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Social Determinants Of Health Among The Immigrant Population In United States

Social determinants of health refer to the condition in which individuals are born, live, grow, work, and various factors such as income, employment, neighborhood, education, physical environment, access to healthcare, and social support network. Immigrant workers and their families most often fall found to be more affected than the native of any particular country such as the United States of America. Usually, most immigrants experience the worst health compared to the citizens of the host nation. They are more likely to suffer from chronic conditions such as mental health issues, diabetes, and hypertension. There are some studies that have suggested that social determinants of health contribute to poor health among the immigrant population. However, the link between the social determinants of health and health among the immigrant population is a topic that needs more studies. Social determinants of health have an impact on health care disparities among the immigrant population; however, there is a need to develop policy that will help to address that SDH among immigrants living in the United States

The study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) is aimed at evaluating the influence of deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) on the health of the undocumented young adults living in the United States of America. The authors suggest that there is urgent to incorporate evidence-based policies that will help address the health of over 11.7 million undocumented in the United States. DACA has played a vital role in providing immigrants with temporary relief by reducing the number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. On the other hand, Uwemedimo & May (2018) study is somehow different since it is based on investigating the impact of social determinants of health (SDH) screening program when integrated into pediatric that has contributed to enhanced social services receipt of the social services resources. According to the authors, several studies have investigated the use of social services in various programs among different patient populations and associated with immigrant status. The authors suggest that children from immigrant families are at high risk of experiencing SDH that contributes to their poor health.

The method of study by Uwemedimo & May (2018) focused on pediatric caregivers aged 18 years and below who were routinely screened in practice-based providing referral, follow-up support, and assisted navigation. The data on the caregiver's ethnicity and citizenship status were collected. The association regarding the utilization of referral resources after 12 weeks was measured, evaluated, and evaluated using the Fisher exact and chi-square test. While the study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) focused on the young adult, the study involved 32 participants who participated in 24 in-depth interviews and four different group discussions. The participant was aged between 18-31 years and considered as undocumented.

According to Sudhinaraset et al. (2017), the United States has over 11.7 million undocumented immigrants that are living in the United States. Undocumented citizens live in fear of being deported to their native country and experience challenges accessing health care. Therefore, contributing to health concerns among them is issues of mental health. The undocumented youth who have attained the age of context are more vulnerable and uncertain since many grow up unaware of their nationality status, then later they are forced to navigate the legal repercussion and stigma that is associated with their identity. Therefore, there is an agent need for the government to provide the evidence-based policy that will play a crucial role in addressing g the health concern experienced by the youthful immigrant population.

According to Uwemedimo & May (2018), the children in the immigrant family (CIF) represent almost a quarter of the total population of children in the United States of American. The population is expected to rise to more than one in three children living in the United States by 2050. The CIF are more likely to experience adverse social determinants of health (SDH). Both two articles agree that immigrants are mostly affected by the determinant of health. According to Uwemedimo & May (2018), children from the 2nd generation of immigrants living in the United States are more affected by the SDH. In addition, Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) suggest that undocumented youth are more vulnerable since they are forced to navigate the legal repercussions and stigma associated with their identity that contribute to the worsening of their health. Both the study by Uwemedimo & May (2018) and Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) agree that the immigrant population is more vulnerable and affected by the SDH.

The two articles by Uwemedimo & May (2018) and that by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) support that the economic hardship experienced by the immigrant family and youth play a vital role in decreasing the number of cases access to the health care service among the immigrant population. The decrease in access to health care services is associated with the increase of chronic diseases such as mental health, cardiovascular disease, among other health conditions such as diarrheal disease and asthma.

According to a study by Uwemedimo & May (2018), CIFs are more than twice as likely to live in a family where they are paying over 50% of their income for housing while living in a crowded house. The study indicated that almost a quarter of CIFs are uninsured; these facts have contributed to poor access to health care services. On the other hand, the study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) tends to differ from that of Uewmedimo. He suggests that even though some individuals are eligible for DACA and are eligible for employment, barriers to health and their well-being still persist. According to the report from the study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017), the participants suggested that the gap in mental health care, limited financial resources, cultural competence are some of the factors that hinder effective access to health care. In addition, the study suggests that the API are more tend to be less likely to apply DACA compared to the other group. The lack of open discussion regarding documentation status heightened fear among the parent. Low coverage in ethnic media has contributed to the failure to apply DACA among young adults.

Uwemedimo & May (2018) suggest that the implementation of the SDH screening has played a vital role in revealing an increasing rate of 75%of the patients reported to have unmet social needs as food security deprivation housing. In addition, the study revealed that low-income patients tend to respond positively to social needs. However, Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) suggest the social determinants of health, economic system, and overlapping social structure associated with most health inequity. Based on the study that was conducted by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017), DACA plays a vital role in influencing the immigrant social determinants of health, such as mental health.

According to the finding of the study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017), DACA plays a vital role in helping to alleviate the financial barrier among young immigrant adults. However, the study by Uwemedimo & May (2018) had different suggestions that indicated the immigrant status limited English proficiency (LEP) was linked with the increased rate of successful utilization of resources. The result suggested that were conducted from the pilot data suggested that there were two main points associated with the cultural diversity population. One of the points engaging children living in a household with immigrants or limited English proficiency caregivers has more chance of utilizing the resources provided in the social determinants of the health screening program. Both the study by Uwemedimo & May (2018) and Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) support the need to establish a policy that will help address the health disparity affecting the immigrant population in America.

The study by Uwemedimo & May (2018) concluded that immigrant family caregivers are highly likely to be lost to follow-up. However, when they are engaged, they are more likely to maximize the available resources. The finding plays a vital role in illustrating the need to conduct a wide study to help determine the effective approach to preventing follow-up loss among immigrant patients. However, the study by Sudhinaraset et al. (2017) had a different suggestion. It concluded that education and target outreach in the community need to be more informed by the research finding that is more focused on promoting the health benefit, education, and economic benefit of enrolling in DACA. In addition, the study suggested that the SDH has a key role to play toward addressing health care.

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Reference

Sudhinaraset, M., To, T. M., Ling, I., Melo, J., & Chavarin, J. (2017). The influence of deferred action for childhood arrivals on undocumented Asian and Pacific Islander young adults: through social determinants of health lens. Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(6), 741-746.

Uwemedimo, O. T., & May, H. (2018). Disparities in utilization of social determinants of health referrals among children in immigrant families. Frontiers in pediatrics, 6, 207.