Browsing by Subject "Immigrants"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
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    Brazil's Anti-Immigration Discourse Research
    (2024-12-05) Duarte Possebon, Daphine
    This research will analyze the discourses of Jair Messias Bolsonaro, the former deputy and later president of Brazil, on the promotion of anti-immigrant discourses within Brazilian society, with a special attention to the discourse towards Venezuelans.
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    A Case Study of the Academic Success of Somali Refugee Students in a Two-Year Community College.
    (2015-08) Ibrahim, Mustafa
    Abstract This is a mixed-method, qualitative study of 36 Somali students to uncover key factors affecting their academic success in a two-year community college in the Twin Cities of Minnesota/St. Paul. The Twin Cities metropolitan area has become a preferred location in the US for Somali diaspora to settle because of the rich social, economic, and educational opportunities offered. A purposive sample of 18 current and 18 drop-outs male and female students were selected from a population of 234 Somali students who attended one of the largest and well-known community and technical colleges in the Twin Cities area. All 234 students participated in a screening questionnaire consisting of questions about socio-cultural conditions. Thirty-six students in the purposive sample were selected based on their responses to the screening questionnaire, were asked to participate in a semi-structured focus group interview and an individual interview. Three major themes emerged from the data related to cultural identity and sense of place, language use, and motivation. Somali students who were most successful academically had acculturated additively keeping their "Somaliness" while at the same time actively adopting American cultural values, skills, and practices. In addition, the most successful students valued persistent, committed educational progress whether their goals were modest or ambitious. Most who succeeded also had the most substantial and consistent family support, university financial, social integration, and years of English language exposure.
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    Centering the Margins: The Transportation Experience of Underserved Communities
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2023-08) Fan, Yingling; Greenberg, Gillian; Panchal, Niyati; Wilson, Maxwell; Luna, Christina; Amrhein, Joseph; Benda, Samuel; Song, Ying; Zeng, Xiaohuan
    Transportation systems, as integral parts of human settlements, reflect the societal structures and cultural ideologies influenced predominantly by the dominant race or class. In the absence of prioritizing the transportation needs of underserved communities, transportation systems may perpetuate systematic inequities. This study aims to address the inequities present in current transportation systems by conducting a comprehensive examination of the transportation experiences of individuals belonging to ten specific underserved communities. These communities include eight within the Twin Cities metropolitan region (Latinx, African American, Hmong, people with disabilities, immigrants, people living with HIV, single mothers, and single fathers), as well as two communities in the Greater Minnesota area (transitioning home residents in Fergus Falls and tribal members of the White Earth Nation). This research adopts a mixed-method approach, incorporating both qualitative interviews and quantitative smartphone-based travel behavior surveys. The findings reveal that each community faces distinct transportation barriers, alongside shared themes in transportation inequities such as inadequate public transportation, difficulties related to car use, and the impact of transportation on significant life outcomes. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.
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    Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain Experiences of First Generation, Middle Aged Somali Women: A Descriptive Qualitative Study
    (2019-01) Swartz, Kristin L.
    Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent and costly health conditions in the United States. In refugees and immigrants, chronic pain is more prevalent and the severity of pain is higher. Musculoskeletal chronic pain is one the most common forms of pain that refugees and immigrants experience. In collaborating with a local community clinic, practitioners shared that middle-aged Somali women experienced a high incidence of non-specific musculoskeletal chronic pain that practitioners struggled to address through typical treatment measures. In a review of the literature it was found that no studies described chronic musculoskeletal pain for middle-aged Somali women, nor factors that contribute to their interpretation and management of pain. To date, there are no studies that specifically address chronic musculoskeletal pain in a refugee group in the United States, and few studies utilized a social ecological approach to describe the influence of environmental, societal, and immigration experiences in the management of pain. In this community-informed, descriptive qualitative study, musculoskeletal chronic pain experiences of first-generation, middle aged (40-65) Somali women living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area are described. Utilizing the social ecological model and the dynamic biopsychosocial model, twelve core themes emerged that show the biological, psychological, social, and environmental factors that influenced participant experiences with pain. For Somali women in this study, the physical sensation of pain originated in the biological level and extended through the psychological and social levels of the microsystem. This physical experience of pain created a catalyzing influence that extended across the levels of the social ecological model. The core themes were: physical experience of pain, daily function and career, self-care practices, emotional experience of pain, recommendations for others experiencing pain, recommendations for community and clinics in treating pain, relationships with others, experience accessing care, financial impact, insurance affect, religious practice, traditional medicine and country of origin pain management, and sociopolitical issues. For these seventeen, first-generation, middle aged Somali women, pain was complex and multidimensional, and the physical experience of pain was only one aspect of chronic pain experience. Sociopolitical experiences were profound and triggered worry and fear that influenced pain. Insurance & financial issues compounded complexity with chronic pain management. Traditional medicine, memory of Somalia, and experience in Somalia were valuable resources and points of reference for managing pain. Pain influenced a Somali woman’s ability to secure a steady job. Pain management strategies were diverse and included integrative modalities. Religious practice was a key resource to pain management and overall pain experience. Participants sought alternatives to medications and used medications when necessary; and recommended and used exercise to manage pain. Health care providers played a key role in Somali women’s pain management. Many of these findings aligned with previous literature; however, the extensive multidimensionality of pain across the levels of the social ecological model is a new finding that should be further studied. In addition, further research is needed to expand knowledge related these findings and their potential to be generalized to other Somali women and men, and immigrants and refugees from other countries. In particular, to explore and define “Pain all over”, to investigate practitioner experiences in working with Somali patients and pain and how they approach the clinical interaction, and to examine outcomes of religious practice in pain-management. The implications of this research are several. Findings suggest the importance of story in working with Somali women to understand the meaning and cause of pain, in addition to the positive influence of health care providers when participants felt heard. Insights into how discrimination and an intense sociopolitical climate may influence the health and well-being of Somali women also emerged. Concerns were raised on language interpretation services and a need for further oversight and regulation was identified, in addition to the barriers participant’s experienced in understanding the ever-changing insurance landscape. More effort is needed to educate the greater community on experiences of immigrants and refugees in order to make informed changes in our communities, health systems, and political environment. These findings show that this social ecological approach to chronic pain treatment and management may be helpful in understanding the lived experience of pain for Somali women.
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    CYFC Consortium Connections, Spring 1994, Vol 3, No 2
    (Children, Youth & Family Consortium, 1994) Children, Youth & Family Consortium
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    Diagnosing Healthcare in America: The Impacts of Immigrants and Occupational Licensing
    (Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2013-12-04) Benson, Johann; Dworin, Jonathan; Garry, Thomas; Hicks, Jason; Schicker, Teresa; Victor, Anders
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    Essays on the Effect of Environmental Factors on Health Choices and Health Behavior of Individuals
    (2015-07) Katare, Bhagyashree
    Understanding the causes of spread of obesity is important to address public health concern and formulate public policy. Causally identifying factors that influence the spread of obesity is difficult. Specifically, it is difficult to disentangle the contextual effects or environmental factors that drive weight gain in individuals from the self-selection of individuals into groups that share common, potentially unobserved, characteristics. In my first paper I tried to disentangle these competing explanations by collecting data from a unique population of international students. I surveyed international graduate students at 48 public universities across the United States. I used this data to investigate the effect of obesity prevalence in a particular region on international students' weight gain. Results show that students studying in areas with a lower prevalence of obesity show a significantly lower increase in their weight compared to students studying in areas with a higher prevalence of obesity. In the second essay I used the restricted-use New Immigrant Survey 2003 data to study the association between surrounding environmental factors and BMI of recent immigrants to the United States. Immigrants also offer a unique opportunity to disentangle the self-selection and contextual effects while studying the effect of environmental factors on the weight gain in individuals. I find statistically significant effects on the immigrants' BMI levels. Immigrants residing in areas with lower prevalence of obesity have significantly lower BMI levels compared to those residing in areas with higher prevalence of obesity. Results show that dietary change in immigrants is influenced by the local environmental factors and that dietary change affects the BMI levels of the immigrants. The third essay is an intervention study to promote physical exercise among freshman students at a university in the Midwest. I investigated the effect of social norming and financial incentives on promoting physical exercise among randomly selected freshman students. Through the third essay, I investigate the effectiveness of two policies that have been proven to modify individual behaviors in encouraging healthy behavior.
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    First-generation immigrant college students: an exploration of family support and career aspirations
    (2014-07) Deenanath, Veronica
    Although there is a large body of literature on first-generation college students and an emerging literature on immigrant college students, research focused on the combined experiences of college students who are both immigrant and first-generation is limited. College students who have the combined status of being first-generation and an immigrant are burden with additional challenging navigating the college process, finding resources and balancing their dream and goals with those of their family to name a few. These students pursue higher education as a means to improve their family's socioeconomic status (Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco, & Todorova, 2008), which makes choosing a college major and career path an important decision. The purpose of this study is to understand how do first-generation immigrant college students decide on a college major, make career decisions, and receive support from their parent(s) and family. Guided by Symbolic Interaction Theory and Phenomenology, fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with first-generation immigrant college students. Two super-ordinate themes emerged from the data: What I Want as a Student and What I Need to Succeed, from these there were four themes and twelve subthemes. The results of this study can be used to help advisers understand this student population and how to better work with them.
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    Health Literacy and Associated Factors Among Hmong American Immigrants: Addressing the Health Disparities
    (Springer, 2017-05-20) Khuu, Belle, P
    Hmong Americans face a disproportionate health burden ranging from the high prevalence of diabetes to depressive disorders. Little research attention has been paid toward exploring contributing factors to this disparity. As such, the present study seeks to fill the gap in the literature by examining the health literacy levels in Hmong Americans and its associated factors. The present study employed Andersen’s behavioral model of health service as the theoretical framework. A cross-sectional survey research design was used and information was gathered from 168 Hmong American immigrants. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling strategy. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify the factors linked to health literacy. Approximately half of the participants had low health literacy and reported that they did not understand health information well. Health literacy levels were found to differ significantly based on the number of years participants have lived in the U.S., their social or religious group attendance, health status, and whether they had difficulties with activities of daily living. Our exploratory findings could be used prompt more research to help inform the development of interventions aiming to improve health literacy levels and address
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    Healthcare providers' perspectives on parental health literacy and child health outcomes among Southeast Asian American immigrants and refugees
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2016-06-08) Khuu, Belle, P.
    Lowhealth literacy has emerged as an important area of research because of its close linkwith health disparities. In this study, we used a qualitative approach to investigate healthcare providers' perspectives on the health literacy of immigrant and refugee parents and its association with children's health. Sixteen health and mental health professionals serving immigrant and refugee parents and children in various clinical settingswere recruited through a purposive sampling method and interviewed. Six broad themes were identified: (1) multi-dimensional components of parental health literacy; (2) parent characteristics and native country experiences; (3) host systems and their interactions impact on parental health literacy; (4) diverse aspects of help-seeking; (5) culture- based parental help-seeking; and (6) child health outcomes. Within these larger themes, the complexity of parental health literacy and its various effects on children's health outcomes among immigrant and refugee parents were evident. Future research includes more population-based quantitative studies of parental health literacy and culturally relevant clinical approaches among immigrant and refugee parents.
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    Immigrants and Minnesota’s Workforce Report
    (2017-01) Allen, Ryan; Committee on Minnesota Workforce and Immigrants; Office of the Vice President for Research
    The purpose of this report is to describe a range of important factors in understanding the demographic changes underway in Minnesota, with particular attention to evolving trends related to immigrants and refugees, and what role these changes will have on the state’s workforce. Six broad themes related to population change and the workforce of Minnesota: 1. In the coming decades, the population of Minnesota will likely grow at a pace that is significantly slower than growth rates from previous years. 2. The population of Minnesota will grow older and more racially diverse in the future, but these changes in the population will not be equally distributed around the state. 3. It is probable that Minnesota will be dependent upon immigrants for future population growth. 4. The proportion of the foreign born in Minnesota’s population has changed dramatically over time, and currently represents a variety of racial and ethnic groups with varied human capital backgrounds. 5. Projected population changes in Minnesota will likely result in a substantial increase in the immigrant population in the state in the future, but the proportion of immigrants in Minnesota’s population will almost certainly lag the proportion of immigrants in the U.S. population by a significant margin. 6. Without a substantial increase of migration to Minnesota in the future, the state’s labor force will likely grow much slower than it has in recent years. This will make filling job vacancies more challenging in the future.
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    The Impact of Acculturative Stress on Marital Distress among Middle Eastern Immigrants: Measuring Social Support as a Moderator
    (2016-07) Dadras, Iman
    Immigration is a significant life transition, which impacts family dynamics at multiple levels. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the present study examined 132 Middle Eastern married immigrants` experiences of the association between socio-demographic characteristics and acculturative stress and between acculturative stress, social support, and marital distress. Via online and paper-pencil surveys, participants completed demographic questions, the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) (Busby et al., 1995), the Social, Attitudinal, Familial, and Environmental (SAFE) Scale (Mena, Padilla, & Maldonado, 1987), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) (Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988). Results revealed that participants with longer years of residence in the U.S. and higher income levels reported less acculturative stress. Social support moderated the impact of acculturative distress on marital distress and participants with medium and high levels of social support experienced less acculturative stress compared to participants with low level of social support. Recommendations for future research and clinical interventions that facilitate Middle Eastern immigrant couples’ cultural adjustment are provided.
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    Legal Injuries: Deportability and U.S. Immigration Policy in the Lives of TransLatina Immigrants
    (2015-07) Padron, Karla
    Legal Injuries: Deportability and U.S. Immigration Policy in the Lives of Transgender Latina Immigrants examines the impact of immigration legislation and structural inequality in the lives of Transgender Latina Immigrants in the U.S. TransLatinas are male-assigned-at-birth immigrants from Latin America who identify as women. Many TransLatinas report having experienced numerous forms of violence in their natal country because of their gender identity. Thus, the majority of TransLatinas in this study came to the U.S. in search of a safe place to enact their gender autonomy and to thrive in other aspects of their lives. However, in the U.S., most TransLatinas face social, economic, and legal barriers that restrict their mobility and sense of self. Through engaged ethnography and legal analysis, this project unpacks and makes visible the ways in which TransLatinas embody, internalize, contest, and mitigate the administrative power that U.S. immigration policy, social alienation, and the constant threat of deportability have on their daily existence.
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    Living with the Mississippi
    (River Life, University of Minnesota, 2014) Hines, Rachel; Nunnally, Patrick D.
    “Living with the Mississippi” is a blog series that examines the history of the river flats communities and what it means to almost literally live on the Mississippi River. Follow along to learn more about life on the Mississippi prior to luxury condos and clean river water, before the riverfront was considered a desirable place to live.
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    Neighborhood social capital and the Health and health risk behavior of adolescent immigrants and non-immigrants
    (2014-02) Danso, Kofi
    With the growing waves of immigrants and children of immigrants globally, it is important that we understand their health and health risk behaviors. Generally, limited studies exist on neighborhood social capital and adolescents and more specifically a comparative analysis involving immigrants and non-immigrants. The present study examined the relationship between social capital and health and health risk behaviors of immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents. More importantly, this study expands empirical investigation on the relevance of social capital among adolescent immigrants and non-immigrants. The study used Wave I (i.e., adolescents between ages 12-21 years) data of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a national representative longitudinal survey of adolescents including immigrants and racial and ethnic groups in the United States. The data were collected on adolescents from Grades 7-12 since 1994/1995 and the same cohort was followed as they transitioned into young adulthood. Chi-square and t-tests were performed to compare the patterns of differences stratified by immigrant status, gender, and Hispanics status. Multivariate regression analyses were also conducted to identify health promoting and risk factors for adolescent engagement in health risk behaviors. Major differences were found on the characteristics of adolescents, especially based on Hispanic status and gender. The multivariate analyses, such as logistic and OLS regression results, indicate that compared to older adolescents, younger adolescents are less likely to engage in risk behaviors such as alcohol consumption, smoking, and sexual activity. Also, whereas certain components of social capital such as family connectedness and sense of neighborliness improve adolescent health and reduce their engagement in health risk behaviors, family involvement, knowing neighbors, talking to neighbors, and perception of neighborhood safety can have a risk-promoting effect on children. Adolescent religiosity, English language use, and parental employment were also significant predictors of health and risk behaviors such as sexual activity, smoking, and alcohol use. From the study, there is no evidence of an association between immigrant status and adolescent health and health risk behaviors. However, various factors influence immigrants and non-immigrants health and health risk behaviors differently, thereby contributing to disparities in health and risk behaviors among adolescents. The results from the study suggest that social capital is an important predictor of adolescent health and health risk behaviors such as sexual activity, alcohol use, smoking, and drug injection. For example, family connectedness appears vital to adolescents' health and minimizes alcohol consumption, smoking, sexual debut, and drug use. However, family involvement improves adolescent health but does not necessarily reduce health risk behaviors. Therefore, we have to be aware that not all forms of social capital may be useful to adolescents' development. As a result, parents, families, and neighborhoods need to be supported to reduce risky adolescent behaviors. Thus, intervention programs that support quality parent-adolescent relationships and communication are essential for adolescent development and well-being.
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    The relationships between internet usage and acculturation of the Horn of Africa immigrants in the United States
    (2013-02) Woldeab, Daniel
    The purpose of this study was to investigate Internet usage and its relationship with the acculturation of the Horn of Africa immigrants residing in urban Minnesota. Technology has and continues to be a cultural amplifier; in just two decades from its initial availability to the general public, the Internet has made geographical differences practically irrelevant, making the world a virtual small village. Social interactions that were once only possible face-to-face can now take place online. This innovation in communication plays a crucial role in the acculturation process of immigrants, allowing them access not only to social media platforms, but mapping tools, translation websites, online banking, video sharing sites and many other potentially empowering resources that affect how they encounter life in their new environments. This study utilizes Berry’s bi-dimensional theory of acculturation to investigate the relationship between Internet usage and acculturation. Berry’s four dimensions of acculturation provide a theoretical guideline for this study. Also employed here are communication theoretical perspectives in studying Internet usage and acculturation. The participants were 292 Horn of Africa immigrants attending English language classes in adult education programs in the upper Midwestern part of the U.S. A series of multiple regression analyses are used to determine the unique contribution of each variable in predicting acculturation. The study revealed statistically significant relationships among Internet social-networking usage and dimensions of acculturation. The most powerful predictor of Internet usage was level of education, often achieved prior to immigrating to the U.S. Internet usage did contribute to integration, the most successful strategy for acculturation of immigrants from this group. Perceived English language competency alone accounted for 15% of the variance in integration and 17% of the variance in assimilation. Based on these findings, path models for Internet usage and acculturation are proposed. Further, implications for both research and practice are discussed.