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Implications of racial and ethnic relations for health and well-being in new Latino communities: A case study of West Columbia, South Carolina

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Abstract

In this community-based research, we reveal social processes contributing to health inequities among the resident Latino population – predominantly new immigrants – in a working-class, urban community with an historical, social and political landscape defined by a Black–White social divide and its attendant racial tensions. Using the social determinants of health framework, we identify both macro- and micro-level structures and processes that threaten the health and well-being of individual Latinos and the broader communities where they live and work: discrimination, social isolation, communication barriers, host community residents’ fear of immigrants, and racial/ethnic competition for work, housing, and educational and social resources.

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Notes

  1. There are a variety of reasons underlying the undercount of Hispanic by census enumerators. The most common factors include complex household makeup or cultural differences in defining households, individual/family mobility, legal immigration status (authorized versus unauthorized), fear or distrust of government and language barriers (Lacy, 2007).

  2. According to the US Census data, the ratio of African Americans to Latinos in South Carolina declined from 34:1 in 1990 to only 7:1 in 2008 (Rodriguez, 2012).

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Acknowledgements

We thank all of the study participants for their time, reflection and sincerity. This research was funded by University of South Carolina Women's and Gender Studies/WWBI Endowment. The research team included Dr Patricia A. Sharpe, Margarita Franco, Gustavo Montaña, Beth Fadeley, Manju Tanwar, David Asiamah and Edena Meetze.

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Barrington, C., Messias, D. & Weber, L. Implications of racial and ethnic relations for health and well-being in new Latino communities: A case study of West Columbia, South Carolina. Lat Stud 10, 155–178 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1057/lst.2012.5

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