Browsing by Author "Brooks, Caroline V."

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    Pandemic precarity: COVID-19's impact on Mexican and Central American immigrant families
    (Wiley, 2023) García, Melissa J.; Brooks, Caroline V.; Ambriz, Denise; Ekl, Emily A.; Smith, Nicholas C.; Maupomé, Gerardo; Perry, Brea L.
    Objective: This study examines the association of gender, parenthood, and marriage with reports of perceived pandemic precarity among Mexican and Central American immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic (Fall 2020) to understand predictors of vulnerability in periods of crisis. Background: Latinos/as, immigrants, parents, and women have faced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family structure, along with social expectations for gender (i.e., self-sacrificing femininity for women and hegemonic masculinity for men), parenthood, and marriage may explain perceptions of pandemic precarity—defined as the material deprivation and economic anxiety resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: This study used data from the Hispanic COVID-19 Rapid Response Study (n = 400), a follow-up of the VidaSana Study of Mexican and Central American immigrants, to examine how family structure is associated with pandemic precarity (i.e., food, housing, and economic insecurity). Using linear regression models, average marginal effects (AMEs), and tests for group differences, we investigate the independent and interactive effects of gender, parenthood, and marriage on pandemic precarity. Results: Men and parents reported the highest pandemic precarity. Fathers reported higher pandemic precarity than mothers. For men, marriage is associated with greater precarity, and for women, marriage is associated with less precarity, yet marriage increased precarity for those without children. Conclusion: We discuss the importance and implications of examining gender along with family structure to understand how immigrant families were faring in response to the pandemic.
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    Social support associated with restorative treatment, professionally applied fluoride and flossing: A cross-sectional analysis including recent immigrants from Central America and Mexico in the Midwest USA
    (Wiley, 2023) Brooks, Caroline V.; Maupomé, Gerardo; Epidemiology, School of Public Health
    Objectives This study examined how Mexican and Central American immigrants' social support was associated with three selected dental outcomes among recent immigrants, prior to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Using baseline wave data from the 2017–2022 VidaSana study about the health and social networks of Mexican and Central American immigrants living in Indiana, this study utilized logistic and ordinal logistic regression to predict lifetime fluoride use, lifetime dental restoration and flossing frequency, across levels of social support and differences between Mexican and Central American immigrants. Results Data from 547 respondents were included in the present analysis (68% women; mean age 34.4 years [SD 11.2]; Central American 42%; Mexican 58%). Results show a high level of social support was associated with increased probability of fluoride use, dental restoration and higher flossing frequency for Mexican immigrants. However, social support for Central American immigrants was associated with a decreased likelihood of fluoride use, more infrequent flossing, and had no significant association with dental restorations experience. What would be a negative association between Central American immigrants and dental restoration was accounted for by education level and never having been to a dentist. Conclusions While higher social support was linked to beneficial outcomes for oral health in Mexican immigrants, the opposite was found in Central Americans. These findings highlighted the complexities of social relationships among new immigrants, and potential heterogeneity within the Hispanic population, particularly regarding social and behavioural measures as they pertain to oral health. Further research is needed to identify the underlying mechanisms producing both differences in social support and oral health outcomes.
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    The Informal Safety Net: Social Network Activation among Hispanic Immigrants during COVID-19
    (Sage, 2023) Smith, Nicholas C.; Brooks, Caroline V.; Ekl, Emily A.; García, Melissa J.; Ambriz, Denise; Maupomé, Gerardo; Perry, Brea L.
    During times of crisis, individuals may activate members of their social networks to fulfill critical support functions. However, factors that may facilitate or inhibit successful network activation are not fully understood, particularly for structurally marginalized populations. This study examines predictors of network activation among recent and established Hispanic immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, using unique, longitudinal data from the VidaSana study and its supplemental survey, the COVID-19 Rapid Response study (N = 400), we ask: How are COVID-related stressors associated with goal-oriented network activation (e.g., health-focused activation) among Hispanic immigrants? How might structural and compositional characteristics of social networks facilitate or inhibit successful network activation during COVID-19? Results align with theories of network activation (i.e., functional specificity) that imply that individuals engage in selective and deliberate activation of networks. That is, we observe a congruency between COVID-related stressors and social network characteristics, and distinct types of network activation. Moreover, we find that respondents experiencing pandemic-induced economic difficulties engage in activation for financial assistance only if they are embedded in a higher-educated network. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide recommendations for future research.