Jonathan Garcia

Mentorship is essential to educating and supporting students, faculty, staff, and community members, especially in fields like public health that emphasize relationship building and community engagement. However, traditional concepts of mentorship often reinforce hierarchical, one-directional knowledge transfer between mentors and mentees, overlooking the system of relationships that may better honor the holistic assets and needs of learners. To address these limitations, we provide a conceptual analysis of systemic mentorship, which expands the mentorship paradigm in two ways. First, systemic mentorship challenges hierarchical and individualistic mentorship models by grounding itself in critical pedagogy and public health values, such as equity, social justice, and collective responsibility. Second, systemic mentorship emphasizes networks of care, which redistribute the labor and responsibility of mentorship across a community of educators, students, and community members, supporting holistic wellbeing and addressing structural barriers that affect persistence and success. For systemic mentorship to function equitably, it must be embedded in and supported by institutional cultures and policies that prioritize relationship-building through advancement metrics, professional development, time, and other resources. We illustrate this approach through our Equity Matters Community of Practice and explore its alignment with public health essential services, CEPH foundational competencies, and ASPPH’s Framing the Future 2030 initiative. Considering the recent politicization of public health infrastructure, funding cuts for health equity, and executive orders that exacerbate historical trauma among many of the communities we represent and serve, systemic mentorship offers a path for public health education to facilitate relationships of trust and care and uphold its core principles with integrity.

The health of farm owners and farmworkers has significant impacts on farm businesses, farming families, and local rural communities where agriculture is an important driver of social and economic activity. Rural residents and farmworkers have higher rates of food insecurity, but little is known about food insecurity among farm owners and the collective experiences of farm owners and farmworkers. Researchers and public health practitioners have stressed the need for policies that target the health and well-being of farm owners and farmworkers while remaining sensitive to the nature of life on the farm, yet farm owner and farmworker lived experiences have been understudied, especially in relation to one another. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 farm owners and 18 farmworkers in Oregon. Modified grounded theory was used to analyze interview data. Data were coded using a three-stage process to identify salient core characteristics of food insecurity. Farm owner and farmworker meanings and interpretations of their food insecurity were often contradicted by evaluated food security scores using validated quantitative measures. According to such measures, 17 experienced high food security, 3 had marginal food security, and 11 had low food security, but narrative experiences suggested higher rates. Narrative experiences were categorized by core characteristics of food insecurity, including seasonal food shortages, resource stretching, working extended hours most days of the week, limited use of food assistance, and the tendency to downplay hardship. These unique factors have important implications for developing responsive policies and programs to support the health and well-being of farm livelihoods whose work enables health and well-being among consumers. Future studies to test the relationships between the core characteristics of food insecurity identified in this study and farm owner and farmworker meanings and interpretations of food insecurity, hunger, and nourishment are warranted.

Systemic oppression creates a context in which Latinx LGBTQ+ youth experience social isolation. Social isolation has been associated with mental and physical health disparities, including disproportionate levels of depression, substance use, self-harm, and attempted suicide. These disparities are often magnified in rural and suburban areas with fewer identity-affirming spaces. This community-engaged study reports on the formative process of developing a Latinx LGBTQ+ telenovela (soap opera) allyship intervention based on critical consciousness theory. We conducted eight focus groups with community advisory boards, which included Latinx LGBTQ+ youth (n = 12), health and social service providers serving LGBTQ+ youth (n = 10), 4-H Latinx alumni youth (n = 12), and 4-H Latinx parents (n = 8). We interviewed nine Latinx LGBTQ+ youth enrolled in a film-making workshop. As a result of our multi-stakeholder approach, we: (1) described how stakeholders reflected on and decoded intersectional isolation on the individual, community, and structural levels; and (2) identified ways that stakeholders suggested taking action by improving access to resources to address social isolation, provide culturally competent healthcare, and co-create an enabling social environment. Our study indicated the importance of tapping into core values and intersectional identities to build solidarity among and within marginalized groups to dismantle oppressive systems.

Background: Policies that restrict access to and use of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by legal status may disproportionately disadvantage particular racial and ethnic groups. While immigrant legal status, race, and ethnicity are recognized as independent social determinants of health, studies examining the extent to which legal status structures racial and ethnic health disparities are limited. Research is needed to identify factors that mitigate disparate health outcomes, such as SNAP and WIC. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2009/2010 National Agricultural Workers Survey (N = 3,961) were analyzed. Chi-square tests and logistic regressions examined associations among self-reported health, race, ethnicity, legal status, and SNAP/WIC participation. Results: Farmworkers reporting excellent or good health were more likely to be non-Hispanic White, U.S. citizen, aged 18–25, single, male, educated beyond primary school, living above the poverty level, without chronic health conditions, and located in the Midwest. Hispanic farmworkers had lower odds of reporting excellent or good health (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.12–0.62). Among SNAP/WIC participants, Hispanic farmworkers had higher odds of reporting excellent or good health (OR 6.74, 95% CI 1.54–29.57) compared to non-Hispanic White farmworkers. There was no significant association between self-reported health and legal status. Discussion: This study complements the extant literature showing racial and ethnic health disparities among the U.S. farmworker population. Results provide valuable insight on the health-protective potential of programs like SNAP and WIC, particularly among Hispanic farmworkers, who may be both less likely to be eligible and more hesitant to participate. These findings underscore the need to expand U.S. farmworkers’ eligibility and participation in SNAP and WIC.

Objectives: Latinos are disproportionately vulnerable to severe COVID-19 due to workplace exposure, multigenerational households, and existing health disparities. Rolling out COVID-19 vaccines among vulnerable Latinos is critical to address disparities. This study explores vaccine perceptions of Latino families to inform culturally centered strategies for vaccine dissemination. Method: Semistructured telephone interviews with Latino families (22 mothers and 24 youth, 13–18 years old) explored COVID-19 vaccine perceptions including (1) sources of information, (2) trust of vaccine effectiveness and willingness to get vaccinated, and (3) access to the vaccine distribution. We identified thematic patterns using immersion–crystallization. Results: We found that (1) 41% expressed optimism and willingness to receive the vaccine coupled with concerns about side effects; (2) 45% expressed hesitancy or would refuse vaccination based on mistrust, myths, fear of being used as “guinea pigs,” and the perceived role of politics in vaccine development; (3) families “digested” information gathered from social media, the news, and radio through intergenerational communication; and (4) participants called for community-led advocacy and “leading by example” to dispel fear and misinformation. Optimistic participants saw the vaccine as a way to protect their families, allowing youth to return to schools and providing safer conditions for frontline essential workers. Conclusions: Culturally centered vaccine promotion campaigns may consider the Latino family unit as their target audience by providing information that can be discussed among parents and youth, engaging a range of health providers and advocates that includes traditional practitioners and community health workers, and disseminating information at key venues, such as schools, churches, and supermarkets.

Purpose: Transgender women in the United States experience health disparities and limited access to gender-affirming health services. This study describes the social determinants of health that shape access to health services for transgender women in Oregon, a state with a high tally of gender-affirming policies. Methods: We conducted qualitative interviews with 25 transgender women between 18 and 39 years of age. Interviews explored the social, economic, cultural, and legal factors that shape access to health. A Qualtrics survey captured sociodemographic characteristics. We identified facilitators and barriers to accessing gender-affirming services using thematic analysis of qualitative data. Results: Our participants perceived gender-affirming health services in Oregon to be relatively trans-friendly, compared to other parts of the United States. This perception drew several transgender women in our sample to migrate to Oregon from other “more conservative” states. Facilitators included ease with legal name change (60% had completed), inclusiveness of hormone therapy in the Oregon Health Plan, and availability of informed consent hormone therapy. However, for our participants, economic and social discrimination were major limiting factors to accessing and navigating health services. Social factors exacerbated difficulties navigating and understanding health systems to achieve coverage; 20% had insurance that did not cover hormone therapy. Specialized surgeons were located in urban/suburban centers; electrolysis coverage was limited; and 10% had gender-affirming surgery. Conclusion: This study indicates that services are necessary to assist with navigating access to gender-affirming health care, even in affirming policy contexts like Oregon.

Background: Injection drug use has far-reaching social, economic, and health consequences. Serious bacterial infections, including skin/soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis, bacteremia, and endocarditis, are particularly morbid and mortal consequences of injection drug use. Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort analysis of hospitalizations among patients with a diagnosis code for substance use and a serious bacterial infection during the same hospital admission using Oregon Hospital Discharge Data. We examined trends in hospitalizations and costs of hospitalizations attributable to injection drug use-related serious bacterial infections from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2018. Results: From 2008 to 2018, Oregon hospital discharge data included 4,084,743 hospitalizations among 2,090,359 patients. During the study period, hospitalizations for injection drug use-related serious bacterial infection increased from 980 to 6,265 per year, or from 0.26% to 1.68% of all hospitalizations (PPP<0.001). Conclusions: In Oregon, hospitalizations for injection drug use-related serious bacterial infections increased dramatically and exacted a substantial cost on the health care system from 2008 to 2018. This increase in hospitalizations represents an opportunity to initiate substance use disorder treatment and harm reduction services to improve outcomes for people who inject drugs.

Human trafficking is a global public health and human rights issue, although it remains unknown how governmental-level systems impact survivors of human trafficking. Survivor punishment (where federal or local officials arrest, fine, imprison, deport, or otherwise punish survivors) is evident even with global promotion of survivor-centred approaches to human trafficking. This study serves as an initial investigation of how government involvement in survivor services and prevention progress are related to survivor punishment. This cross-national study utilised the 2011 Human Trafficking Indicators. Although this dataset heavily relies on the U.S. TIP reports, our analyses are guided by a human rights framework that recognises the importance of prevention and partnerships in mitigating the vulnerability of survivors. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to determine factors associated with survivor punishment. Findings indicate that countries categorised by the U.S. as showing substantial prevention progress have a lower likelihood of survivor punishment (OR = 0.30; 95% CI [0.15, 0.62]). Government survivor service offering was not significantly associated with punishment (OR = 0.65; 95% CI [0.33, 1.28]). Findings call for the development of global measures resulting from international partnerships to characterise stocks and flows of human trafficking, as well as the quality and effectiveness of governmental efforts and partnerships.

Social isolation describes a lack of a sense of belonging, the inability to engage and connect with others, and the neglect or deterioration of social relationships. This conceptual review describes how social isolation and connectedness affect the well-being of LGBTQ youth. Most studies focused on the psychosocial experience of social isolation, which led to suicide attempt, self-harm, sexual risk, and substance use. Scholarly work has drawn from a variety of frameworks, ranging from minority stress theory to positive youth development, to devise interventions that target isolation and connectedness in schools, community-based organisations, and in online environments. Finally, we discuss the importance of addressing social, cultural, and structural dimensions of social isolation in order to foster enabling environments that allow LGBTQ youth to thrive. This conceptual review suggests that individual and social transformations are the result of young people's meaningful participation in shaping their environment, which is made possible when their capabilities are fostered through social well-being. Our findings suggest the need for measures of social isolation among youth in databanks produced by global institutions, such as the World Health Organization.