Thousands of Mexicans, including indigenous Oaxacan people, immigrate to California every year in search of economic opportunity. Many engage in farming labor that makes fresh fruits and vegetables affordable to the public, yet most live-in poverty and lack access to basic healthcare including sexual and reproductive health. Central to their struggle is the fact that they are culturally and linguistically isolated. This workshop will highlight PPCCC’s efforts to create spaces where Spanish and indigenous Mexican languages are heard and included. We’ll discuss our process for creating a MAB illustrated brochure that centered monolingual Spanish-speaking and indigenous communities, lessons learned, and how this project served as a catalyst for language justice work at our affiliate moving forward.

Background

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health and safety recommendations generated significant confusion. In Miami-Dade County (MDC), 71.5% of residents identify as Hispanic. The Surveillance Program Assessing Risk and Knowledge of Coronavirus (SPARK-C) disseminated information and offered COVID-19 screening to MDC residents in English and Spanish during this time.

Aims/Hypothesis

Using SPARK-C data, we aim to characterize the primary news sources Hispanic residents used and whether they differed from those used by non-Hispanic residents.

Methods

In collaboration with community partners, MDC residents were randomly selected for SPARK-C enrollment. 2166 participants were enrolled and screened in April 2020. Survey data included demographics, primary source of COVID-related information, and awareness of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. 1-way frequency and chi-squared analyses were conducted using SPSS.

Results

Of 2166 respondents, 1471 (67.9%) identified as Hispanic. Among Hispanics, primary news modalities included television (59.5%), internet (28.7%), and social media (7.3%). Among Non-Hispanics, primary news modalities were television (57.0%), internet (32.9%), and social media (4.0%), evidencing a statistically significant difference (p=.004). 39.1% of Hispanics versus 45.1% of Non-Hispanics reported viewing the CDC website in the month prior (p=.009).

Conclusion

Our data illustrate a digital divide in news sources and CDC guideline awareness between Hispanics and Non-Hispanics in MDC. Disseminating clear and consistent guidelines is vital in the early response to an outbreak, especially for minority populations who may receive communications through different platforms. These trends can inform strategies to create clear and consistent health communications across a multitude of platforms.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Community Health Worker (CHW) model has enabled crucial outreach to the Latino community in Fresno County. As part of the Fresno County COVID-19 Equity Project (CEP), CHWs have done tasks such as contact tracing and vaccination outreach. While CHWs varied in age and education level, many were monolingual and lacked digital literacy.

As part of the CEP training, the Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI) developed the Technology 101 training in English and Spanish. While delivering the training CVHPI found that Spanish speakers needed more in-depth training on digital device usages, utilizing search engine features and navigating health education websites. To prepare CHWs, the trainer did thorough demonstrations and some CHWs requested follow-up one-on-one in person support at their house. In addition, CVHPI provided ongoing office hours to answer questions the CHWs had about how to navigate the data management systems required.

Engaging monolingual CHWs with low digital literacy in public health work that requires data management is possible and can yield great results as these workers have the trust of the community. Institutions must allot specific Spanish language dedicated resources to train individuals separately and also allow for bilingual opportunities for training so that monolingual CHWs can be fully integrated members of the public health infrastructure.

Building up the digital literacy skills of CHWs brought social connectiveness between underserved communities and public health entities. Thus, CHWs exceled providing support to the local health department to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the region.

Introduction: Social isolation may exacerbate anxiety and depression and it is a persistent problem among youth in emerging Latinx communities, areas with newly growing Latinx populations and scarce culturally tailored services. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we partnered with a community organization serving Latinx in Western Pennsylvania to adapt a synchronous online mindfulness intervention to provide youth with stress coping and emotion regulation techniques.

Methods: We recruited one non-comparison group of 14 youth ages 13-18. Participants attended five weekly mindfulness group sessions remotely via a videoconference platform. For communicating between sessions, they joined a provider-led support group on a social media mobile app popular among Latinx communities. We collected attendance and session duration information. Participants reported pre- and post-measures of videoconferencing usability, self-efficacy, social support, and social isolation. To explore intervention acceptability, we conducted individual online interviews with 6 participants which we analyzed using the Framework Method.

Discussion: A remote project with healthy Latinx youth is well accepted and feasible. A subsequent study with a control group is warranted.

Background: Approximately 25% of youth in the United States speak a language other than English at home. These youth may have less exposure to English-speaking media, including public smoking prevention initiatives such as the FDA’s ‘The Real Cost’ campaign. Research is needed to explore potential gaps in the reach of ‘The Real Cost’ campaign among bilingual youth.

Methods: Data were pooled from the 2017-2019 National Youth Tobacco Surveys. Participants were n=12,803 middle and high school students who were: (1) susceptible never smokers; or (2) ever smokers that had smoked less than 100 cigarettes; these criteria reflect the FDA’s definition of “target population” for ‘The Real Cost’ campaign. Multiple, logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between speaking a language other than English at home (i.e., bilingual) and self-reported exposure to ‘The Real Cost’ campaign among both samples. Analyses controlled for sex, race/ethnicity, grade level, tobacco marketing exposure, and current tobacco use.

Results: The majority (61.7%) of youth who met “target population” criteria self-reported exposure to ‘The Real Cost’ from 2017-2019. Regression analyses found that youth who reported speaking a language other than English at home were significantly less likely to self-report exposure to ‘The Real Cost’ campaign (aOR: 0.85; P < 0.001), adjusting for covariates.

Conclusions: Bilingual youth were significantly less likely to report exposure to ‘The Real Cost’ campaign. This study highlights a social and cultural gap in the reach of the FDA’s ‘The Real Cost’ campaign. Existing mass-media campaigns should be expanded to reach diverse communities, including bilingual youth.

The recent novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed inequities in the health care system worsen by poor social connectedness in the Latino community. Culturally the family unit is one of the most important value for Latino patients, which often includes close friends. Families provide emotional, physical, and material security to each other, not possible during the pandemic. Social connectedness is a survival skill common in Latino communities with scarce resources. A disproportionate number of minority populations reside in crowded neighborhoods with inadequate housing, live in communities identified as food deserts, struggle with limited transportation, and work underpaid jobs deemed essential. It is not a surprise that when these indigent populations present to the healthcare system, they were sicker, have inadequate health coverage, and lack paid leave or sick time. A large health network cared for approximately 9,828 COVID-19 patients between March and May 2020. A convenience sample of 66 who were low income, uninsured, with new complicated underlying conditions received an individualized plan of care. The interventions were implemented utilizing a bundle of evidence-based strategies that focused on clinical issues and social determinants of health. This resulted in 100% compliant and had 0% hospital readmissions. In this presentation we will share detailed description of the bundle, including connection to ambulatory sites, connection to social support, exploring ways to hardwire readmission reduction, and decreasing cost. Our discussion will include development of a business plan to sustain results and step to replicate the program.

Statement of problem: Migration from Latin America is a process rife with violence, and conditions that occur during each phase of the process can affect migrants’ mental health.

Relevance: There is limited research on the conditions Latino migrants experience before migrating, during the migration process, and while in detention and how these experiences impact mental health. This study describes these conditions and explores their association with poor mental health among Mexican deportees.

Methods: We used data from the Migrante Project, an ongoing binational survey of Mexican migrant flows. We analyzed data from a probability sample Mexican migrants deported to repatriation points in Tijuana and Matamoros, Mexico (N=141). Analyses included descriptive statistics to produce prevalence estimates and multivariate logistic and linear regression models to identify factors associated with poor mental health.

Results: The mean mental health score (1-5) was 4.22 (SD=0.7). Lifetime prevalence of a doctor-diagnosed mental health condition was 9.2%. Being deported to Matamoros, being a woman, being a recent victim of violence, and having experienced three or more adverse childhood events were significantly associated with poorer mental health scores. Having experienced three or more adverse childhood events was also associated with a lifetime mental health diagnosis.

Conclusions: Conditions that occur prior to and throughout the migration process are associated with the mental health status of recently deported Mexican migrants. These findings point to the urgent need for policies and programs to decriminalize immigration, reduce childhood stressors, and decrease violence against migrants to protect the mental health of Mexican migrants.