Health, Hope, and Human Development: Building Capacity in Public Housing Communities on the U.S.-Mexico Border

Abstract

In this paper we highlight results from our recent survey of public housing residents living in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Our data inform our interdisciplinary (public health, education, environmental engineering, sociology) efforts to improve health and educational equity in our community, and provide ripe opportunities for policy advocacy.

Health Risk and Protective Factors Among Hispanic Women Living in the U.S.–Mexico Border Region

“…There are some demographic variables that are unique to this sample. Consistent with the population of the U.S.–Mexico border region (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010; Mata et al, 2013), the majority of the participants were born outside the United States. In addition, the majority of the participants (74.5%) preferred Spanish as the primary language.…”

“…Despite the fact that participants lacked health insurance and a primary care provider, women had been seen by a health care provider in the previous 12-month period. Perhaps these participants used urgent care centers for health care, or participants may have made the short trip across the U.S.-Mexico border to receive services in Mexico, which has been documented in previous studies (Lapeyrouse et al, 2012;Mata et al, 2013). In future studies with this population, it is important to ask participants where health care services are received.…”

“…Thousands of people cross the international bridges on a daily basis to work, to visit family, or to access health care services. There are numerous problems that disproportionately affect Hispanics of Mexican origin in this area such as the lack of resources, limited health care, lower educational levels, and immigration issues (Mata et al, 2013).…”

“…A number of health disparities among Mexican/Mexican American women have been identified. Some research is available that notes that there are issues regarding available health care services and access to these services along the U.S.–Mexico border (Mata et al, 2013). One of the areas of health care services that is lacking on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border is women’s health services (Monk, Manning, Denmon, & Cornejo, 2009).…”

Professional Development Through Policy Advocacy

“…In response to local data suggesting high smoking prevalence among residents of subsidized public housing (Mata et al, 2013), the Paso del Norte Health Foundation (http://www.pdnhf.org) funded researchers from the University of Texas at El Paso and the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP) to assess support for smoke-free policy, provide education to stakeholders, and engage youth in the policy process.…”