Inadequate access to prenatal services has been associated with higher rates of mother and child mortality and premature births in the general population. Thus, this paper aims to compare the utilization and adequacy of prenatal care services of Dominican immigrant mothers with that of Puerto Rican mothers. Data was extracted from birth certificates using a cohort from 1998 to 2002 (n = 252, 919). The Kotelchuck index for adequate prenatal care was used for comparison with socio-demographic characteristics of the population. Less than half of Dominican mothers (48.5 %) received adequate prenatal care compared to more than two-thirds (69.1 %) of Puerto Rican mothers (p < .001). After controlling for demographic characteristics, health insurance, pregnancy risks, complications and previous birth (parity) the odds of receiving adequate care of Dominican mothers was 0.7 that of Puerto Rican mothers (p < .001). These results suggest significant disparities in obtaining adequate prenatal care services among migrant women and native Puerto Ricans.

Background-Like other epidemics, the current heroin epidemic in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is a largely invisible and devastating social problem linked to numerous structural and social determinants of health. Methods-In this article, we connect a community-based participatory research methodology-"PhotoVoice"-with the theoretical orientation of critical medical anthropology to identify local interpretations of complex social and structural factors that are most salient to the well-being of local Dominican populations affected by drug addiction. Results-Specifically, we describe Proyecto Lentes (Lens Project), a PhotoVoice initiative launched in 2014, which brought together active drug users to visually unveil and critically analyze the micro-and macro-factors shaping the marginalized and stigmatized drug addiction epidemic in Santo Domingo. Conclusions-While the synthesis of PhotoVoice and critical medical anthropology provides a powerful political analysis tool, this fusion is particularly apt in its ability to capture the "invisible voices" of marginalized communities, potentially contributing to future policy reform and social empowerment.

In this article, we use syndemic theory to examine socio-structural factors that result in heightened vulnerability to HIV infection and drug addiction among Dominican deportees who survive post-deportation through informal tourism labor. Through an ongoing NIDA-funded ethnographic study of the syndemic of HIV and problematic drug use among men involved in tourism labor in the Dominican Republic, we argue that the legal and political-economic context of the global deportation regime contributes to structural vulnerabilities among deportees in the Dominican Republic, most of whom are men with histories of incarceration in the United States and/or Puerto Rico. While Dominican laws and institutional practices work conjointly with foreign policies to reconfigure non-criminal deportees as hardened criminals unworthy of full citizenship rights, the informal tourism economy provides one of the few absorption points for male deportee labor, linking the deportation regime directly to the Caribbean tourism industry.

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Background In the US, stimulant use is associated with a 3–6 times greater rate of HIV seroconversion in sexual minority men (SMM) than in those who do not use stimulants. Annually, 1 in 3 SMM who HIV seroconvert will be persistent methamphetamine (meth) users. The primary objective of this qualitative study was to explore experiences of stimulant use in SMM living in South Florida, a high priority region for the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative. Methods The sample included 25 SMM who use stimulants, recruited via targeted ads on social networking apps. Participants completed one-on-one semi-structured qualitative interviews, conducted from July 2019 through February 2020. A general inductive approach was used to identify themes relating to experiences, motivations, and overall relationship with stimulant use. Results Mean age of participants was 38.8, ranging from 20 to 61 years old. Participants were 44% White, 36% Latino, 16% Black and 4% Asian. Most participants were born in the US, self-identified as gay, and preferred meth as their stimulant of choice. Themes included: (1) stimulants as cognitive enhancements for focus or task completion, including transitioning to meth after first using prescription psychostimulants; (2) unique South Florida environment where participants could be open regarding their sexual minority status while also being influential on their stimulant use; (3) stimulant use as both stigmatizing and a coping mechanism for stigma. Participants anticipated stigma by family and potential sexual partners due to their stimulant use. They also reported using stimulants to cope with feelings of stigma due to their minoritized identities. Conclusion This study is among the first to characterize motivations for stimulant use in SMM living in South Florida. Results highlight both the risk and protective factors of the South Florida environment, psychostimulant misuse as a risk for meth initiation, and the role of anticipated stigma on stimulant use in SMM. Understanding stimulant use motivations can help to shape intervention development. This includes developing interventions that address individual, interpersonal, and cultural factors that drive stimulant use and increase risk of HIV acquisition. Trial registration NCT04205487.

During the Spring of 2021 in Miami-Dade County, four virtual focus groups were held with 31 participants from four diverse local Latinx communities as part of the Florida Community Engagement Alliance (FL-CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities project. The main objective was to explore attitudes about COVID-19 information and prevention strategies among South Florida's diverse Latinx populations, across a broad geographical area. The study used a semi-structured focus group qualitative design and chose participants from four well established Latinx neighborhoods. Participants were mostly women, diversity was strong with birth regions including the Caribbean, North, Central and South America. Though a third (n = 11) were born in the United States, almost all (n = 28) reported speaking Spanish at home. Three themes and six subthemes were identified to underscore Latinx attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccine uptake or hesitancy. These were: (1) Attitudes regarding vaccine intake; (2) Sources of Information; and (3) Science Education. The degree to which each of these themes exercised influence on vaccine intake or hesitancy varied. The multi origin Latinx participation in the focus groups strengthened findings by broadening representation and discussion. In the end and despite the various national origins, all participants indicated receiving most of their information on COVID-19 related topics from their family, physicians, social networks, and some form of media.