Guatemala City Research Articles

Use of strontium isotope ratios in geolocation of Guatemalan population: Potential role in identification of remains.

Within post‐conflict communities, attempts to identify and repatriate unidentified and missing individuals poses a difficult task. As current forensic strategies commonly lack the capacity to provide region of origin assessments, forensic anthropologists/investigators are often unable to identify sources of DNA for kinship analysis. Using Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), hair samples from 10 volunteers were used to assess the variation in strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) between extant people in Guatemala City and Coban; with a leach (external) and digest (dietary) signal analyzed for each sample. A two‐way anova demonstrated that the difference between 87Sr/86Sr of Guatemala City and Coban was statistically significant (F [1, 16] = 259.839, p < 0.05), with no statistically significant differences observed between leach and digest 87Sr/86Sr (F [1,16] = 4.319, p = 0.054). Overall, individuals from Coban demonstrate 87Sr/86Sr comparable to previously recorded baseline values, demonstrating a minimal change in diet which is reflected in associated surveys. Volunteers from Guatemala City, however, show a marked shift in 87Sr/86Sr away from predicted values highlighting the potential influence of imported goods. The results here highlight the applicability of 87Sr/86Sr in hair to serve as a potential tool to support the identification of unknown individuals in Guatemala in a forensic context.

Experiences and Expectations of Young Residents of Impoverished Neighbourhoods in Central America

This article analyses experiences and expectations of young residents of impoverished neighbourhoods in Central American capital cities. Four main subject areas are explored: the representation of the local and national environment, demands and desires for the future, the means by which young people expect to achieve (or not achieve) said demands, and sociodemographic factors. The selected neighbourhoods were El Limón in Guatemala City, Popotlán in San Salvador, Nueva Capital in Tegucigalpa, Jorge Dimitrov in Managua and La Carpio in San José. A sample of 300 respondents were selected using sampling quotas. One of the primary findings of the study is that 37.7% of participants neither study nor work, and that only 15% have access to social security. Although inequality was not identified as being among the most pressing problems, when asked about the distribution of wealth in their respective countries, 73.6% of participants considered said distribution to be ‘very unfair’ or ‘unfair’. This recognition of inequality coexists with a deeply rooted conservatism and a largely unquestioned belief in the legitimacy of destiny and parental authority. Against this historical background, electoral democracy is far from offering any kind of significant or profound response and has deepened the institutional void, and in many cases, migration has become more of a push than a choice.

The Emasculation of President José María Reyna Barrios: Manliness and Economic Crisis in Fin-de-Siècle Guatemala City

Displays of ostentation were regarded as manly faux pas in nineteenthcentury Guatemala City, a perspective shared by men of different ethnic and class origins, though gender norms were seldom uniformly enforced. When the Guatemalan export economy collapsed and a social crisis ensued in 1897, critics of the government blamed the excess and luxury of President José María Reyna Barrios for the economic turmoil. They argued that the president lacked manly self-restraint and had succumbed to his own vanity and sexual licentiousness. The emasculation of Reyna Barrios demonstrates how the boundaries of permissible gendered actions were constrained during a period of upheaval.

Mixed methods evaluation of simulation-based training for postpartum hemorrhage management in Guatemala

BackgroundTo assess if simulation-based training (SBT) of B-Lynch suture and uterine balloon tamponade (UBT) for the management of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) impacted provider attitudes, practice patterns, and patient management in Guatemala, using a mixed-methods approach.MethodsWe conducted an in-country SBT course on the management of PPH in a governmental teaching hospital in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Participants were OB/GYN providers (n = 39) who had or had not received SBT before. Surveys and qualitative interviews evaluated provider knowledge and experiences with B-Lynch and UBT to treat PPH.ResultsMultiple-choice surveys indicated that providers who received SBT were more comfortable performing and teaching B-Lynch compared to those who did not (p = 0.003 and 0.005). Qualitative interviews revealed increased provider comfort with B-Lynch compared to UBT and identified multiple barriers to uterine balloon tamponade implementation.ConclusionsSimulation-based training had a stronger impact on provider comfort with B-Lynch compared to uterine balloon tamponade. Qualitative interviews provided insight into the challenges that hinder uptake of uterine balloon tamponade, namely resource limitations and decision-making hierarchies. Capturing data through a mixed-methods approach allowed for more comprehensive program evaluation.

Impact of Illustrated Postoperative Instructions on Knowledge and Retention During a Cleft Lip and Palate Surgical Mission.

To determine the impact of illustrated postoperative instructions on patient-caregiver knowledge and retention. Prospective study with all participants receiving an educational intervention. Pediatric plastic surgical missions in Guatemala City, Guatemala, between 2019 and 2020. A total of 63 majority-indigenous Guatemalan caregivers of patients receiving cleft lip and/or palate surgery. Illustrated culturally appropriate postoperative care instructions were iteratively developed and given to caregivers who were surveyed on illustration-based and text-based information at preoperative, postoperative, and four-week follow-up time points. Postoperative care knowledge of illustration-based versus text-based information as determined by the ability to answer 11 illustration- and 8 text-based all-or-nothing questions, as well as retention of knowledge as determined by the same survey given at four weeks follow-up. Scores for illustration-based and text-based information both significantly increased after caregivers received the postoperative instructions (+13.30 ± 3.78 % SE, + 11.26 ± 4.81 % SE; P < .05). At follow-up, scores were unchanged for illustration-based (-3.42 ± 4.49 % SE, P > .05), but significantly lower for text-based information (-28.46 ± 6.09 % SE, P < .01). Retention of text-based information at follow-up correlated positively with education level and Spanish literacy, but not for illustration-based. In the setting of language and cultural barriers on a surgical mission, understanding of illustration-based and text-based information both increased after verbal explanation of illustrated postoperative instructions. Illustration-based information was more likely to be retained by patient caregivers after four weeks than text-based information, the latter of which correlated with increased education and literacy.

A Participatory Science Approach to Evaluating Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Metals and PFAS in Guatemala City Tap Water.

Limited information is available regarding chemical water quality at the tap in Guatemala City, preventing individuals, water utilities, and public health authorities from making data-driven decisions related to water quality. To address this need, 113 participants among households served by a range of water providers across the Guatemala City metropolitan area were recruited as participatory scientists to collect first-draw and flushed tap water samples at their residence. Samples were transported to the U.S. and analyzed for 20 metals and 25 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). At least one metal exceeded the Guatemalan Maximum Permissible Limit (MPL) for drinking water in 63% of households (n = 71). Arsenic and lead exceeded the MPL in 33.6% (n = 38) and 8.9% (n = 10) of samples, respectively. Arsenic was strongly associated with groundwater while lead occurrence was not associated with location, water source, or provider. One or more PFAS were detected in 19% of samples (n = 21, range 2.1–64.2 ppt). PFAS were significantly associated with the use of plastic water storage tanks but not with location, water source, or provider. Overall, the high prevalence of arsenic above the MPL in Guatemala City tap water represents a potential health risk that current water treatment processes are not optimized to remove. Furthermore, potential contaminants from premise plumbing and storage, including lead and PFAS, represent additional risks requiring further investigation and public engagement.

A Hidden Plague: Violence and Public Health in Colonial Guatemala City

How do colonial scribal practices and archival practices shape our understanding of the past? Logbooks from the San Juan de Dios Hospital in colonial Guatemala showcase both the potential and the constraints of scribal interventions. A Hidden Plague examines the logbooks alongside contemporary criminal cases to demonstrate how individual scribes chose to conceal or reveal information in their official writings. This method challenges the contention by past scholarship that epidemic disease was the greatest health threat to women in the city of Guatemala. While epidemics did indeed affect women, reading the logbooks in new ways reveals the presence of a hidden epidemic: domestic violence.

Characterization of the Proportion of Clustered Tuberculosis Cases in Guatemala: Insights from a Molecular Epidemiology Study, 2010-2014.

There is little information about the amount of recent tuberculosis transmission in low-income settings. Genetic clustering can help identify ongoing transmission events. A retrospective observational study was performed on Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and HIV-seronegative participants who submitted samples to a referral tuberculosis laboratory in Guatemala City, Guatemala from 2010 to 2014. Genotyping results were classified according to the international spoligotyping database, SITVIT2. Spoligotype patterns were categorized as clustered or nonclustered depending on their genotype. The proportion of clustering and the index of recent transmission index (RTIn-1) were estimated. In the RTIn-1 method, clustered cases represent recent transmission, whereas nonclustered cases represent reactivation of older tuberculosis infections. As a secondary aim, the potential risk factors associated with clustering in isolates from the subset of participants living with HIV were explored. From 2010 to 2014, a total of 479 study participants were confirmed as culture-positive tuberculosis cases. Among the 400 available isolates, 71 spoligotype patterns were identified. Overall, the most frequent spoligotyping families were Latin American-Mediterranean (LAM) (39%), followed by T (22%) and Haarlem (14%). Out of the 400 isolates, 365 were grouped in 36 clusters (range of cluster size: 2-92). Thus, the proportion of clustering was 91% and the RTIn-1 was 82%. Among PLHIV, pulmonary tuberculosis was associated with clustering (OR = 4.3, 95% CI 1.0-17.7). Our findings suggest high levels of ongoing transmission of M. tuberculosis in Guatemala as revealed by the high proportion of isolates falling into genomic clusters.

Harvesting Life, Mining Death: Adoption, Surrogacy and Forensics across Borders

Transnational adoption and surrogacy make explicit the relations between war, structural violence and crisis, and global shifts in the organization and governance of reproduction. This article focuses on the interrelatedness of vitality and death, and the nexus between biopolitics and necropolitics, through an analysis of adoption and surrogacy. It reinscribes the transnational circulation and exchange of persons, substance and bodily capacities within the logics of multiple genealogies of war, violence, and extraction in the globalized borderlands between Guatemala and Mexico. The article charts the simultaneous demise of transnational adoptions in Guatemala and growth in surrogacy arrangements in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco, as well as the inception of oocyte harvesting for in vitro fertilization (IVF) in reproductive medicine providers in Guatemala City. The article then tracks forms of expertise and technical infrastructure across national borders and domains of knowledge and practice. It shows the proximity between reproductive medicine and forensic science evident in DNA analysis used in forensic anthropology to document human rights violations, but also offered as commercial services in an expanding reproductive medicine sector. This configuration of biolabor encompasses the extractive practices tied to reproductive medicine and forensics, as persons, bodily substance, and, increasingly, bioinformation transverse contexts, jurisdictions, and social and racial formations.

QUANTIFICATION OF IN-TRANSIT CARBON MONOXIDE EXPOSURE IN MICRO-ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION FROM GLOBAL URBANIZATION– ACCESSING ITS EFFECTS ON PUBLIC WELFARE, GUATEMALAN

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, yet poisonous gas that is emitted through natural and anthropogenic activities. In developing countries, such as Guatemala, a positive correlation between serious respiratory diseases and carbon monoxide emissions in the air is usually observed.&#x0D; Rapid urbanization of major cities with little to no legislature to regulate air pollution is thought to be a main source of carbon monoxide. To quantify in-transit levels of carbon monoxide, a venture was taken to Guatemala City, Guatemala’s most populated city, where levels of carbon monoxide were measured with an Easy Log USB to access the threat of these elevated CO levels. The study revealed that an enormous amount of CO was present in the city, especially in highly populated areas with motorized vehicles (up to mean level of 15ppm and peak level of ~95ppm). CO levels in these areas were high throughout the day due to the extreme lack of proper ventilation systems and environmental bylaws. For Guatemala to prosper economically, socially, and safely, proper legislation and systems must be placed to monitor the emission of carbon monoxide as well as to mitigate the effects brought by it.

Guatemala - Ladina Social Activism in Guatemala City, 1871–1954. By Patricia Harms. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2020. Pp. 422. $75.00 cloth.

Guatemala - Ladina Social Activism in Guatemala City, 1871–1954. By Patricia Harms. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2020. Pp. 422. $75.00 cloth.

Children Receiving a Nutrition and High-Quality Early Childhood Education Intervention Are Associated with Greater Math and Fluid Intelligence Scores: The Guatemala City Municipal Nurseries.

Background: About 47% of children < 5 years of age are stunted in Guatemala. In this study, the investigators aimed to compare growth and cognitive outcomes between children in second grade that attended five Guatemala City Municipal Nurseries (GCMN) vs. same sex, grade, and age-matched children. Methods: A cross-sectional design nested in a retrospective cohort was implemented between 2015 and 2019. Children that attended the GCMN and matched controls completed a math test and validated receptive language and fluid intelligence tests. The primary caregivers completed a sociodemographic survey. General and generalized linear mixed effect models were used to compare children that attended the GCMN vs. controls. The models were adjusted by maternal education, sex, asset score, and other relevant covariates. Results: Children that attended the GCMN exhibited greater math and fluid intelligence scores relative to the controls in the adjusted models (ß = 6.48; 95% CI (2.35–10.61)) and (ß = 1.20; 95% CI (0.12–2.29)), respectively. Lower odds of stunting were significant for children who went to any early childcare institution (AOR = 0.28; 95% CI (0.09–0.89)). Conclusions: The importance of integrating nutrition and high-quality early childhood education interventions in cognitive and growth outcomes is highlighted in this study. The GCMN model may be a scalable model in similar low-resource settings.

Prevalence of burnout in medical students in Guatemala: Before and during Covid-19 pandemic comparison.

Burnout is a syndrome consisting of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion along with depersonalization and poor sense of personal accomplishment. Often related to work conditions. Several recent studies from around the world have shown high rates of burnout among medical students in different countries. In Guatemala City, we decided to assess levels of burnout in 2017 and then again in December 2020. In the first wave from one private medical school, we had a total of 159 respondents (response rate of 56.7%) and 132 (48.5%) in the second wave. Not surprisingly rates of burnout were higher during the pandemic even though response rate is lower. Surprisingly we found that rates of depersonalization had not increased, and levels of personal accomplishment had. These findings present a mixed picture of levels of burnout in Guatemala City. Further qualitative research is indicated to explore cultural differences in order to set up appropriate and suitable intervention strategies.

With and Without, Wise and Otherwise, José and José

With and Without, Wise and Otherwise, José and <i>José</i>

Evaluation of adherence to guidelines for the management of antibiotic surgical prophylaxis in a Guatemala City hospital

Evaluation of adherence to guidelines for the management of antibiotic surgical prophylaxis in a Guatemala City hospital

Seismicity and seismically active faulting of Guatemala: A review

We present a review of the main sources of seismicity of Guatemala. The largest seismically active faults are related to the transform, left-lateral, North America-Caribbean plate boundary zone, the most prominent of which are the Motagua and Polochic faults, both exceeding 350 km in length. Additionally, the Ixcán fault, a 150-200-km-long left-lateral structure, is located north of the Polochic and Motagua faults. Other seismically active faults associated to the Polochic-Motagua system and smaller in length are the Seleguá, Nentón and Las Conchas.The Jocotán and Chamelecón faults are located south of and parallel to, the Polochic-Motagua, with a combined length of about 300 km. These faults are not active at present but probably were part of the plate boundary zone in the geologic past. A system of North-South-trending grabens is located immediately south of the Jocotán-Chamelecón fault system, and cutting through it. These grabens are seismically active. South-southwest of the grabens, there is a system of conjugate faults, called the Arco Volcánico fault system, whose main structure is the Jalpatagua fault, a right-lateral strike-slip structure parallel to the volcanic arc. There are other minor faults along this system striking perpendicular to the Jalpatagua with left-lateral displacement. These faults are partially covered by volcanic deposits and have only been identified by their seismic activity. Finally, the Middle America trench offshore southern Guatemala is the plate boundary between the overriding Caribbean and the subducting Cocos plates.All these structures have produced large earthquakes. Historical data show that epicenters of great earthquakes have indeed been located along one of these faults, such as the July 22, 1816 (Magnitude 7.6) along the Polochic fault. More recently, on February 4, 1976, a Magnitude 7.5 earthquake took place, with epicenter on the Motagua fault. This event caused severe damages to the infrastructure of the country, and about 23,000 deaths. The rest of the faults and grabens have also been the site of destructive earthquakes, such as the seismic sequence of December 1917–January 1918, which caused severe damages in Guatemala City. The Cocos-Caribbean convergent boundary is also seismically active, producing events of magnitude 7.0 or larger, the latest of which took place on November 2012, damaging towns and cities along the coastal plain of southern Guatemala.

Narratives of Change From Gay and Bisexual Men Living With HIV in an Emotional Well-Being Intervention.

The emotional burden of an HIV diagnosis can impact HIV outcomes and overall well-being. We piloted a four-session individual-level emotional well-being intervention, offered during HIV care visits, for gay and bisexual men living with HIV in Guatemala City who were recently diagnosed or reengaged in care. To assess intervention impact in a contextualized manner, we conducted longitudinal qualitative interviews (n = 3) with study participants (n = 10) over 12 months. Data analysis included thematic coding using NVivo and longitudinal narrative summaries and matrices to identify narratives of change and assess intervention impact. Participants experienced changes in their view of self and diagnosis perceptions, improved physical and mental health, increased interest in sex and relationships, and a clarification of their life goals. The intervention helped participants reach diagnosis acceptance, improve self-esteem, and gain self-efficacy for managing life with HIV. Findings support the importance of integrating emotional well-being into HIV care.

Deformation in Western Guatemala Associated With the NAFCA (North America‐Central American Forearc‐Caribbean) Triple Junction: Neotectonic Strain Localization Into the Guatemala City Graben

AbstractRecent structural and geodetic data define the Guatemala City graben region as the continental triple junction between the North American plate, Caribbean plate, and the Central American Forearc sliver. We present minor fault analysis, geochronological and geochemical analyses, and newly updated GPS velocities in western Guatemala, west of the Guatemala City graben, to characterize the magnitude and timing of extensional deformation in this poorly understood area. Elongations estimated from fault data are parallel (∼east‐west) and perpendicular to the Polochic‐Motagua fault system to the north, similar to geodetically measured active deformation observed east of the Guatemala City graben. Four new 40Ar/39Ar dates and correlation of tephra deposits suggest that faulting was active during the Pliocene, but ceased eastward toward the Guatemala City graben over time. From west to east, fault cessation occurred before the deposition of the Los Chocoyos ash (75 ka) and E tephra (51 ka). Faulting just west of the Guatemala City graben appears to be active, where a major fault cuts the most recent Amatitlán tephras. Based on this data, we propose a time‐progressive strain model for deformation related to North America‐Caribbean plate interactions, whereby distributed elongation of the westernmost Caribbean plate occurred during the Pliocene but localized mostly within the Guatemala City graben and nearby faults during the Pleistocene. Our model supports that: (a) The Guatemala City graben is effectively the western limit of the Caribbean plate; and (b) Western Guatemala, which was the trailing edge of the Caribbean plate, has been transferred to the forearc region.

A Vocabulary of the Language Spoken in the Region Formerly Known as Leán y Mulia in Honduras

During the years 1787 and 1788, officials of the Spanish crown began to circulate an order from the king to recompile vocabularies of Spanish colonies in the Philippines and the Americas. In some cases, this meant the copying of old books from the early part of the eighteenth century. However, this royal order also included the translation and recording of vocabularies from as many new languages of the Spanish colonies as possible. In Central America, the translation of a predetermined list of a few hundred Spanish words into local languages of the colony was put into the hands of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala City and the provincial fathers of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. Language instructors were responsible for writing the words of the indigenous languages and their Spanish equivalents, while priests, who were well versed in the languages spoken natively throughout the colony, were to be consulted and responsible for the prompt and precise recording of the translated Spanish terms. Those who recorded the documents were instructed to place the Spanish terms in a column to the left. The respective terms in the indigenous languages were placed in columns to the right. Special instructions were given to the recorders and their consultants to explain the orthography that they used to express these words. It seems that the purpose of this exercise was to satisfy the curiosity of the “empress of Russia” on the matter.1Since the late seventeenth century, Spanish officials began to implement colonial policies aimed at subduing an unconquered region of Honduras they referred to as Leán y Mulia. Today this region comprises the modern departments of Yoro and Atlántida. The Spanish named the inhabitants of Leán y Mulia “Xicaque.” The origins of the term are unknown, but previous scholars have linked Xicaque to the Nahuatl word chicáctic, signifying “rude” or “strong.” Despite its questionable origins, previous scholars who have studied the indigenous peoples of Honduras have consistently remarked that the term Xicaque referred to any “uncivilized” indigenous person of Honduras. It is not certain what the people of Leán y Mulia called themselves; their language is barely documented in any other colonial source. The people of Leán y Mulia were called Xicaque in Spanish sources until 1821 and even after that (Rivera 2015: 5).When the people of Leán y Mulia became subjected to Spanish policies in the seventeenth century, they increasingly demonstrated an increased antagonism to the threat imposed by the Spanish. The foundation of a few settlements by the Spanish in the first half of the eighteenth century was the first attempt to bring together the people of Leán y Mulia under Spanish control. By the mid-part of the eighteenth century, Franciscan missionaries, aided by soldiers of the colony, founded mission settlements where the people of Leán y Mulia were sometimes forced to move. Flight from the missions was common, as were defenses meant to keep the Spanish out. The regular antagonism demonstrated by the people of Leán y Mulia slowly became an act of avoidance after a smallpox pandemic decimated the remaining mission populations (Rivera 2015:110–28).The next section presents an excerpt from the source, closely following the original material with the exception of the added column in English. The original document also included columns for languages called Cabecara and Viceyta; these are not included in the following translation.

Overweight and Obesity among Schoolchildren of Rural Guatemala and the Food Environment around Schools

Introduction: Childhood obesity is a principal concern worldwide. Guatemalan households have the highest prevalence of double burden of malnutrition in the world. These households are self-identified as indigenous and live with lower incomes in rural communities. However, there are limited data on risk factors for childhood obesity and limited information regarding the school environments, especially in rural communities. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a sample of rural schoolchildren, evaluate whether there is significant variability across schools, and characterize the food environment around public elementary schools in rural communities.&#x0D; Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four rural public schools within three villages of El Progreso, a Department (state) of Guatemala, located about 60 km east of Guatemala City. Anthropometric measures and sociodemographic information for 398 schoolchildren and their mothers were collected in 2018. Environmental audits of food outlets and food advertisements were completed for a 250- and 500-meter radius around schools. Food outlets and food advertisements were categorized as healthy and less healthy, or acceptable or not acceptable, respectively, using international protocols. One-way ANOVA was used to compare schools and continuous demographic variables. Fisher’s LSD post hoc test was used to examine differences between schools. Chi-Squared tests were conducted to evaluate differences between categorical demographic variables, overweight and obesity, and variables regarding food environments. A logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with overweight and obesity and variability across schools, adjusted for household income, child sex and age, and maternal education and age.&#x0D; Results: The overall percentage of overweight and obesity among schoolchildren across all four schools was 32.4%. There was a higher percentage of less healthful food outlets compared to healthful food outlets and overall food outlets within &lt;250 meters around the four schools, as compared to food outlets within 500 meters. Logistic regression showed that overweight and obesity status varied significantly (p=0.042) depending of the school students attended, when adjusting for household income, child sex and age, maternal education, and age.&#x0D; Conclusion: Study results revealed a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among schoolchildren in rural communities in Guatemala. There was significant variability in overweight and obesity across schools. Results portray the food environment around schools as a possible contributing factor to childhood obesity.