Sociopolitical and economic factors shape the lived experience of immigrants and subsequent US-born generations. Often marked by immigrant-related federal and subfederal (i.e., state, county, and city) government policies, but also inclusive of public sentiment toward immigrants, an anti-immigrant climate limits Latino immigrants’ and US-born Latinos’ access to pro-health resources and services, keeps them in a lower socioeconomic position, increases their exposure to interpersonal and structural discrimination, and directly and indirectly exposes them to acute and chronic stressors that can take a toll on their cardiovascular health. The objective of this dissertation is to examine the association between anti-immigrant climate, first defined using policies and then defined using anti-Latino immigrant sentiment, and a panel of traditional and non-traditional cardiovascular disease risk factors among immigrant and US-born Latino adults living in the United States. This dissertation is organized into five sections: 1) an introduction, 2) a systematic review and critical analysis of the literature on US federal and subfederal policies and physical and mental health outcomes among Latino adults, 3) an empirical study of subfederal immigrant-related policies enacted in 2007 and their association with a panel of cardiovascular disease risk factors among Latino adult participants in the National Health Interview Survey, 4) an empirical study of anti-Latino immigrant sentiment during the 2016 Presidential campaign and election and a panel of incident cardiovascular disease risk factors in a cohort of Latino participants of the Hispanic Community Health Survey/Study of Latinos, and 5) a discussion of findings and implications for future research. The systematic review did not identify any studies of immigrant-related policies and traditional cardiovascular disease health condition risk factors of obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, or diabetes. Exclusionary policies were associated with poor mental health and poor self-rated health and no relationship between policies and adverse birth outcomes was observed. In the empirical study of subfederal immigrant-related policies, I did not observe a statistically significant association between exposure to exclusionary policy climates in 2007 and a greater increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors relative to exposure to neutral/inclusive policy climates. Although no statistically significant difference-in-differences were observed, Latinos living in exclusionary states had a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of high alcohol consumption one year after exposure, while the prevalence remained unchanged among Latinos living in neutral/inclusive states. This increase was reflective of increases among foreign-born Latinos, not US-born Latinos. In the empirical study of anti-Latino immigrant sentiment during the 2016 Presidential campaign and election, findings from models of high depressive symptoms suggested that among Latinos of Mexican and Central American background, the exposed were more likely to have incident high depressive symptoms than the unexposed. Findings also suggested an association between exposure status and incident current alcohol use, particularly among the foreign-born. An inverse association between exposure and risk of hypertension was observed, with further differences by duration of US residence. Patterns for alcohol consumption across both empirical studies suggest that future studies should continue to explore the effect of anti-immigrant climate on acute changes in alcohol consumption among Latinos in the US. Additionally, findings from the systematic review and the second empirical study also support the continued study of the relationship between anti-immigrant climate and mental health outcomes. As the sociopolitical climate of the US becomes increasingly harsh toward Latino immigrants and their families, studies should examine other health outcomes in order to understand which dimensions of health are affected by exposure to an anti-immigrant climate among one of the largest ethnic populations in the US.

Reducing diabetes risk among Hispanic-American adults in the United States is a critical public health need and programs targeting young Hispanic-American adults with prediabetes can reduce the risk for developing diabetes. The purpose of this project was twofold: (a) to examine the literature related to diabetes prevention best practices among young adult Hispanic-Americans with prediabetes and (b) create an intervention program to promote these best practices to delay or reverse the trajectory toward diabetes. The inclusion criteria for the literature review were studies with at least a 12-month follow-up and reported outcomes related to changes in diet, increased exercise, and the effects of psychotherapy as modeled in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP). Studies that met these inclusion criteria for the period 2002 through January 2016 were evaluated and 11 studies supported the development of recommendations for future implementation. Pender's health promotion model provided useful theoretical support for the effectiveness of individual health behavior changes to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Based on the literature review, proposed interventions included dietary interventions, behavior modifications, and both aerobic and resistance exercise training adapted for the young adult Hispanic-American population. The planned interventions will fill an evidence-to-practice gap in application of the DPP. The program when implemented will promote social change through lifestyle modifications among young adult Hispanic-Americans with prediabetes and is expected to improve dietary intake, weekly exercise, fasting glucose, and glucose tolerance and support weight loss, all of which can delay or stop progression to diabetes.

Thesis--New Mexico State University, 1969. / Bibliography: p. 65-74.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 310-333).

This dissertation investigates the dynamics of production surrounding United States Spanish-language television by analyzing the strategies followed by newcomer Azteca America in it attempts to become an attractive television option for Latinos. Given the scarcity of research on the production approach of U.S. Latino media, this study interrogates the site of production of Spanish-language Television--that is, the site in which professional routines and presumably legitimate knowledge about audiences are the basis for the reproduction of particular representations of Latinos in the United States. The incursion of Azteca America into this realm allows me to reflect on the structural and complex relationship between the U.S. Latino and Mexican television industries. Azteca America's process of creating a network identity, along with strategies of production, representations, and distribution reveal longstanding assumptions about television's formulas of success, which are the result of the way in which U.S. Latinos are imagined by the corporation. My analysis is informed by the cultural economy perspective that evaluates corporate practices as relevant cultural objects with economic value; it is also informed by Pierre Bourdieu's theory of logic of practice, which allows me to situate the corporation as a social space as I evaluate its corporate routines as a site of the expression of larger social dynamics. A global approach gives me the theoretical tools to think about the transnational character of the U.S. Latino industry, its audiences, and the crossborder nature of Azteca America's venture. The presence of Azteca America in U.S. broadcasting television reaffirms, on some level, the ways in which Latin Americans claim "authentic" knowledge regarding the programming and representations delivered to Latino audiences. This process is possible because of the fluid identity with attendant flexible meanings that accompanies the hybrid and multilayered identities of the Latina/o population in the U.S. / text

This study provides a historical understanding of the adoption, adaptation and education of account planning in Hispanic advertising agencies. At the time of this writing, minimal academic research had focused on the discipline, and even less on the discipline in Hispanic advertising agencies. According to the United States 2010 census, the Hispanic population surpassed 50 million, making in the largest minority group in the country, accounting for over 15% of the population. Hispanic advertising agencies as a group are charged with reaching this market, and within these agencies, researching, strategizing and briefing are their account planners (also called brand planners, strategic planners, creative planners and research planners). Grounded theory was employed to interview twenty-nine account planners in five states who work, or at some point worked, in a Hispanic advertising agency. The results present a thorough explanation of the adoption and adaptation of account planning in Hispanic advertising agencies, as well as an overview of what account planners who want to work in this market should study. The findings suggest that account planning in Hispanic advertising agencies has experienced innovation diffusion and big brother syndrome, involvement, improvement, and fictive digital kinship. Study limitations, future research, managerial and educational implications are presented as well. / text

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The objective of this dissertation is to describe a systematic approach to effectively treat common mental health disorders, which involves integrating care managers and mental health specialists into the primary care treatment team. Despite an extensive body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of collaborative care, implementation in various “real world” settings presents a number of barriers. Successful clinical trials have failed to result in widespread changes in practice. Gaps in the literature persist as to what the clinical, organizational and financial barriers to integration are. As a result, dissemination of the model lags far behind. This dissertation sought to contribute new information to the literature on integrated health care by examining various elements of dissemination efforts. The first article examined the experience among a group of health care providers in Texas who were attempting to integrate physical and behavioral health care. This article identified the barriers that they have encountered in addition to the strategies they have used to integrate mental and physical health services, and to determine whether the strategies reflect an evidence-based model of care delivery. In addition, the perceived clinical, organizational and financial barriers to integration were evaluated. The second article for this dissertation examined quantitative clinical outcomes of an integrated health care program in a community-based clinic with a low-income, uninsured population of Hispanics, a portion of which were Spanish-speaking. A socio-culturally adapted model for the provision of comprehensive health services may have a significant impact on the health and mental health outcomes of minority, non-English speaking populations. The third article offers an in-depth case study of an interdisciplinary collaborative care treatment team. Understanding the details of program implementation and the elements of the model that community based providers found useful, and those they found challenging, has implications for widespread implementation efforts. This qualitative article offered an analysis of how the treatment team organized itself to perform as a coordinated, high functioning effort that fit well with the needs of patients, and had each professional doing what they do best. / text