Barriers to and facilitators of community participation among Latinx migrants with disabilities in the United States and Latinx migrant workers in Canada: An ecological analysis

Abstract

Individuals migrate to improve their wellbeing and quality of life, and often experience adverse situations, both during the process of migration and once within the host country. The purpose of this paper is to unpack the barriers to and facilitators of community participation, among Latinx immigrants with disabilities in the United States and Latinx migrant workers in Canada, following the Social Ecological Model. The authors draw from an appraisal of existing literature and their own participatory research with Latinx immigrants. Based on this integrative literature review, Latinx experience individual issues such as language barriers and lack of knowledge of the services available to them. At the community level they experience discrimination, limited opportunities for community participation, and lack of opportunities for meaningful employment. At the systemic and policy level in the United States, the antimigrant political environment keeps Latinx immigrants with disabilities from participating in their communities due to fear of deportation. In Canada, Latinx workers experience the paradox of migration and discrimination.

Association Between Intergenerational Support, Social Integration, and Subjective Well-Being Among Migrant Elderly Following Children in Jinan, China

“…The domiciliary transfer was the change of migrants' hukou, usually referred to as rural hukou became urban hukou when migrants lived in the current city (57). Community participation was conceptualized as utilizing community services, participating in community and recreational programming, and other forms of interactions with different community settings (58).…”

Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Latinx Caregivers of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

“…Latinx caregivers reported a lack of access to mental health resources in the community, relying instead on faith-based settings and each other for mental health support [23]. Caregivers also reported poor availability of quality healthcare [19,24] and limited access to culturally relevant programming that supports their health and well-being [25,26]. Overall, the evidence indicates that Latinx families of children with IDD were underserved even prior to the pandemic [27].…”

Goal Setting with Latinx Families of Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Case Studies

“…This growing population is experiencing unique challenges at the intersect of ethnicity, race, culture, and linguistic differences. Furthermore, many Latinx families of children with disabilities experience lack of knowledge of disability rights and policies, lack of sense of entitlement to advocate for their children, limited English proficiency, and perceived discrimination (see Balcazar et al, 2020 ; Suarez-Balcazar et al, 2020 ). Using the behavior analysis paradigm and the values of behavioral community psychology, parents could learn to advocate for their rights, manage challenging behaviors of their children, and take greater control of their family and children’s lives.…”

“…As such, many Latinx families are likely to live in low-income neighborhoods with limited access to green spaces, accessible opportunities to recreation, and access to cultural and linguistically relevant recreational programming (Suarez-Balcazar et al, 2018a ). Access to translated materials and culturally relevant health promotion interventions for Latinx families of children with disabilities in the US has also been recognized as an important need (Balcazar et al, 2012 ; Buysse et al, 2005 ; Suarez-Balcazar et al, 2020 ).…”