Caribbean Immigrants Research Articles

Psychosocial components of the U.S. African Caribbean ethnic project and contributing contextual factors

ABSTRACT The ethnic project thesis contends African Caribbean immigrants to the U.S. summon ethnicity in defense against racial characterizations of their group. I examine the psychosocial components of the African Caribbean ethnic project – Caribbean cultural involvement and awareness and distancing from Black awareness and sense of shared fate. Defining the Caribbean ethnic project as a subjective state, I examine potential contributing contextual factors, including perceived discrimination, exposure to all Black contexts, and socioeconomic status (SES). Using the National Survey of American Life, I find increasing SES is positively associated with Black awareness, while increasing exposure to all Black contexts enhances Caribbean awareness and acculturation. However, as time in the U.S. increases, Caribbean awareness declines and a sense of shared fate with Black people grows, particularly among those at low levels of SES. These findings are discussed in terms of the influence of racialization on the U.S. Caribbean ethnic project.

Caribbean Immigrants’ Willingness to Report Crime to the Police in New York City

Caribbean Immigrants’ Willingness to Report Crime to the Police in New York City

Climate drivers of migration and neglected tropical disease burden in Latin American and Caribbean immigrants: A pilot study in Atlanta, Georgia

IntroductionClimate change has negatively impacted the agricultural and socioeconomic infrastructure of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries leading to conditions that promote human migration. It has also led to emergence and reemergence of infectious diseases. This pilot study aimed to identify climate-related drivers of migration and to describe the burden of climate-sensitive neglected tropical diseases (NTD) in immigrants living in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. MethodsFirst generation immigrants from LAC countries living in the Atlanta-metro area were recruited between May and December 2021. Participants completed a survey concerning demographics, socioeconomics, living conditions in their country of origin and living conditions in Atlanta, and motivations for migration. Blood and stool samples were collected to identify Chagas disease and soil-transmitted helminths, and skin exams screened for leprosy and leishmaniasis. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariable analyses of this dataset looked at the association between a climate-driven motivation to migrate and geographic and socioeconomic factors. ResultsFifty-seven individuals were recruited representing 11 LAC countries of origin. Most originated from Central America (n = 32; 56 %) and Mexico (n = 13; 23%). Forty-two participants reported a change in climate or weather in their country of origin prior to moving and direct climate drivers of migration (e.g., floods, drought, etc.) were identified by 12 participants (21.1%). Infectious diseases screening found one definitive case of Chagas (2.5%) out of 40 blood samples screened. Food insecurity was significantly associated with a climate-related factor for migrating: aOR = 6.3 (95 % CI 1.1, 35.5). ConclusionsWhile most participants did not directly identify “climate change” as a reason for migration, our study reveals many factors such as food insecurity, agricultural occupations, and region of origin that may underlie climate-motivated migration. Finding one case of Chagas was also noteworthy and shows the need for improved surveillance for this important NTD.

Haitian women in New York City use global food plants for women’s health

BackgroundDespite the availability of mainstream biomedical healthcare in New York City (NYC), community-based ethnomedicine practices remain a low-cost, culturally relevant treatment for many immigrants. Previous urban ethnobotany research in NYC has established that several Caribbean communities continue using medicinal plants for women’s health after immigration. This study sought to address to what extent: (1) NYC Haitian women continue using medicinal plants for women’s health after migration; (2) their plants and the conditions treated were similar to those identified in an earlier survey with NYC immigrants from the Dominican Republic.MethodsThrough an ethnobotanical survey, 100 Haitian women living in NYC and born in Haiti were interviewed about their knowledge of medicinal plants for women’s health conditions. Reported species were purchased based on local names in NYC Haitian stores and markets, vouchered, and identified.ResultsNearly all Haitian women (97%) reported using medicinal plants while living in Haiti. Most Haitian women continued using medicinal plants after coming to the USA (83%). The 14% decrease, although significant (z = 3.3; p = 0.001), was mainly due to logistical difficulties with sourcing plants after recent immigration. Popular medicinal plant species reported were primarily global food plants, re-emphasizing the intertwined food-medicine relationship in Caribbean diasporas. Comparison with data from NYC Dominicans identified childbirth and puerperium, gynecological infections, and vaginal cleansing as priority Haitian women’s health concerns treated with plants.ConclusionOur findings support the global nature of Caribbean migrant plant pharmacopeia, predominantly centered around food plants and adapted to transnational urban settings. They underscore cultural diversity, dispelling the notion of one uniform traditional knowledge system labeled “Caribbean.” The importance of preventative medicine for women’s health, particularly the regular consumption of “healthy” foods or teas highlights the role food plants play in maintaining health without seeking treatment for a particular condition. Cross-cultural comparisons with other NYC Caribbean immigrants emphasize the importance of conducting ethnobotanical surveys to ground-truth plant use in the community. Such surveys can also identify culture-specific health priorities treated with these plants. Healthcare providers can leverage these insights to formulate culturally relevant and community-tailored healthcare strategies aligned with Haitian women’s health beliefs and needs.

Medical Mistrust on Prostate Cancer Screening: A mixed method study among African Americans, Caribbean immigrants and African immigrants.

The contribution of medical mistrust to healthcare utilization delays has been gaining increasing attention. However, few studies have examined these associations among subgroups of Black men (African Americans, Caribbean, and African immigrants) in relation to prostate cancer (PCa). This study addresses this gap by assessing how medical mistrust affects PCa screening behavior and to further understand perceptions of medical mistrust among subgroups of Black men. This research employs a mixed-methods approach comprising two distinct phases. In Phase 1, a cross-sectional examination was conducted to evaluate the influence of medical mistrust toward healthcare organizations on prostate cancer screening among 498 Black men. In Phase 2, a qualitative investigation was undertaken to delve into the nuances of medical mistrust through six focus groups (n=51) and ten key informant interviews (n=10). Logistic regression and grounded theory methods were employed for data analysis. Quantitative findings unveiled disparities in mistrust among subgroups, with Caribbean immigrants exhibiting higher levels of medical mistrust. Nevertheless, individuals with a family history of PCa showed elevated likelihoods of undergoing screening, despite mistrust. Qualitative results revealed 1) differences in reasons for medical mistrust among Black subgroups, 2) cultural perceptions which influence medical mistrust and medical care seeking, 3) lack of education in relation to PCa that contributes to medical mistrust, 4) negative past experiences and poor provider communication contribute, and 5) when PCa directly affected one's life, either personally or within the family, there was a recognized importance placed on monitoring one's risk despite mistrust. While medical mistrust may not significantly deter healthcare utilization among individuals with a family history or diagnosis of PCa, it underscores the variability of medical mistrust and its underlying reasons among different Black subgroups.

Latin American immigrants and the environment: acculturation, information sources, and place

ABSTRACT This study examines how acculturation – defined as the changes in cultural patterns after cultural contact between different groups – relates to environmental perceptions of Latin American and Caribbean immigrants living in Michigan, US. The study explores, via in-depth interviews, the roles of information sources, and the use of public spaces in the process. Results highlight that within acculturation, respondents either engaged in integration or separation – assimilation and marginalisation were not reported. Acculturation among study participants was largely associated with negative emotions, which was related in some cases with negative experiences in nature. Results also show that some immigrants are more aware of environmental issues in their country of origin, which could also influence how they think about issues in the United States. Finally, news consumption played a marginal role in informing those conceptualizations. Future research should explore the differences among this diverse group of people based on factors such as place of origin, identity, and place of residence.

Embodying The Everyday: Health And Heritage Practice Relationships In Latin American And Caribbean Immigrant Communities In New York City

The sociocultural factors related to immigrant health perceptions and practices have been long flattened and essentialized in discussions of urban community health, leading to programs and policies that fall short in holistically addressing community needs. Responding to this shortfall, in this article, I take a phenomenological approach to understanding the relationships between ecological heritage practices and health in Latin American and Caribbean immigrant communities in New York City. Through ethnographic accounts of heritage practices, I identify broad themes related to everyday practice: health care pluralism, space and time constraints, social identity, and biological health. Foodways and the preparation of traditional dishes featured prominently in the 20 semi-structured interviews and participant observation across four diverse neighborhoods. I use the embodied ecological heritage (EEH) framework to theorize the connections between the practice of heritage traditions and the well body. I illustrate how everyday negotiations around how practices are defined and described as “normal” in the context of the new environments of the immigrant experience, so capturing the fluidity of the heritage practices and the traditional body as a site of wellness. Focus on this fluidity of heritage practice stands to improve the ways in which immigrant community health resources might be developed and deployed, providing a holistic lens often lacking in urban public health systems.

“Solidarity with the Most Oppressed Peoples of the Earth”: The Boston Chronicle and Black Internationalist Print Culture, 1945–60

Abstract This article explores transformations in the Black press during some of the most repressive years of United States and global anticommunism in the 1940s and 1950s. Centering on an examination of the editorial politics of the Boston Chronicle, a daily newspaper founded by Caribbean immigrants in the early twentieth century, it argues that Black leftist internationalism continued to be visible in print despite a repressive political climate shaping the experiences of Black journalists and activists. The Chronicle, a relatively understudied Black newspaper, offers a somewhat different perspective on the evolution of a vibrant, transnational print culture that linked Black freedom struggles in the United States with anticolonial movements in the British Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America. An examination of the Chronicle’s coverage and journalists in a period of deepening anticommunist repression reveals ongoing links between Black activists, anticolonial movements, and the organized left before the 1960s.

Conflict, crisis and the media: Cultural intermediaries bridging the identity divide between Black immigrants and African Americans

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests during the summer of 2020 provide an opportunity to reassess the relations between African Americans, Caribbean and African immigrants. I argue that while the social justice protests galvanized the Black community to fight against police brutality and systemic racism, the process began earlier and was significantly impacted by the advent of social media. Using Stuart Hall’s work as a framework, I argue that in today’s digital environment, celebrity influencers such as Barack Obama, Beyonce, Trevor Noah and Rihanna have used their formidable social media platforms to upend racially divisive media messaging about cultural identities of African Americans, Caribbean and African immigrants. I also explore broadening the concept of cultural intermediaries to recognize these influencers who bypass traditional intermediaries and connect directly with their followers to bridge the cultural identity divide.

Differences in Cervical Cancer Outcomes by Caribbean Nativity in Black and White Women in Florida.

Racial disparities among women with cervical cancer have been reported but are understudied in Caribbean immigrants. The objective of this study is to describe the disparities in clinical presentation and outcomes between Caribbean-born (CB) and US-born (USB) women with cervical cancer by race and nativity. An analysis of the Florida Cancer Data Service (FCDS), the statewide cancer registry, was performed to identify women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer between 1981 and 2016. Women were classified as USB White or Black and CB White or Black. Clinical data were abstracted. Analyses were done using chi square, ANOVA, Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models, with significance set at P < .05. 14 932 women were included in the analysis. USB Black women had the lowest mean age at diagnosis, while CB Black women were diagnosed at later stages of disease. USB White women and CB White women had better OS (median OS 70.4 and 71.5months, respectively) than USB Black and CB Black women (median OS 42.4 and 63.8months, respectively) (P < .0001). In multivariable analysis, relative to USB Black women, CB Blacks (HR .67, CI .54-.83), and CB White (HR .66, CI .55-.79) had better odds of OS. White race among USB women was not significantly associated with improved survival (P = .087). Race alone is not a determinant of cancer mortality in women with cervical cancer. Understanding the impact of nativity on cancer outcomes is crucial to improve health outcomes.

Honoring Our Caribbean Ancestors: Commemorating 150 years of the Second Wave of People of African Descent in Costa Rica

El año 2022 conmemora 150 años de la migración de personas afrodescendientes para la construcción del ferrocarril en Costa Rica a finales del siglo XIX y más tarde a inicios del siglo XX en las plantaciones de banano. Lamentablemente dentro de la historia general los nombres e historias de las personas quienes contribuyen con el desarrollo de estos países sean nacionales o extranjeros y en especial si estos no son parte del grupo étnico hegemónico, en la mayoría de los casos son ignorados. Los inmigrantes de finales del siglo XIX no son la excepción. El objetivo de este artículo es el de traer al imaginario del colectivo costarricense siete nombres de individuos/a Afrocaribeños y una familia quienes contribuyeron al desarrollo económico, cultural y reproductivo de este país, honrándoles, visibilizándoles por medio de la memoria. Este artículo recoge historia oral entre enero y marzo del 2022, la revisión y análisis de periódicos además de otras publicaciones.

A narrative-based approach to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of stranded immigrants in four border cities in Mexico.

This paper describes the impact that the different COVID-19 related restrictions have had on the mental health and wellbeing of 57 Central American and Caribbean immigrants stranded in Mexico due to the pandemic. Ethnographic data was obtained through the application of in-depth interviews centered on topics such as migration history, personal experience with COVID-19 and beliefs about the pandemic. This information was further analyzed through a narrative approach and Atlas Ti. US Title 42 and the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) have stranded thousands of individuals in the US-Mexico border region, a situation that has overcrowded the available shelters in the area and forced many of the immigrants to live on the streets and in improvised encampments. Thus, exposing them to a higher risk of contagion. Furthermore, the majority of the interviewed Central American and Caribbean immigrants consider that Mexico is more lenient when it comes to the enforcement of sanitary measures, especially when compared to their countries of origin. Finally, vaccination hesitancy was low among the interviewees, mainly due to the operative aspects of the vaccination effort in Mexico and the fear of ruining their chances to attain asylum in the US. These findings are backed up by the discovery of five recurring narratives among the interviewees regarding: (1) The pandemic's psychological impact. (2) The uncertainty of being stranded in Mexico and the long wait. (3) Their fear of violence over the fear of contagion. (4) The perceived leniency of Mexico with the pandemic when compared to their countries of origin, and (5) their beliefs about the pandemic and vaccines. The mental health of stranded Central American and Caribbean immigrants in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic is mostly affected by their inability to make it across the US-Mexico border using legal means.

Diaspora Dynamics: Canadian Immigration Policy and the Caribbean Connection

Immigration is the most fundamental policy a government can set. The nature of the country itself is determined by the kind of people who are allowed to enter. An overview of Canadian immigration policy with respect to the peoples of the Caribbean provides a kind of pulse to monitor the Canada Canadians want. These policies also offer a window into mainstream Canadian attitudes toward Black people. The circumstances in which they have or have not been admitted reveal the place of African Canadians already in Canadian society. Tracing this policy therefore provides another pulse: to monitor mainstream Canadian racism. Because Caribbean immigrants have persevered, participating prominently in challenges to entry restrictions and domestic racism, they have contributed substantially to Black life in Canada and especially to the more direct inclusion of African Canadians in the broader African diaspora.

Lose Your Father

Lose Your Father

Unmasking legislative constraints: An institutional ethnography of linkage and engagement in HIV healthcare for African, Caribbean, and Black people in Ontario, Canada.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) epidemic significantly impacts African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) immigrants in Canada. Health scholarship has revealed striking injustices within Canada's public healthcare system that restrict access to healthcare and violate the human rights of ACB immigrants living with HIV who are marginalized. We conducted an institutional ethnography to comprehensively understand how HIV healthcare in Ontario is organized and experienced by ACB immigrants, focusing on unjust and discriminatory legislative frameworks and institutional practices regulating access to publicly funded healthcare resources and services. We interviewed 20 ACB immigrants and 15 healthcare workers, including specialists, primary care providers, immigration physicians, and social workers. We found a disjuncture between the organization of HIV healthcare in Ontario and how ACB immigrants experienced access to care. We uncovered how immigration, public health and healthcare laws and related institutional practices intersect to produce structural violence which create barriers and missed opportunities to timely linkage and engagement in HIV healthcare. Black immigrants' accounts revealed that they underwent mandatory HIV under the Immigration Medical Examination policy (IME) without providing informed consent and receiving pre and post-test counselling. Furthermore, Black immigrants did not receive referrals and were not adequately linked to care following HIV diagnosis. Troubling encounters with immigration and public health state agents and healthcare legislative barriers including difficulty finding a physician, the 3-month waiting period under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), long wait times, lack of drug coverage, and stigma, discrimination, and anti-Black racism shaped and affected Black people's linkage and engagement in HIV care. We elucidate how the legislative and structural organization of healthcare regulated and constrained health service access for ACB immigrants living with HIV, including their ability to "achieve" HIV undetectability.

The effect of country of birth on cervical cancer outcomes in Florida (591)

<b>Objectives:</b> Racial disparities among women with cervical cancer have been reported but understudied in Caribbean immigrants. The objective of this study was to describe the disparities in clinical presentation and outcomes among Caribbean-born Black (CBB) women with cervical cancer in comparison to US-born Black (USB) and US-born White (USW) women. <b>Methods:</b> A review of the Florida Cancer Data Service (FCDS), the statewide cancer registry, was performed to identify women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer between 1981-2019. Women were classified as USB, USW, or CBB, and clinical data were abstracted. Analysis was done using Chi-square, Cox proportional hazards models, and the Kaplan-Meier methods, with significance set at p<0.05. <b>Results:</b> Total 57,225 women with cervical cancer were identified during this study period; 20,042 had data on country of birth available. The mean age at diagnosis was higher in CBB women (52.8y) in comparison to USB women (46.8y) and USW women (46.7y) (p<.0001). Fewer CBB women presented with localized disease (34.1%) compared to USB (40.9%) and USW (47.1%) (p<0.0001). When examining country of birth, CBB women had a much higher risk of death compared to USW women (HR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.50-1.75, p<.0001), while USB had a lower risk of death compared to USW women (HR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.81-0.91, p<0.001). The overall survival rate was lower in Black CB women (median OS 38.3 months, 95% CI: 30.2-47.7) versus USW (median OS: 190.5 months, 95% CI: 209.5-241.3) and USB (median OS: 223.2 months, 95% CI: 209.5-241.3) (p<0.0001). <b>Conclusions:</b> CBB women with cervical cancer have a more advanced stage and worse OS than women born in the US. The impact of immigrant status and recognizing Black women as polylithic are both crucial to appreciate to improve health outcomes. Providers working with minority populations should ensure that cancer prevention and management strategies focus on culturally and contextually appropriate care. Fig. 1

On Measuring Immigrant Income

This brief draws on the case of Mexican immigrants, the most populous and constant remitting immigrant group in the United States, to show how remittances are a blind spot for US agencies, like the Census Bureau and IRS. Failing to account for remittance expenses likely leads to the overestimation of income and under-estimation of poverty rates in Mexican immigrant communities. Income and poverty figures of other consistent remitting immigrant groups, like other Latin American and Caribbean immigrants, may also be misestimated. There are two accessible ways to capture the impact of remittances: 1. the Census Bureau should alter the Supplemental Poverty Measure to account for international medical and childrearing expenses and 2. the IRS should allow foreign-born people to claim foreign-bound transactions of any sum that support caretaking, healthcare and education as deductions and account for them when adjusting taxable income. These changes would create a better economic portrait of immigrant communities and facilitate access to safety net programs.

Inmigrantes haitianos y la comunidad del Gran Caribe de la ciudad de Nueva York: Retos y oportunidades

Haitians are one of the largest post 1965 immigrant groups in New York City. In 2009, there were some 118,769 Haitian immigrants in the city, and this figure does not include the undocumented and the many thousands of children born in the United States to foreign-born Haitian parents. Unlike the English speaking Caribbean immigrants that are recognized as a model minority in America, Haitian immigrants had a different treatment. They were not viewed as a model minority despite the fact that they also came fr o m the Caribbean and shared similar narrative. This paper addresses the two most important periods of Haitian migration to New York City and the mechanisms and structures that they developed in the past several decades to gain acceptance in the US and forge political alliances with the English-speaking Caribbean immigrants to empow er their communi ty.

Social inequalities experienced by children of immigrants across multiple domains of life: a case study of the Windrush in England and Wales

It is well known that children of immigrants experience inequality. Less is known about how inequalities compare across multiple life domains and multiple generations. We conduct a case study of England and Wales, focussing on children of Caribbean immigrants (the ‘Windrush generation’). We use large-scale census data to compare inequalities across five domains of life—education, employment, occupation, housing, and health—separately for women and men across three distinct generations: the one-point-five generation, second-generation, and two-point-five generation. The children of the Windrush generation experience social inequality in all life domains, relative to comparable groups of the White British population, although there is considerable variation according to sex and generation. Men of all generations are uniformly disadvantaged; children of the Windrush are more disadvantaged if they belong to the two-point-five generation. Inequality is pervasive, persistent, and strongly indicative of segmented adaptation.

Navigating multiple identities in the American workplace: Microaggression and the caribbean diaspora

While the issue of microaggressions has been studied for marginalized groups, research on microaggressions directed at Caribbean and Central American immigrants, a population whose identities are merged in the more visible Latinx, African American or Asian-American identities, is rare. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants – fourteen immigrants and six American-born adult children of immigrants. This research explores how ethnic and racial identification of black and brown immigrants and their American born children connect to experiences of daily microaggressions in the workplace. The results revealed that due to their intersecting identities they pay a heavy emotional price to assimilate into the workplace. This research has implications for organizations, human resources and organizational development.