Addressing Syndemic Health Disparities Among Latin Immigrants Using Peer Support

Abstract

The HRPO is the Institutional Review Board (IRB) ethics committee for research with human subjects at UNM. All participants provided signed informed consent. Declaration of Conflicting Interests We wish to draw the attention of the Editor to the following fact that may be considered as a potential conflict of interest regarding this manuscript. We note that Jackie Perez works for the Hopkins Center, and previously worked for the Center under its previous name, St. Joseph Center for Children and Families. Tamara Thiedeman previously worked for the St. Joseph Center for Children and Families. Perez is currently the Director of the Center and Thiedeman was it's previous Director. Both are licensed mental health professionals and they provide/provided services to clients, including some of the women who participated in this study. Both were involved in establishing the Women's Social Isolation Support Group discussed here and both participated in the research. However, we believe that this relationship did not interfere with their ability to carry out the research, as they were interested in an objective analysis of the dynamics of the group process as part of an assessment of the services they provide.

A randomized control trial to test a peer support group approach for reducing social isolation and depression among female Mexican immigrants

“…This study is a randomized control trial (RCT) with open assignment to two groups—one group receiving the study intervention and the other with no intervention. This study will implement the “Tertulias” peer support group intervention [ 50 ] that we developed to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities related to social isolation and depression for FMI participants in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We will build on and leverage our extensive preliminary research about women’s social networks [ 36 , 37 ] using a multi-level, community-engaged approach.…”

“…We will build on and leverage our extensive preliminary research about women’s social networks [ 36 , 37 ] using a multi-level, community-engaged approach. Our intervention uses an innovative, culturally and contextually situated peer support group design that we developed to improve health outcomes and reduce health disparities for FMI participants in Albuquerque, New Mexico [ 50 ].…”

“…As per our theoretical architecture, cultural and contextual dimensions of women’s lives need to be considered ( situated ), women’s own knowledge and experience ( funds of knowledge ) must be valued and validated, and women need to develop a feeling of personal connection with others and have a way to conceptually understand their lives within a larger social context ( emplacement ). In our preliminary research, we worked with women from the Latino community, including FMIs, to develop a novel “structured dialogue” approach for engaging small groups of participants in a way that integrates these three theoretical frameworks [ 36 , 37 , 50 ]. The structured dialogue approach upon which the Tertulias intervention is based involves three fundamental components:…”

“…Through this process, they developed an understanding of the broader forces that influence and structure their choices and practices on an everyday basis. We found that this approach engaged women in a way that decreased depression and other negative emotional states, improved their capacity to deal with socioeconomic conditions and relationships with intimate partners, and gave them a new way of thinking about their own lives and for understanding their community [ 36 , 37 , 50 ]. Women described these changes as personally empowering and transformative.…”

“…In our other study [ 50 ], we worked with a FMI social isolation support group. For immigrant women, the realities of the immigration experience mean that the process of building relationships and creating or finding a social network of support is often extremely challenging [ 51 ].…”