142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

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Efforts to Address Family Violence: How Localized Immigration Enforcement Impacts Undocumented Latino Immigrants

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 9:30 AM - 9:45 AM

Nolan Kline, MA , Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Women's Health, Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Heide Castaņeda, PhD, MPH , Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Ellen Daley, PhD , Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Cheryl A. Vamos, PhD, MPH , Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Angela Stuesse, PhD , Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Background: A great deal of public health scholarship explores family and intimate partner violence through models of control and power, behavioral cycles, and ecological determinants. However, additional efforts to address violence must explore how family and intimate partner violence may be embedded within broader social systems, including immigration policies and police practices.  The objective of this study is to examine how recent immigration laws and police practices in the state of Georgia have impacted family and intimate partner violence among undocumented immigrants.

Methods: Guided by a systems-perspective, this qualitative study employed participatory methodologies to gain trust among community members. A total of 51 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders across the socio-ecological levels between fall 2012 and spring 2013: undocumented immigrants (intrapersonal); health providers (organizational); immigrant rights organization leaders (community), and policy makers (society). 

Results: Findings illustrate how recent immigration laws and local police practices have impacted undocumented immigrant families’ well-being and creating new concerns for how agencies respond to violence. For example, informants reported immigration laws playing a role in not reporting violence, increasing substance use, and needing to revise family safety plans.

Discussion: Findings reveal health-related consequences of non-health related laws, demonstrating how policy is a key factor in systems-related research on immigrant health.  Moreover, this research highlights how immigration laws may impede public health efforts to address family and intimate partner violence, indicating a need for new violence prevention strategies that respond to the complex lived experiences of undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe how immigration policies impact family and intimate partner violence among undocumented immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia. Discuss how immigration policies hinder public health efforts to respond to family and intimate partner violence among undocumented immigrants.

Keyword(s): Immigrant Health, Policy/Policy Development

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have extensive research experience with undocumented immigrants, have worked on NSF-funded research with undocumented immigrants, and was the PI responsible for all data collection and analysis activities related to the research described in this abstract.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.