Haitians in the United States represent the fourth largest immigrant population from the Caribbean. As in the case of many immigrant populations, Haitian immigrant adaptation has been challenged by social, political and economic factors, and as a result they have had to seek legal, health, and social services. According to the literature, help-seeking behaviors among Haitian immigrants have been associated with traditional indices of socioeconomic status, namely education, occupation, or income. This study takes a more in-depth look at the influence of social class by approaching it as cultural construct in the context of historical patterns of Haitian immigrant incorporation. Most Haitians arrived during the latter half of the 20th century in four successive waves, the 1957, 1970, 1980 and 1991 wave. Each of these waves of Haitian immigration represented a distinct context of departure and social class composition. A qualitative approach was used to obtain rich information on the role of help-seeking in the immigration and incorporation experience of Haitians from the perspective of immigrants who arrived during the four distinct waves of immigration. Individual and focused group interviews were conducted in English, Creole, and French with a purposive and snowball sample of 43 Haitian immigrants currently living in south Florida. Using a grounded theory approach, the analysis generated six categories related to the Haitian immigrant experience: orientation at time of arrival, establishment of social connections, issues of trust, generational effects, cultural constructs of social class, and perspectives on the help-seeking experience. Key findings emerged that identified the importance of social connections in Haitian help-seeking behaviors in the context of a complex Haitian social class construct imbedded in historical, political, and economic positioning. Specifically, across all immigration waves, regardless of social background--from the highly educated doctor who arrived in the 1950s to the rural peasant who arrived in the 1990s--Haitian immigrants identified an individual of Haitian descent residing in the United States on whom they relied for assistance in obtaining resources. This system of social connections reflected the social constructs of class existing in Haiti and remained a significant factor in Haitian immigrants' help-seeking behaviors during resettlement. / text

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2018-01-10T16:54:46Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gabriel do Carmo Yamamoto - 2017.pdf: 2189616 bytes, checksum: 03ab44813100f4355e76eca7f562c9f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-01-11T11:08:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gabriel do Carmo Yamamoto - 2017.pdf: 2189616 bytes, checksum: 03ab44813100f4355e76eca7f562c9f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-11T11:08:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Gabriel do Carmo Yamamoto - 2017.pdf: 2189616 bytes, checksum: 03ab44813100f4355e76eca7f562c9f7 (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-11 / In this dissertation, we have worked on immigration as a social practice through empirical research with Haitian immigrants. Our objective was to understand the organization practices of Haitian immigrants in the Metropolitan Region of Goiânia, Goiás. This study is justified by the argument that social practice of immigration is a base of production of organizational processes, as well the construction of spaces and places is constituted from the socio-spatial mobility of social subjects. For the development of theoretical argument, we mainly focused on the concepts worked by Michel de Certeau and Tim Cresswell about practices and immigration, respectively. The empirical research was conduceted in the Metropolitan Region of Goiânia, which all the cities together have more than 500 subjects coming from Haiti. For the production of empirical material we used as tools the life history and participatory observation. The interviews had a semi-structured script. The results obtained were analyzed by means of the interpretative technique, being found five main practices in the organization of Haitian immigrants: practice of path; economic and labor practice; cohabitation practice; practice of care; and practice of religion. As the main contributions of the work we point out: 1) realization of approximations of practical theories with as discussions about socio-spatial mobility; 2) the understanding of immigration as a social practice; 3) deepening the understanding of the immigrant / organizational process of Haitian subjects in Brazilian lands; and 4) discussion of the reception policies of immigrants in the context researched. / Nesta dissertação trabalhamos a imigração como prática social por meio de uma pesquisa empírica com imigrantes haitianos. Nosso objetivo foi compreender as práticas de organização dos imigrantes haitianos na região metropolitana de Goiânia, Goiás. Isso porque a prática social da imigração é a base de produção de processos organizativos, cuja construção de espaços e lugares se constitui a partir da mobilidade socioespacial dos sujeitos sociais. Para o desenvolvimento desse argumento teórico, nos respaldamos principalmente nos conceitos trabalhados por Michel de Certeau e Tim Cresswell sobre práticas e de imigração, respectivamente. A pesquisa de campo foi conduzida em comunidades haitianas estabelecidas na Região Metropolitana de Goiânia, que juntas contam com mais de 500 sujeitos provenientes do Haiti. Para produção de material empírico utilizamos as técnicas de história de vida e observação participante. As entrevistas contaram com roteiro semiestruturado. Os resultados obtidos foram analisados por meio da técnica interpretativa, sendo encontradas cinco práticas principais na organização de imigrantes haitianos: prática de caminho; prática econômica e de trabalho; prática de coabitação; prática de cuidado; e prática de religião. Como principais contribuições do trabalho pontuamos: 1) realização de aproximações de teorias da prática com as discussões sobre mobilidade socioespacial; 2) o entendimento da imigração como prática social; 3) aprofundamento da compreensão do processo imigratório/organizativo de sujeitos haitianos em terras brasileiras; e 4) discussão das políticas de recepção de imigrantes no contexto pesquisado.

Black people in the U.S. die at younger ages, have significantly higher rates of death from treatable medical conditions, are more likely to have late-stage breast and colon cancer diagnoses and more likely to die from these cancers, and are at higher risk for chronic illnesses compared to other racial and ethnic groups. Accessing healthcare is crucial to health and well-being; however, U.S. immigrants' use of healthcare services is far less than native-born Americans. Haitian immigrants experience health disparities at the highest rate compared to other Black immigrants in the U.S. Given their unique history, culture, and immigration experience, it is necessary to understand the health-seeking decision-making process and behaviors among Haitian immigrants. This study thus explored the following research question: How do Haitian immigrants make decisions about their health-seeking behavior? In response, this qualitative study used the Grounded Theory approach, collecting data through semi-structured interviews and a focus group with adult Haitian immigrants living in Central Florida. This led to the development of a theoretical model which shows that Haitian immigrants engage in the following process: 1. Self-Diagnosing, 2. Self-Treating: Informal Health-seeking, 3. Self-Monitoring, 4. Considering Formal Health-seeking, and 5. Seeking Medical Services: Formal Health-seeking. The model also demonstrates how barriers impede the steps towards formal health-seeking; however, Haitian immigrants can bypass these barriers under specific conditions. Understanding this phenomenon of health-seeking decision-making has implications for culturally-appropriate interventions and healthcare and housing policies to address health disparities and promote well-being among Haitian immigrants.

Patient compliance and health care communication are impacted by health literacy. Poor health choices, frequent hospital visits, noncompliance with health regimens, and higher health costs are all associated with low health literacy. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine whether there was an association between health literacy as measured by primary language spoken in the home (Creole vs. English) and hypertension self-management as measured by regular use of medication and cutting down on foods high in salt, and whether there was an association between Haitian men, women, their education level, or level of poverty in relation to health literacy as measured by the primary language spoken at home (English or Creole) and hypertension self-management as measured by regular use of medication and cutting down on foods high in salt. The conceptual framework used for the study was the second language acquisition theory. Strategic sampling was used to identify 318 Haitian participants; however, only 36 respondents qualified as Haitian immigrants with a relatively high propensity of hypertension. Logistic regression was used to analyze the data. The results showed no statistically significant relationship between language spoken at home and hypertensive medical compliance within the New York Haitian immigrant community. The other variables age and household income proved to be statistically significant, however gender and education did not appear to have as much of an influence on hypertensive medical compliance observed in the participants. The social change implications include the need for health care staff to be aware of the roles that age, gender, income, language, culture, and education may play in regard to health literacy and hypertension medical compliance.

Haitian immigrant parents often face challenges to visibly engage in their children's education in the United States due to social, cultural, and economic factors. This study addressed parent involvement (PI) among Haitian immigrant parents of adolescents in a Florida community. The purpose of this exploratory, multiple-case study was to better understand connections between immigrant Haitian parents' beliefs and learning experiences and their experiences supporting their adolescents' learning. Three research questions were developed to explore Haitian adults' lived experiences and perceptions of themselves as keepers of knowledge and as learners, their experiences and perceived roles as parents, and the resources they possessed that could increase PI. The conceptual framework included social constructs of family literacy, new literacy studies, and funds of knowledge. Nine Haitian parents of teenage children and 3 educators and liaisons from the community were selected for interviews. Qualitative data analysis included open coding, theme identification, and triangulation of data from an archival PI survey. Findings indicated that adults' experiences with learning at home and learning at school influenced their perceived parenting roles and self-efficacy at home, the type of PI in which they engaged, and future aspirations for their children. Results were used to develop a white paper aimed at community stakeholders to enhance educators' and social service providers' cultural knowledge of Haitian families and to promote two-way communication. The project may encourage the development of culturally responsive PI strategies and adult learning opportunities benefiting local and trans-national Haitian communities throughout the United States.