 0.5; 95% CI = 0.3, 0.6) in SGA birth, compared with United States-born Black women. Ghanaian women had smaller differences in risk of preterm birth (RR = 0.8; 95% CI = 0.7, 1.0) and SGA (RR = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.8, 1.1) compared with United States-born women. Overall, we estimate that absolute differences in socio-demographic and clinical factors contributed to 32% of nativity-based disparities in the risk of preterm birth and 26% of disparities in SGA.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed heterogeneity in risk of adverse perinatal outcomes for African- compared with United States-born Black women, suggesting that nativity disparities in adverse perinatal outcomes were not fully explained by differences in individual-level factors.

Philadelphia Latine Immigrant Birthing People's Perspectives on Mitigating the Chilling Effect on Prenatal Care Utilization

RESEARCH DESIGN

Community-engaged qualitative study using inductive thematic analysis of semistructured interviews.

OBJECTIVE

To understand Latine immigrants' recent prenatal care experiences and develop community-informed strategies to mitigate policy-related chilling effects on prenatal care utilization.

BACKGROUND

Decreased health care utilization among immigrants due to punitive immigration policies (ie, the "chilling effect") has been well-documented among Latine birthing people both pre and postnatally.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Currently or recently pregnant immigrant Latine people in greater Philadelphia were recruited from an obstetric clinic, 2 pediatric primary care clinics, and 2 community-based organization client pools. Thematic saturation was achieved with 24 people. Participants' pregnancy narratives and their perspectives on how health care providers and systems could make prenatal care feel safer and more comfortable for immigrants.

RESULTS

Participants' recommendations for mitigating the chilling effect during the prenatal period included training prenatal health care providers to sensitively initiate discussions about immigrants' rights and reaffirm confidentiality around immigration status. Participants suggested that health care systems should expand sources of information for pregnant immigrants, either by partnering with community organizations to disseminate information or by increasing access to trusted individuals knowledgeable about immigrants' rights to health care. Participants also suggested training non-medical office staff in the use of interpreters.

CONCLUSION

Immigrant Latine pregnant and birthing people in greater Philadelphia described ongoing fear and confusion regarding the utilization of prenatal care, as well as experiences of discrimination. Participants' suggestions for mitigating immigration-related chilling effects can be translated into potential policy and programmatic interventions which could be implemented locally and evaluated for broader applicability.

Structural gendered racism as conceptualized by immigrant women in the United States

RATIONALE

Immigrants represent a rapidly growing proportion of the population, yet the many ways in which structural inequities, including racism, xenophobia, and sexism, influence their health remains largely understudied. Perspectives from immigrant women can highlight intersectional dimensions of structural gendered racism and the ways in which racial and gender-based systems of structural oppression interact.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to show the multilevel manifestations of structural gendered racism in the health experiences of immigrant women living in New York City.

METHOD

Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted in 2020 and 2021 with 44 cisgender immigrant women from different national origins in New York City to explore how immigrant women experienced structural gendered racism and its pathways to their health. Interviews were thematically analyzed using a constant comparative approach.

RESULTS

Participants expressed intersectional dimensions of structural gendered racism and the anti-immigrant climate through restrictive immigration policy and issues related to citizenship status, disproportionate immigration enforcement and criminalization, economic exploitation, and gendered interpersonal racism experienced across a range of systems and contexts. Participants weighed their concerns for safety and facing racism as part of their life course and health decisions for themselves and their families.

CONCLUSIONS

The perspectives and experiences of immigrant women are key to identifying multilevel solutions for the burdens of structural gendered racism, particularly among individuals and communities of non-U.S. national origin. Understanding how racism, sexism, xenophobia, and intersecting systems of oppression impact immigrant women is critical for advancing health equity.

Experiences and Suggestions of Nurses Involved in Caring for Migrant Populations in Italy: A Qualitative Study

The aim of this research is to explore nurses' experiences in caring for migrants, regular and non-regular, within outpatient clinics in Italy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Thirteen nurses have been interviewed through online semi-structured interviews, conducted with the support of a questionnaire, made by researchers, consisting of open-ended questions on legislative issues, cultural issues, and regarding best practices. Purposive sampling has been used, along with phone and email recruitment. The audio recordings of the interviews were verbatim transcribed, then examined. This study is a qualitative descriptive fundamental research project.

RESULTS

Interviewees highlight migrants' difficulties in accessing care, critical points of legislation, transcultural skills crucial to nurses, and good practices. A total of 105 labels were developed and grouped into 23 categories under 7 themes (Italian legislation and migrants; structural difficulties in assistance; the influence of politics; the work of NGOs and associations; nursing care; winning strategies; and the role of the Family and Community Nurse).

CONCLUSION

The research highlights how access to care for migrants is hindered by legislative, structural, and cultural barriers, with consequences on the NHS (improper accesses to the emergency room, increased workload, and economic expenditure). For the full realization of the right to health, as enshrined by Art. 32 of the Constitution, changes are needed with respect to regulations and professionals' training.

Editorial: Institutional Commitment Is Needed to Promote Antiracist Care of Unaccompanied Immigrant Minors

Antiracism can be defined as the practice of opposing racism and promoting racial equity and justice. Within health care, antiracism also includes acknowledging and addressing the structural injustices resulting in health inequities. Racism plays a role in how the United States accepts and welcomes refugees and asylum seekers.1 From an intersectional perspective, children are innately in positions of disadvantage, with unaccompanied immigrant minors (UIMs) experiencing an even greater toll due to the lack of direct parental physical care. This editorial discusses antiracist care of UIMs and the need for institutional and structural support to sustain this important clinical work.

Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Citizenship Status, and Self-Rated Health Among Immigrant Young Adults

Both racial/ethnic discrimination and citizenship status are manifestations of racism. Few empirical studies have examined the role of multiple stressors and how both stressors are interlinked to influence health among immigrant young adults. Informed by the theory of stress proliferation, the current study seeks to examine the interplay between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and citizenship status on health. We used the third wave of the Children of Immigrants Longitudinal Study (CILS) to examine the influence of perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and citizenship status on self-rated health (SRH) among immigrant young adults (N = 3344). Perceived racial/ethnic discrimination was initially associated with SRH. After adjusting for both predictors, those experiencing perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and non-citizen youth were less likely to report better health than youth who did not report perceived racial/ethnic discrimination or citizen youth. In fully adjusted multivariate regression models, racial/ethnic discrimination remained significant, while citizenship status was no longer associated with SRH. To test stress proliferation, an interaction term was included to assess whether the relationship between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and SRH varied by citizenship status. The interaction term was significant; non-citizen young adults who experienced racial/ethnic discrimination were less likely to report better health in comparison to citizen young adults and those who did not report perceived racial/ethnic discrimination. Results suggest that the interplay between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and citizenship status may be influential for health among immigrant young adults. These findings underscore the need for further assessment of the role of stress proliferation on immigrant young adults' health.