Perceived vulnerability to immigration policies among postpartum Hispanic/Latina women in the MADRES pregnancy cohort before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Womens Health (Lond)
; 18: 17455057221125103, 2022.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2042947
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:
Research suggests that perceived immigration policy vulnerability has important health implications. Coupled with the mental and physical stressors accompanying the postpartum period and a growing awareness of the discrimination and structural racism experienced by marginalized communities globally, the coronavirus disease 2019 period may have exacerbated stress among vulnerable populations, specifically postpartum Hispanic/Latina women. This study evaluated perceived immigration policy vulnerability (i.e. discrimination, social isolation, and family threats) in early postpartum Hispanic/Latina women in Los Angeles before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.METHODS:
The Perceived Immigration Policy Effects Scale (PIPES) was administered cross-sectionally at 1 month postpartum to 187 Hispanic/Latina women in the MADRES cohort. Respondents between September 2018 and March 2020 were classified as "pre-pandemic" (N = 128), between March 2020 and July 2020 as "early pandemic" (N = 38), and between August 2020 and November 2021 as "later pandemic" (N = 21). Average PIPES subscale scores were dichotomized into "higher" and "lower" groups (⩽median, >median) and logistic regression models were performed.RESULTS:
Approximately half of participants had incomes of <$50,000 (50.3%) and were Latin American born (54.6%). After adjusting for age, nativity, education, income, postpartum distress, and employment status, early pandemic respondents had 5.05 times the odds of a higher score on the perceived discrimination subscale (95% CI 1.81, 14.11), 6.47 times the odds of a higher score on the social isolation subscale (95% CI 2.23, 18.74), 2.66 times the odds of a higher score on the family threats subscale (95% CI 0.97, 7.32), and 3.36 times the odds of a higher total score (95% CI 1.19, 9.51) when compared to pre-pandemic respondents. There were no significant subscale score differences between later pandemic and pre-pandemic periods.CONCLUSION:
Higher perceived immigration policy vulnerability was reported among postpartum women during the early coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic versus pre-pandemic periods. This suggests greater social inequities during the early pandemic period.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Emigration and Immigration
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
Womens Health (Lond)
Journal subject:
Women's Health
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
17455057221125103
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