Sociocultural Antecedents and Mechanisms of COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake among Mexican-Origin Youth.

Mexican-origin youth, as a large and growing population among U.S. youth, have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Understanding what, when, and how sociocultural factors may influence their COVID-19 vaccine uptake could inform current and future pandemic-response interventions promoting vaccination behaviors among Mexican-origin youth. The current study takes a developmental approach to reveal the long-term and short-term sociocultural antecedents of 198 Mexican-origin adolescents' COVID-19 vaccination uptake behaviors and explores the underlying mechanism of these associations based on the Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior model. The current study adopted Wave 1 (2012-2015) and Wave 4 (2021-2022) self-reported data from a larger study. Analyses were conducted to examine four mediation models for four sociocultural antecedents-daily discrimination, ethnic discrimination, foreigner stress, and family economic stress-separately. Consistent indirect effects of higher levels of concurrent sociocultural risk factors on a lower probability of COVID-19 vaccine uptake were observed to occur through less knowledge about the COVID-19 vaccines and less positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccines at Wave 4. Significant direct effects, but in opposite directions, were found for the associations between Wave 1 ethnic discrimination/Wave 4 daily discrimination and the probability of COVID-19 vaccine uptake. The findings highlight the importance of considering prior and concurrent sociocultural antecedents and the Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior pathway leading to COVID-19 vaccination uptake among Mexican-origin youth and suggest that the impact of discrimination on COVID-19 vaccination uptake may depend on the type (e.g., daily or ethnic) and the context (e.g., during the COVID-19 pandemic or not) of discrimination experienced.

Survival Analysis and Socio-Cognitive Factors in the Timing of COVID-19 Vaccination Among Mexican-Origin Youth.

OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected ethnic minority populations and exacerbated preexisting health disparities. The current study aims to promote vaccine uptake among Mexican-origin youth from immigrant families by examining their time to COVID-19 vaccine uptake and assessing the influence of demographic, cognitive, and social factors on the incidence of COVID-19 vaccination. METHODS: The study conducted Survival Analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model based on a sample of 202 Mexican-origin youth (61.39% female; Mage = 20.41) with data collected from August 2021 to January 2023 in central Texas. RESULTS: The results show a critical time period for vaccine uptake (i.e., in the first six months after the vaccines were publicly available), evidenced by a surge decrease in COVID-19 unvaccination probability. In addition, more positive attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine (Hazard ratio/HR = 1.89, 95% Confidence Interval/CI = [1.64, 2.18]), greater motivation (HR = 2.29, 95% CI = [1.85, 2.85]), higher education levels (HR = 1.52, 95% CI = [1.24, 1.86]), and fewer general barriers to COVID-19 vaccine knowledge (HR = 0.75, 95% CI = [0.60, 0.94]) were associated with greater incidences of receiving COVID-19 vaccines at any given time point during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccine uptake among Mexican-origin youth occurred primarily within the initial months of vaccines being publicly distributed. To encourage vaccination among Mexican-origin youth, sustained COVID-19 vaccine promotion efforts are needed by targeting their motivation and positive attitudes and reducing barriers to vaccine information, particularly for youth with lower education levels.

COVID-19 Anti-Chinese Discrimination, Current Pandemic Stress, And Adolescents' Mental Health.

The current study investigated adolescents' experiences of COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination (i.e., vicariously witnessed, directly experienced), the consequences for mental health, and the moderating role of general pandemic stress. During Summer 2020, 106 adolescents (43% Latino/a/x, 19% Asian American, 13% Black/African American, 26% biracial/multiracial/other; 58% female) participated in a 14-day daily diary study. Path analyses revealed that more experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater anxious mood, depressed mood, and mental health stress, while direct COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination was unrelated to mental health outcomes. The interaction between vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination and general COVID-19 stress was significant for depressed mood; simple slope analyses showed that for adolescents reporting high levels of COVID-19 stress, more frequent experiences of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination were associated with greater severity in depressed mood, but this link was nonsignificant for those reporting low levels of general pandemic stress. Findings from the current study underscore the pernicious effects of vicarious COVID-19 anti-Chinese discrimination on the mental health of minoritized youth beyond solely Asian Americans. Additionally, the results evince the need for future pandemic-response efforts to craft public health messaging that avoids the racialization of disease and subsequent stigmatization of ethnic-minority communities.

Factors Associated with Depressive Symptoms among Mexican-Origin Adults in a Community Sample at the US Mexico Border Region.

Using baseline data from three partnering federally qualified health centers, we examined factors associated with depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults at risk of chronic disease living in three counties in Southern Arizona (i.e., Pima, Yuma, and Santa Cruz). Multivariable linear regression models identified correlates of depressive symptoms for this population controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Among 206 participants, 85.9% were female and 49% were between 45 and 64 years of age. The proportion of depressive symptoms was 26.8%. Low levels of physical pain and high levels of hope and social support were also reported. Physical pain was positively and significantly related to depressive symptoms (ß = 0.22; 95% CI = 0.13, 0.30). Conversely, hope was negatively and significantly associated with depressive symptoms (ß = -0.53; 95% CI = -0.78, -0.29). A better understanding of factors related to depressive symptoms among Mexican-origin adults is necessary to fulfill their mental health needs, as well as to achieve health equity and to eliminate health disparities in the US-Mexico border region.

The racialized landscape of COVID-19:Reverberations for minority adolescents and families in the U.S.

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruptions to American society, yet the ramifications have exhibited a pronounced impact for racial/ethnic minority adolescents and their families. Alongside upheavals to social and learning environments, minoritized youth have navigated disproportionate health and socioeconomic challenges within their families in addition to amplified racial tensions. As a result, the pandemic has disparately impacted racial/ethnic minorities. In this review, we synthesize studies of the pandemic to describe the hardships faced by racial/ethnic minority families and adolescents, their reverberation on dimensions of well-being, and the assets which buttress their welfare in the midst of COVID-19. It is imperative that future pandemic response efforts aid the most vulnerable, particularly communities of color, to ensure equitable welfare and post-pandemic recovery.

The Association Between Duration of School Garden Exposure and Self-Reported Learning and School Connectedness.

When students feel connected to their school, they experience positive health and academic outcomes. In contrast, school disengagement is a predictor of dropout, delinquency, and substance use. School garden programming has the potential to help children achieve academic outcomes and feel connected to their school. Unfortunately, most school garden research has been conducted with white, affluent study participants. We describe the results of a secondary analysis utilizing data from an evaluation of a university-supported community school garden program (CSGP). Using a cross-sectional survey study design, we examined the impact of school garden programming in Title I schools on primarily Latino/a (Hispanic) elementary student self-reported learning and feelings of school connectedness by comparing students with ≤1 year exposure to those with >1 year. Social cognitive theory formed the conceptual basis for the analysis. Duration of school garden exposure did not have a significant association with self-reported learning or feelings of school connectedness. Regardless of past exposure, fifth-grade students, females, and those who identify as Latino/a (Hispanic) felt that school garden programming improved their learning. Latino/a (Hispanic) students who participate in school garden programming may also feel a greater sense of connection to their teachers and peers at school. Qualitative results demonstrated that most students enjoyed spending time in the garden and indicated that participating in the program helped them learn new things and feel connected to their school. If individuals who may be disadvantaged because of systemic racism, such as Latino/a (Hispanic) students, can benefit from school garden programming, such interventions should be further investigated and prioritized.

The Arizona Prevention Research Center partnerships in Arizona to promote COVID-19 vaccine health equity.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic is a complex issue that undermines our national ability to reduce the burden of the disease and control the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed widening health disparities and disproportionate adverse health outcomes in terms of transmission, hospitalizations, morbidity and mortality among Arizona's Latinx rural, underserved, farmworker, disabled and elderly populations. In March 2021, ~8.1% of those vaccinated were Latinx, though Latinxs make up 32% of Arizona's population. The Arizona Vaccine Confidence Network (AzVCN) proposed to leverage the expertise of the Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) and the resources of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) Mobile Health Unit (MHU) to identify, implement and evaluate a MHU intervention to increase uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: The AzVCN focused efforts on Latinx, rural, un/underinsured and farmworker communities in the four Arizona border counties that are at greater risk of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality and may have limited access to vaccination and other essential health services. The AzVCN used listening sessions to create a feedback loop with key stakeholders and critical health care workers to validate barriers/enablers and identify solutions to increase vaccination uptake emerging from the network. The AzVCN also implemented a community-based intervention using community health workers (CHWs) based in a MHU to increase knowledge of the COVID-19 vaccines, reduce vaccination hesitancy and increase vaccination uptake among Latinx rural, un/underinsured and farmworker populations in Southern Arizona. Results: AzVCN outcomes include: identification of enablers and barriers of COVID-19 vaccination in the priority populations; identification of strategies and solutions to address vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccine uptake among priority population; and evidence that the proposed solutions being tested through the AzVCN contribute to increased vaccine uptake among the priority populations. Conclusion: Through these efforts the AzPRC contributed to the CDC's Vaccinate with Confidence Strategy by collaborating with CHWs and other key stakeholders to engage directly with communities in identifying and addressing structural and misinformation barriers to vaccine uptake.

Adaptation of a Community Clinical Linkages Intervention to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Community Case Study.

In this community case study, we describe the process within an academic-community partnership of adapting UNIDOS, a community health worker (CHW)-led community-clinical linkages (CCL) intervention targeting Latinx adults in Arizona, to the evolving landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with community-based participatory research principles, academic and community-based partners made decisions regarding changes to the intervention study protocol, specifically the intervention objectives, participant recruitment methods, CHW trainings, data collection measures and management, and mode of intervention delivery. Insights from this case study demonstrate the importance of community-based participatory research in successfully modifying the intervention to the conditions of the pandemic and also the cultural background of Latinx participants. This case study also illustrates how a CHW-led CCL intervention can address social determinants of health, in which the pandemic further exposed longstanding inequities along racial and ethnic lines in the United States.

Community Health Worker-Led Community Clinical on the U.S. / Mexico Border: Lessons Learned.

BACKGROUND: Community-clinical linkages (CCLs) connect public health organizations and health care providers to better support patients. Community health workers (CHWs), representatives from priority populations with special connections to their community, can lead CCLs. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to learn about how to conduct a CHW-led CCL from the perspectives of those implementing the intervention. METHODS: We conducted focus groups with CHWs and their supervisors and regularly consulted community partners while coding and analyzing data. RESULTS: We learned that CHWs thrive when supported by peers, supervisors, institutions, and researchers. Supervisors- who are new to the CHW role-should consider seeking training in CHW professional development and performance evaluation. Focus group participants agreed that by balancing the strengths and weaknesses of their organization, CHW-led CCLs benefit patients because the collaboration helps them to better manage their health. CONCLUSIONS: Future CHW-led CCL practitioners should consider how to best institutionally support CHWs to maximize benefits for patients.

Latinx adolescents' academic self-efficacy: Explaining longitudinal links between ethnic-racial identity and educational adjustment.

OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal study had three aims: (a) to examine whether ethnic-racial identity (ERI; i.e., public regard, private regard, and centrality) was associated with academic self-efficacy and changes in educational adjustment (i.e., educational values and academic performance) among Latinx adolescents over 3 years, (b) to investigate whether academic self-efficacy would operate as a promotive mechanism in links between domains of ERI and changes in educational adjustment, and (c) to explore within-group variability by gender on the relations between domains of ERI, academic self-efficacy, and educational adjustment. METHOD: Data came from 329 Latinx families (i.e., middle school students and their parents) living in the Southwest U.S. Parents' data were used from the first wave and adolescents' (M = 13.69, SD = .56; 53% girls) data were used from three study waves. A series of structural equation models were estimated. RESULTS: All three domains of ERI related to higher levels of academic self-efficacy. Further, public regard was associated with increased levels of educational values, whereas private regard and centrality did not associate with either indicator of educational adjustment. Results provided support for academic self-efficacy serving as a mediator of associations between private regard and centrality and educational adjustment. The results were consistent across gender. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that fostering ERI is promotive of Latinx adolescents' academic self-efficacy. Further, through academic self-efficacy, private regard and centrality support educational adjustment. ERI and academic self-efficacy may be potential targets for programming aimed to address educational disparities among Latinx adolescents. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A Community Health Worker-Led Community-Clinical Linkage Model to Address Emotional Well-Being Outcomes Among Latino/a People on the US-Mexico Border.

INTRODUCTION: Compared with their non-Hispanic White counterparts, Latino/a people have limited access to health resources that might improve their emotional well-being. Interventions that prioritize the Latino/a population, address social determinants of health, and decrease health disparities are needed. The objective of this study was to describe a community-clinical linkage intervention led by community health workers (CHWs) in 3 Latino/a populations along the US-Mexico border. METHODS: Researchers at the Arizona Prevention Research Center conducted the Linking Individual Needs to Community and Clinical Services (LINKS) study during 2017-2018. Clinic-based CHWs referred participants to community-based CHWs who met with participants monthly for 6 months to assess participant needs, provide support for emotional well-being, and link them to resources. Two community-based CHWs collaborated to maximize participant care; they also administered an emotional well-being questionnaire at baseline and at 3-month and 6-month follow-up. We estimated changes in emotional well-being outcomes. RESULTS: Scores for social support, perceived hopefulness, and quality-of-life measures among 189 LINKS participants increased significantly during the study period, especially among men and participants with low baseline scores. For each of the 3 outcomes, the standardized change was approximately 0.28 per 3 months of intervention, a decrease of more than half an SD (0.56) during 6 months of follow-up. CONCLUSION: A CHW-led community-clinical linkage intervention can result in positive emotional well-being outcomes. We encourage policy makers, funders, and public health practitioners to further investigate such interventions as a solution to reduce disparities in emotional well-being.

An integrated mixed methods approach to clarifying delivery, receipt and potential benefits of CHW-facilitated social support in a health promotion intervention.

BACKGROUND: Social support plays a critical role in physical and emotional health, making it an important component of community health worker (CHW) health promotion interventions. Different types of support operate in different ways, however, and the relationship between the nature of CHW support and the subsequent health benefit for their clients is not well understood. METHODS: This paper describes an integrated mixed methods study of the emotional, informational, appraisal and tangible support CHWs provided to Latinx community members residing in three US-Mexico border communities. Using a cohort (n = 159) from a CHW community-based intervention, we identify and describe four clusters of social support in which participants are characterized by life situations that informed the types of social support provided by the CHW. We examine the association between each cluster and client perceptions of social support over the 6-month intervention. RESULTS: CHWs provided emotional, appraisal, informational and tangible support depending on the needs of participants. Participants who received higher levels of emotional support from the CHW experienced the greatest post intervention increase in perceived social support. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings suggest that CHWs may be adept at providing non-directive social support based on their interaction with a client rather than a health outcome objective. Health promotion interventions should allow CHWs the flexibility to tailor provision of social support based on their assessment of client needs.

Examining Associations between Community Health Worker-Rated Health and Mental Health among Latino Adults with Chronic Disease.

Latinos with chronic disease often experience comorbid depression, but confront barriers to mental health treatment. Community health workers (CHWs) develop trusting relationships with the communities they serve, and may be uniquely positioned to identify Latinos with mental health care needs. Research has not examined whether their rating of clients' health is indicative of their mental health. This mixed-methods study examines CHWs' appraisals of Latino adults' health and their relation to mental health outcomes, and explores factors informing CHWs' rating of health status. The current study utilized baseline data from the Linking Individual Needs to Community and Clinical Services (LINKS) study. We assessed associations between CHW-rated health (CHWRH), or rating of health status as poor-excellent, and mental health outcomes with multilevel linear regression modelling. We qualitatively analyzed CHWs' written perceptions of participants' health status to understand what influenced their health rating. The quantitative results showed that CWHRH was significantly related to depressive symptoms and emotional problems severity. The qualitative results showed that CHWs took a holistic and ecological approach in rating health. The findings suggest that CHWRH could be indicative of mental health among Latino adults. Further studies investigating CHWRH as an independent indicator of mental health are warranted.

Positionality of Community Health Workers on Health Intervention Research Teams: A Scoping Review.

Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly involved as members of health intervention research teams. Given that CHWs are engaged in a variety of research roles, there is a need for better understanding of the ways in which CHWs are incorporated in research and the potential benefits. This scoping review synthesizes evidence regarding the kinds of health research studies involving CHWs, CHWs' roles in implementing health intervention research, their positionality on research teams, and how their involvement benefits health intervention research. The scoping review includes peer-reviewed health intervention articles published between 2008-2018 in the U.S. A search of PubMed, Embase and CINAHL identified a total of 3,129 titles and abstracts, 266 of which met the inclusion criteria and underwent full text review. A total of 130 articles were identified for a primary analysis of the research and the level of CHWs involvement, and of these 23 articles were included in a secondary analysis in which CHWs participated in 5 or more intervention research phases. The scoping review found that CHWs are involved across the spectrum of research, including developing research questions, intervention design, participant recruitment, intervention implementation, data collection, data analysis, and results dissemination. CHW positionality as research partners varied greatly across studies, and they are not uniformly integrated within all stages of research. The majority of these studies employed a community based participatory research (CBPR) approach, and CBPR studies included CHWs as research partners in more phases of research relative to non-CBPR studies. This scoping review documents specific benefits from the inclusion of CHWs as partners in health intervention research and identifies strategies to engage CHWs as research partners and to ensure that CHW contributions to research are well-documented.